Gardens, gardening culture and the development of a semi-vernacular garden style in Batho, Mangaung, 1918-1939: a historical perspective

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GARDENS, GARDENING CULTURE AND THE DEVELOPMENT

OF A SEMI-VERNACULAR GARDEN STYLE

IN BATHO, MANGAUNG, 1918-1939:

A HISTORICAL PERSPECTIVE

by

HENDRIK JEREMIAS DU BRUYN

submitted in fulfilment of the requirements for the degree

PHILOSOPHIAE DOCTOR

in the

FACULTY OF THE HUMANITIES

(DEPARTMENT OF HISTORY)

at the

UNIVERSITY OF THE FREE STATE BLOEMFONTEIN

PROMOTER: DR M.M. OELOFSE CO-PROMOTER: PROF. M. BURDEN

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I, Hendrik Jeremias du Bruyn, declare that the thesis that I herewith submit for the Philosophiae Doctoral Degree in History at the University of the Free State, Department of History, is my independent work, and that I have not previously submitted it for a qualification at another institution of higher education.

………. H.J. du Bruyn

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i

ABSTRACT

Topiary had been a feature of European gardens – particularly those laid out in the Netherlands and Britain – for centuries. Since the occupation and subsequent colonisation of the Cape of Good Hope, first by the Dutch and then the British during the 17th and 18th centuries, the South African garden style and gardening culture had been strongly influenced by these two gardening nations. Importantly, such cultural influence was not limited to the white colonists’ gardens and gardening culture. Due to acculturation and inter-cultural influencing, the garden style and gardening culture of South Africa’s black people and other indigenous groups were influenced by white gardeners’ preference for formality, symmetry and, above all, topiary.

The traditional African vernacular garden/field, which may be described as an ‘agricultural garden’ and/or ‘horticultural field’, was characterised by an orderly yet mostly informal layout and the absence of a strict separation between gardens (vegetables) and fields (crops). Due to British and European influence, particularly in the region which became known as South Africa, the vernacular food-only gardens of some black people and indigenous groups gradually became semi-vernacular. The once informal layout of gardens and fields had become more regimented and seed was sown in rows instead of scattered randomly. Furthermore, the ancient Western and traditional African concept of a garden as an enclosed area was reinforced by the white colonists’ taste for gardens enclosed by clipped hedges.

British and European missionaries who had established mission stations across the mentioned region also played an important role in strengthening a gardening culture among the ‘Bantu’-speaking black people and other indigenous groups, such as the Khoesan. Furthermore, mission schools and training institutions were used as vehicles to promote ‘industrial education’ for black people and indigenous groups. Gardening and Nature Study were considered industrial subjects which not only taught learners the principles of practical gardening but also promoted a predominantly formal garden style. During the 20th century, industrial education became official policy in government-funded black schools to secure a steady supply of suitably trained manual labourers for the ‘white’ economy, including labourers to work in gardens and fields.

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ii During the 19th century, the taste for formality and topiary spread to the region beyond the Cape Colony, including the Transgariep, which became the Orange Free State republic with Bloemfontein as its capital (1854). Bloemfontein’s first gardeners were of Dutch, German and British origin; consequently, the local garden style and gardening culture were European. Due to the increased availability of cheap black manual labour, Bloemfontein’s gardens were maintained by black garden labourers. In the white people’s gardens, the black garden labourers were exposed to a preference for the formal garden style and topiary, particularly clipped hedges. The development of ‘gardening relationships’ between white employers and black labourers led to the transference of gardening knowledge and skills, including topiary skills.

Bloemfontein’s oldest locations, notably Waaihoek and Cape Stands, were not devoid of gardens. However, the Bloemfontein municipality deemed it necessary to encourage location residents to beautify their domestic surroundings by erecting decent houses and laying out small gardens. In addition to food-only gardens, food-and-ornamental gardens became increasingly popular. Rapid urbanisation after the end of the Anglo-Boer War (1899-1902) caused a substantial increase in Bloemfontein’s black and coloured population, which resulted in overcrowding and the development of slum conditions in the locations. The municipality’s efforts to address this challenge reached a climax with the founding of Batho (1918) as one of the Union of South Africa’s first ‘model locations’.

Thanks to the efforts of influential municipal officials, Bloemfontein’s ‘model location’ was turned into a ‘garden location’ with plots made big enough to allow space for the laying out of gardens. Measures taken to encourage residents to lay out gardens paid off and, in due course, semi-vernacular location gardens – in this case, topiary gardens – were laid out in Batho. Batho’s topiary gardens may be described as simple formal axial gardens characterised by English cottage-style planting inside a formal framework. The outstanding feature of most Batho gardens was the presence of topiary, including clipped hedges, shapes and living sculpture. Essentially, an ancient European garden art was indigenised and Africanised in the location environment and, in the process, turned into a phenomenon described as ‘township topiary’. Since Batho’s founding, its gardening culture had been sustained by the transference of gardening knowledge and skills – including those related to ‘township topiary’ – from one generation of gardeners to the next.

