Cape Town is letting the fynbos bloom
With the good rain during winter and expected warmer weather in spring, large parts of Public Open Spaces and parks will soon see thousands of early spring flowers blooming.
The City of Cape Town has announced that the wildflowers in some of the city’s parks won’t be mowed until the end of November. This is a critically important move if the city is to preserve its famed biodiversity.
This initiative will run from August to the end of November 2023 at specific Public Open Spaces (POS). This will allow spring flowers and a variety of indigenous plants to bloom and seed. It will also support conservation efforts and the aesthetic appeal flowers provide to all Cape Town residents.
Due to current weather patterns, flowers started to bloom earlier than expected this year, with some already showing their impressive colours. Mowing will be suspended in selected POS, parks, Greenbelts and road verges that have been identified as special portions of land that contain important vegetation across the metropole.
The drive that has been running for a couple of years aims to protect ecological processes that promote the growth of distinctive fynbos vegetation as well as bringing nature to your doorsteps. A number of POS are conservation corridors, connecting to other open spaces, conservation areas, nature reserves and national parks. This ensures a healthy network of interconnected corridors and biodiversity stepping stones to larger biodiversity areas. When flowering, the areas will display fields of colour with a variety of spring flowers, which residents can enjoy. Flowers are essential to the pollination process of most seed-producing plants. During this time, a variety of birds, butterflies, moths and bees are also on display.
Once the flowers have produced adequate seeds towards the end of the spring season readiness period, routine mowing maintenance schedules can resume. The normal mowing schedule in parks and public open spaces will begin at the end of November 2023.
According to the City’s Mayoral Committee Member for Community Services and Health, Councillor Patricia Van der Ross. This initiative will give thousands of flowers the opportunity to show their colours and also highlight the City’s efforts to adapt to a more environmentally friendly and sustainable mowing practice in Cape Town. ‘Each year, we are delighted to see so many public spaces covered in beautiful flowers’ said Van der Ross
The Recreation and Parks Department also plays an active role in creating awareness and educating internal and contractor staff to be sensitised to requests from residents in order to limit the risk of accidental mowing.
Residents can apply for their community park or portions of green spaces in their area to be added to the list.