Delta Park

Delta Park is one of my favourite outdoor spaces in Johannesburg and I regularly (almost weekly) go there to walk my dogs, picnic with friends, run or let my daughter play on the jungle gyms. It really is a wonderful, slightly wild space to visit to take a breather from city life. It is also a park that you can visit in every season and I always enjoy seeing the beautiful changes that take place throughout the year. The Autumn colours are particularly striking with a stunning display of golds, yellows, oranges and reds. This is preceded by an explosion of Cosmos flowers in the area where the veldgrass is left to grow tall. Even Winter can be striking with bare branches reflecting in the cool waters of the lakes. See images below taken on a cold and frosty Winter's morning:

Top Dam

Middle Dam

Dogs love running free in the wide open spaces

The park is situated between Craighall Park, Victory Park and Blairgowrie in Johannesburg. It is 104 hectares and consists of mostly grassland and woodland with abundant birdlife which can be viewed from two bird hides. The park includes the fenced off Florence Bloom Bird Sanctuary as well as the Delta Environmental Centre which offers environmental programmes to children and also has an auditorium and function room for hire. For a detailed history of the park and how it evolved from a sewerage works to the green space it is today see Jane Carruthers article on the Delta Environmental Centre website.

The Park is very well used, especially on weekends, and is frequented by joggers, cyclists, dog walkers, families that picnic or have birthday parties and is also often used as a location for photo shoots.

Sensitivity Map by Launch Landscape Architecture & Environmental Planning - www.launchlandarch.co.za

Poplar Walkway that borders the Delta Park School

This field is stunning when the Cosmos are in flower

Graffiti in a few selected areas, like this old reservoir, give character and make a great backdrop for photo shoots

Children's Play Area

A walk around the perimeter of the park will take roughly an hour and is about 5km. This is also the route used by Park Run every Saturday where often up to 2000 participants enjoy some exercise. When the serious runners have left you will find many dog walkers often with their dogs off their leads. A riding stable nearby offers lessons and rides through the park so it is not uncommon to see horses being taken on a slow trot through the park. There are also Girl and Boy Scouts bordering the park.

Party on the Grass next to the Top Dam

Pathway along Top Dam where houses have opened up views onto the Park

I have two parts of the park that I particularly love: the Top Dam where the adjacent lawn and big trees make it a very tranquil and inviting space and you will often see groups of people gathering here. The other area is the walk along the Braamfontein Spruit. The Spruit connects Emmarentia Park in the South and runs all the way through the suburbs to Rivonia in the North. This green belt has enormous potential as a circulation route for pedestrians and cyclists. It is already well used by cyclists but the paths are very informal (a single dirt track mostly used by mountain bikers) and certain areas are inhabited by vagrants which creates a feeling of unease. It would be wonderful to see what this park could become if the City of Joburg had the budget to apply interventions. It could become a world class inner city park that allows for sport and recreation, creates linkages, creates work opportunities, brings nature back, promotes tourism, encourages healthier lifestyles and gives Johannesburg a positive and connecting network of green open space.

Top Dam - view across to Dam Wall

Blue Bridge into Green Belt from Craighall Park

Walkway along Braamfontein Spruit in Green Belt underneath Pylons

The beautiful River often with Yellowbilled Ducks, Egyptian Geese, Swallows and Lapwings to be seen. Sometimes the dogs jump in the water and chase the ducks around :)

All images in this blog were taken using my phone so are unfortunately not the best quality. Even though it is advisable to leave your valuables at home when visiting any public place in South Africa, I often take my phone along and keep it hidden from view. 

Further Reading:

http://www.jhbcityparks.com/index.php/list-of-parks-mainmenu-39/36-delta-park

https://deltaenviro.org.za/rand-water-water-wise-garden/

http://www.parkrun.co.za/delta/

https://www.lucilledavie.co.za/single-post/2011/09/09/Birds-flock-to-Delta-Park

https://www.lucilledavie.co.za/single-post/2002/05/02/Delta-Park-proves-that-exotics-can-be-useful

Sunbird Aloes Open Day

Every garden needs a selection of Aloes, not only for their sculptural quality but more importantly for the splash of colour they bring in Winter when everything else looks dull and drab. Aloes are indigenous and waterwise and they really need very little attention (unless they get diseases... see far below). There is a wide variety of species available in different sizes as well as different growth forms - from larger clump forming Aloe arborescens and free-standing Aloe marlothii to smaller Aloe cryptopoda, Aloe striata (no thorns) and even the Tree Aloe Barberae.

These species get used in landscaping repeatedly so it is always exciting to find new species in the forms of Hybrids to use; these add interest and variety to a design. Leo Thamm from Sunbird Aloe Nursery specialises in growing hybrid Aloes that he has bred to produce the best flowering plants, something he has been doing for over forty years.

"Wherever different Aloe species flower together in the wild one is likely to find natural hybrids. Hybridisation happens when a bird or an insect accidentally deposits pollen from one species on the flower(s) of another. The seeds that form as a result of this so-called cross-pollination hold the genetic key to plants that are different from both the parent plants. The resulting seedling(s) grow up to be hybrids showing a combination of characteristics of the parent plants. Normally the pollen ‘donor’ is called the father, and the seed bearing parent the mother plant.

