Summerfield Botanical Garden

Summerfield Botanical Gardens is the brainchild of local businessman John Carmichael. It began life as a botanical garden, with the restaurants and accommodation following by popular demand. The 100ha property was landscaped from an industrial wasteland and is now a designated National Conservancy, with Swaziland’s largest collection of plants including indigenous trees, cycads, palms, succulents and fruit trees all in separate collections. The gardens feature extravagant architecture (sculpted animals, water features, towering thatched pavilions).

Carmichael acquired the land in 1984 where at the time, was nothing more than a wasteland. A laborious landscaping process followed, with hundreds of tonnes of topsoil trucked in, dams excavated and previous trees all planted by hand. Droughts and bushfires brought early setbacks but today, from the moment you turns down the long jacaranda-lined entrance avenue, it is clear that a dream has been realised.

Behind the grand façade is a commitment both to the local environment and the local community. Carmichael employs over 90 people in the gardens alone and helps provide education to the workers’ children.