Africa doesn't always come up in conversations about great gardens, but the continent has a longer horticultural history than most people realise. Botanical gardens established during the colonial period survive in several cities, some of them now among the oldest in the southern hemisphere. Alongside those, there are working spice farms, royal palace grounds, Islamic garden traditions and urban parks that locals have used for generations.
The range across the continent is wide. A garden in Marrakech looks nothing like one in Nairobi or Cape Town, and the plant life shifts dramatically as you move between climate zones. That variety is part of what makes African garden travel interesting, though it also means there's no single season or region that covers everything.
Some of the destinations here are well known and draw large numbers of visitors. Others are quieter, attached to cities that aren't primarily on the tourist circuit, and worth knowing about if you're already travelling through the region.