In theory any 2 aloes can be “crossed” to create a new hybrid. Some do not make good parents – their offspring can be very disappointing. Still others may be incompatible, and it takes many years to discover the best and most viable combinations. Consequently the pedigree of most of our cultivars is a closely guarded secret." (http://www.sunbirdaloes.co.za/)

Aloe garden at Vine Street Nursery in Ferndale

Form, Texture and Colour

On Saturday 17 June 2017 Sunbird Aloes held an Open Day where the public could buy directly from them (it is not normally possible to buy directly from a wholesale nursery, especially when only purchasing a few plants). It was wonderful to the see the plants growing so happily in the greenhouses and to see the beautiful flowering cultivars on display. I purchased Aloe 'Green Gold', Aloe 'Snowkiss', Aloe 'Campari' and Aloe 'Andrea's Orange' and am excited to plant them in my garden. But first I need to deal with a small problem...

With great dismay I admit that the existing Aloes in my garden are diseased and although I have been in denial about it for a while, hoping that nature would take it's course and that the plants would fight their own battles, I have realised that some intervention from my part is required. I was grateful for the information about Aloe Care posted on the Sunbird Aloe Website and specifically the guidance given when your Aloes have Gall Mite (Aloe Cancer)  or Aphids and Mealie Bugs. Since my Aloes have both (see images below) I am implementing the advice given (using Blue Death Powder and Systemic Insecticide) and hope that this will help to save my existing plants as well as prevent the new Aloes I bought at the Open Day from also getting the diseases!

Deformed Inflorescence - flowers look cancerous 

Deformed Inflorescence with Aphids

Durban Botanic Gardens

See contact information and opening times displayed

Entrance from Visitor's Complex and Information Centre

Lily Pond with Orchid House behind

It was a real treat to visit these lush and beautiful gardens where magnificent trees are around every corner. The gardens have free entry and are very well utilized. We ambled along the pathways and enjoyed the relaxed atmosphere that only nature can provide. There are ample places to sit and relax and a variety of textures and interesting focal points to admire.

Tranquil Tea Garden 

Beautfiul Stonework 

Contemplation Space

Sunken Garden

According to their website (http://www.durbanbotanicgardens.org.za) this is the oldest surviving botanic garden on the African continent and was established in 1849 for the trial of agricultural crops. Today the gardens focus on biodiversity, education, heritage, research, horticultural excellence and green innovation.

Living Beehive - Butterfly Garden

The Durban Botanic Gardens boasts the rarest collection in the world with Wood's Cycad (Encephalartos woodii) reputed to be the world's rarest plant. The Gardens cycad collection includes a variety of plants from South Africa, Central Africa, South America, Asia and Australia.

Cycad Garden

Palms - Princes of the Plant Kingdom

The Gardens has a collection of over 860 palms that belong to 130 species in 58 genera. These plants add to the tropical atmosphere that you experience while walking along the pathways.

Bromeliads

While the bromeliad, orchid, cycad and palm collection are intriguing I was really blown away by the beauty of the trees in the gardens. There are more than eighty heritage trees many exceeding one hundred years old.

Ficus benghalensis - Banyan Trees, native to the Indian subcontinent, are often considered sacred and a symbol of long life, with temples often built beneath them.

Kapok Tree -  This "Rocket Ship" was planted in 1934 and is the national tree of Puerto Rico

Couldn't resist including this Strelitzia - it really looks like a bird peeking out of the leaves!

Jardínes del Turia in Valencia, Spain

"The Turia Gardens is one of the largest urban parks in Spain. It runs through the city along nine kilometres of green space boasting foot paths, leisure and sports areas, and romantic spots where you can unwind. From Cabecera Park to the City of Arts and Sciences, the Turia Gardens are the perfect place for runners, cyclists, families and nature enthusiasts. Crossed by 18 bridges full of history, the former riverbed passes by the city's main museums and monuments on either bank. The vast gardens are built on the former riverbed of the Turia, whose course was altered to prevent constant flooding in the city.

After a devastating flood on 14 October 1957, the Turia's course was diverted south of the city, leaving a huge tract of land that crosses the city from West to East, bordering the historical centre. Several urban planners and landscapists designed different sections of the park, recreating the former river scenery. They created a unique itinerary of palm trees and orange trees, fountains and pine woods, aromatic plants and ponds, sports facilities and rose beds. The gardens were inaugurated in 1986. The Cabecera Park and Bioparc border the huge gardens to the west, and the futuristic City of Arts and Sciences border it on the opposite side, near the mouth of the river. " (http://www.visitvalencia.com/en/what-to-visit-valencia/parks-gardens/turia-gardens)

I visited the Jardin del Turia a few years ago but wanted to post these pictures because I was so impressed with this park and it is a reminder how a successful green space can contribute positively to a city. The green belt is actually an old river bed that has dried up and been converted into a park and stretches over 9 kilometers. It is frequented all year by joggers, cyclists, families and tourists. It is a great connector for various parts of the city and a wonderful precedent of how a linear park can become the seam within a city - bringing things together to provide positive public space.

According to Project for Public Spaces (PPS) successful public spaces all generally have these four qualities in common: they are accessible; people are engaged in activities there; the space is comfortable and has a good image; and finally, it is a sociable place: one where people meet each other and take people when they come to visit. PPS developed The Place Diagram as a tool to help people in judging any place, good or bad: 

https://www.pps.org/reference/grplacefeat/

This park is certainly all those things, with emphasis on the access and linkages point, and you can see how successful it is by the number of people that make use of it. You can also see that there is an organisation managing the park with importance placed on safety and comfort as well as maintenance.  It may not be realistic to look at European parks as precedents for application in an African context because the challenges we face are so vastly different (crime, vandalism, homelessness, lack of funding etc.) but there are still lessons that can be learnt from them.

Some images of the Park follow below:

Ciudad de las Artes y las Ciencias