Desert diamond: The Oppenheimers' Mauritzfontein stud farm is a garden oasis in the Karoo
A lavish new book details the reinvigoration of a landmark Karoo garden you’ll wish you were in right now
For quite some time, the incredible gardens at the Mauritzfontein stud farm in the Karoo have been under the radar. But Mauritzfontein: The Story of a Karoo Garden (Africa Press), a stunning new book on its history and recent reinvigoration, has put these gardens back on the map.
About six years ago, landscaper and horticulturalist Arthur Mennigke was asked to restore and rejuvenate the remarkable oasis at Mauritzfontein and bring it in line with contemporary concerns.
His starting point was an already-remarkable location: Mauritzfontein is a stud farm outside Kimberley in the Nama Karoo, where racehorses are bred. It was established by Harry Oppenheimer in the late 1940s, and he brought in the legendary landscaper Joane Pim to create the 9ha garden there in the ’50s. It’s now run by his granddaughter Jessica Jell.
He was amused, when researching Pim’s notes, to find how similar their experiences had been: trying to find out what would grow in the harsh conditions, facing the scepticism of friends and colleagues, and learning to work with nature.
“Even [now] I think, how the hell does anything manage to grow in this heat, this cold, the wind, the alkaline water?” Mennigke says. “It’s an ongoing experiment to see what actually thrives.”
Mennigke’s other main additions were the extensive cutting gardens on the site of Pim’s old nursery. They supply the kitchen and keep the house filled with fresh flowers. Here, the book crosses over into inspirational lifestyle territory with beautifully photographed recipes showcasing the spoils of the garden-to-table approach at Mauritzfontein.
Mauritzfontein: The Story of a Karoo Garden has the weight of a proper historical account of these incredible gardens with the inspirational character and visual allure of a coffee-table book. Like the gardens themselves, it’s the best of both worlds.
• Image photography credits: Charles Johnstone, Arthur Mennigke, Connall Oosterbroek, and Joag van Rooyen