Flower Season In Cape Town: The Official Guide
In Cape Town, Spring season is flower season!
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Every Spring, from mid-August till end-September (sometimes continuing into October – fingers crossed!) Cape Town comes to life as glorious bursts of Cape wildflowers cover the Western Cape landscapes in a wonderful celebration of bold, bright, and beautiful colors.
The wild untamed natural beauty of the Cape’s Spring Flower Season has people travelling from around the world just to witness and admire Cape Town in full bloom – Its simply mesmerising, magical, and magnificent – A true marvel.
Here is your ultimate guide to experiencing flower season in Cape Town along with all the wonderful Western Cape wildflower splendor, including the array of Cape wildflower hotspots and floral gems you ABSOLUTELY have to add to your Mother City flower season bucket-list!
West Coast National Park & Postberg
Every spring, from about mid-August – October, the West Coast National Park comes to life as Cape Wildflowers cover the vast landscapes in a glorious celebration of beautiful blooms and bursts of colour. Only open during springtime, Postberg is an almost completely undisturbed floral landscape in the West Coast National Park, open 9am to 5pm during August and September (peak flower months).
- Distance from Cape Town City Center: +/- 1 hour and 50 minutes
- Website: sanparks.org/parks/west_coast
Kirstenbosch National Botanical Gardens
Acclaimed as one of the ‘Great Botanic Gardens in the World’, the Kirstenbosch National Botanical Garden is Cape Town’s claim to botanical fame. Nestled against the Eastern slopes of Table Mountain, Kirstenbosch is the most incredible display of indigenous natural beauty. The Gardens cover +/- 528 hectares, and boasts more than 7000 plant species, 2500 of which are solely from the Cape Peninsula.
Kirstenbosch Gardens forms part of the Cape Floristic Region / Cape Floral Kingdom, listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. It is the world’s smallest, yet most diverse of the 6 floral kingdoms, and the only one that occurs entirely in one country. Expect a glorious diversity of fauna and flora entirely indigenous to Cape Town.
- Distance from Cape Town City Centre: +/- 20 minutes
- Website: sanbi.org/gardens/kirstenbosch
The Renosterveld Reserve
The stunning 20-hectare Renosterveld Flower Reserve lies just above Darling Primary School. Boasting vast sprawling fields packed to the brim with wildflowers and a glorious abundance of Spring flowers, including vygies, kapokbos, bellendini, and renosterbos, The Renosterveld Reserve is one of the best reserves to visit during Cape Town’s flower season. It is also a fantastic spot for a scenic family hike, lovely picnic amongst the wildflowers, as well birdwatching.
- Distance from Cape Town City Centre: +/- 1 hour
- Entry fee: Free
Tienie Versfeld Wildflower Reserve
Tienie Versfeld Wildflower Reserve is located along the R315 on your way to the charming West Coast town of Darling. Its vast and varying topography means flower-loving visitors can expect an amazing variety of flowers. What makes this reserve so special is that around 10% of the Cape Floral Kingdom can be found right here on this small patch of floral heaven. Be sure to enjoy the beautiful chincherinchee, lachenalia, and Butterfly lilies.
- Distance from Cape Town City Centre: +/- 1 hour and 10 minutes
- Entry fee: Free
Harold Porter National Botanical Garden
Set between mountains and the captivating ocean coastline, the Harold Porter Botanical Garden is the quintessential Western Cape garden. In addition to its diverse and pristine cornucopia of fynbos, and amazing array of indigenous flowers, including orchids, daisies, and proteas, you’ll also find beautiful trails, wonderful waterfalls, and amber-coloured pools in the garden.
- Distance from Cape Town City Center: +/- 1 hour and 30 minutes
- Website: sanbi.org/gardens/harold-porter
Namaqualand National Park
The Namaqualand National Park is the ultimate wildflower viewing destination, especially if you’re up for an adventure-filled Cape wildflower roadtrip! Every spring the vast landscapes of the Namaqualand National Park undergoes a stunning transformation from semi-arid scrubland to colourful, vibrant carpets of wildflowers. Visitors can look forward to a glorious diversity of flora as this natural gem boasts more than 3000 different plant species, a third of which are totally endemic to the region. It is especially well-known for its abundance of the aptly named Namaqualand daisies.
- Distance from Cape Town: +/ – 530 km | approximately 6 hours 45 minutes
- Website: www.sanparks.org/parks/namaqua/
Citrusdal
Located along the famed Cape Flower Route, Citrusdal is a quaint town and hidden gem that bursts with colour every year during springtime. While Citrusdal is widely known as the centre of South Africa’s fruit farming industry, during the Western Cape’s spring wildflower season it takes on a whole new persona as its vast landscapes are entirely covered in a glorious display of Cape wildflowers, including fields of maartblom, bloedblom, daises, and endemic Cape fynbos.
- Distance from Cape Town: +/-180 km | approximately 2 hours
- Entry fee: Free
- More information: 022 921 3210
Karoo Desert National Botanical Gardens
Boasting a 154-hectare reserve that sprawls across the foothills of Worcester’s rocky and majestic Hex River Mountain range, the Karoo Desert National Botanical Gardens is a great place to visit during flower season in Cape Town. Dedicated entirely to indigenous vegetation such as succulents, annuals, and vygies, nature lovers are in for quite a treat. Plus, there’s nothing quite like seeing the desert landscapes of the Karoo covered in a vibrant carpet of spring wildflowers.
- Distance from Cape Town: ± 120 km | approximately 1 hour 30 minutes
- More Information: Phone 023 347 0785 or visit the Karoo Desert National Botanical Garden website
Agulhas National Park
Situated in what is known as the Agulhas Plain, the Agulhas National Park is located in the southern Overberg region of the Western Cape. With as much diversity as a tropical rain forest, the Agulhas Plain and Agulhas National Park is an immensely abundant natural reserve, boasting over 2,000 species of indigenous plants, including 100 that are endemic to the area. It is also home to some of the most splendid examples of lowland fynbos and lowland fynbos on limestone soils – Considered endangered and restricted largely to the southern Overberg.
- Distance from Cape Town: +/- 224 km | approximately 2 hours 40 minutes
- Website: sanparks.org/parks/agulhas
Cape Columbine Nature Reserve
A visit to the Cape Columbine Nature Reserve gives flora and nature lovers the amazing opportunity to fully immerse themselves in blankets of Cape wildflowers along the Cape west coast. Covering 263 hectares of rocky coastline and peninsula near Paternoster, the Cape Columbine Nature Reserve’s stunning coastal habitat is home to a sensational abundance of Cape wildflowers, including a variety of Karoo succulents and fynbos.
- Distance from Cape Town: +/- 155 km | approximately 2 hours
- More Information: 022 752 2323 | 022 7522 718
Ramskop Nature Reserve
With the dramatic Cederberg Mountains, fields of rooibos tea, and orange groves as its backdrop, the renowned Ramskop Nature Reserve is undoubtedly one of the best places to see the beautiful Cape wildflowers in the Western Cape. The 66-hectare reserve is home to over 350 species of wildflowers, including daisies, sporries, sugarbos, and proteas, all of which come to life as soon as the Cape Town spring season arrives. As an extra special spring flower season surprise you’ll also be able to view an array of flowers that represent the Knersvlakte, Richtersveld, and Boesmanland.
- Distance from Cape Town: +/- 230 km | approximately 2 hours 40 minutes
- More Information: 027 482 8012 or visit the Ramskop Nature Reserve website.
Bontebok National Park
The Cape Floral Kingdom is world-renowned as one of the most biologically diverse areas on earth with the Bontebok National Park considered a cherished jewel in its crown. Boasting the highest density of rare and endangered bird life, wildlife, and fynbos species in South Africa, not to mention a wonderful array of indigenous plant life found nowhere else in the world, the Bontebok National Park is by far one of the best places to see the Cape wildflowers in full bloom during Cape Town’s vibrant flower season.
- Distance from Cape Town: ± 224 km | approximately 3 hours
- Website: sanparks.org/parks/bontebok
Other amazing places to view the Cape’s Spring Wildflowers:
- Fernkloof Nature Reserve
- Elgin Open Garden
- Darling
- Paternoster
- Velddrif
- Aurora
- Piketberg
- The Cederberg
- Swartland to the Overberg and Southern Cape (Swellendam)
- Blaauwberg Nature Reserve
- Tankwa Karoo National Park
- Bracken Nature Reserve
- Hopefield
- Hermanus
- Porterville
Wildflower Shows
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Photo credit: Darling Wildflower Society / Show
The Western Cape boasts several amazing wildflower shows to celebrate the coming of spring and its varied flora. Many of these offer floral displays, a variety of workshops, cafés, and indigenous landscaped gardens, showing off the vibrant flowers that bloom at this time of year. You can see these sensational spring Western Cape wildflower collections at the following flower shows:
- Hermanus Flower Festival
- Caledon Wildflower Show
- Hopefield Fynbos Show (typically takes place at the end of August
- Clanwilliam Flower Festival
- Darling Wildflower Show (third weekend of September)
- The Bergrivier Flower Affair
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Check out our ‘Everything You Need To Know About Flower Season in Cape Town’ blog & our ‘Where To See The Wildflowers In Cape Town‘ blog to find out everything you need to know about the array of Cape wildflower hotspots and floral gems you ABSOLUTELY have to add to your flower season in Cape Town bucket-list!