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iii Keywords

Batho, Bloemfontein, Mangaung, the Netherlands, Britain, topiary, hedges, garden, gardening, garden layout, gardening culture, vernacular, semi-vernacular, acculturation, inter-cultural influencing, black gardener, black garden labourer, oral testimonies

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i

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

I would like to express my gratitude to the following people who have, in some way or another, contributed to this thesis:

My promoter, Dr Marietjie Oelofse, for her competent guidance, sound advice and support throughout the duration of this study;

My co-promoter, Prof. Matilda Burden, for her valuable comments and advice;

My colleagues at the National Museum’s History Department, namely Dr Hannes Haasbroek, Dr Mariaan Botes and Khotso Pudumo, for their valuable support, assistance and advice;

Sudré Havenga, Head of the National Museum’s Library and Collections Management Department (Humanities), Ina Marais and Liz de Villiers of the National Museum’s library, for their assistance and handling of research enquiries, as well as book and photograph requests;

Toni Pretorius and Christo Venter of the National Museum’s Design Department for their assistance with regard to photographs and illustrations;

Staff members of the National Museum’s Botany Department for their assistance with regard to the identification of plant species; and

Helga Streicher for the water-colour drawings of the different topiary styles.

I also wish to extend my gratitude to the staff members of the Archive for Contemporary Affairs, University of the Free State (Bloemfontein); the Bloemfontein Public Library/Adelaide Tambo Public Library (Bloemfontein); the Free State Provincial Archives (Bloemfontein); the Grey College Museum and Archives (Bloemfontein); Historical Papers, University of the Witwatersrand (Johannesburg); the Iziko Social History Institute (Cape Town); the Killie Campbell Africana Library, University of KwaZulu-Natal (Durban); Library and Information Services, University of the Free State (Bloemfontein); the National Archives and Records Service of South Africa (Pretoria); the National Archives of the Netherlands (The Hague); the National Afrikaans Literary Museum and Research Centre (Bloemfontein); the National Library of South Africa (Cape Town); and the Western Cape Archives and Records Service (Cape Town) during my research visits to and/or correspondence with these facilities;

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ii Dr Wendy Stone for the expert editing of the original manuscript;

All the Batho gardeners who welcomed me into their gardens, which they allowed me to photograph, and generously shared their gardening knowledge with me; and

My family, including my wife, Lulu du Bruyn; my mother-in-law, Joey van Vuuren; and my sister, Doré Lourens, for their encouragement and support.

This study is dedicated to my deceased parents, Hennie (1940-2011) and Elsabeth (1942-2013) du Bruyn, who have instilled in me a passion for plants and gardening.

To God all the glory. Derek du Bruyn Bloemfontein June 2018

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1

INTRODUCTION

Background

Since the onset of South Africa’s colonial period in the mid-1600s, gardening has been a popular pastime for generations of white South Africans. First, the Dutch and later the British brought a strong gardening culture and passion for gardening to South Africa. During the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries, when first the Cape of Good Hope (hereafter the Cape) and later the rest of Southern Africa were colonised by the Netherlands (the Cape only) and Britain respectively, the two mentioned countries, together with Italy and France, were the world leaders in the fields of horticulture, floriculture, arboriculture and botany. The contributions made by the French Huguenots, some of whom had brought their knowledge of viticulture to the Cape, may also be mentioned. The Dutch and British immigrants who had settled in South Africa, either permanently or temporarily are, for the purpose of this study, most important because they brought with them gardening skills and expertise that contributed substantially to the development of a strong gardening culture among South Africans.

It is important to note that the extent of knowledge and skills transferred from Europe and Britain to South Africa involved every aspect of the concepts ‘garden’ and ‘gardening’. Therefore, the above-mentioned terms should be understood within the context of their broadest possible meanings and definitions.1_{Any piece of land may be imbued with garden}

characteristics and a wide variety of gardening activities may be practised on it. A garden may be a pocket-sized piece of land consisting of a bed of sweet-peas (Lathyrus odoratus) in front of a stoep,2_{or a professionally-landscaped showpiece that covers several hectares.}

For some, a garden consists only of flowers and ornamental shrubs, while for others a garden without vegetables and a patch of maize (mealies; Zea mays) is not a proper garden. Some gardeners dream of an English cottage-style garden with ‘old-fashioned’ flowers, while a park-like garden is the ultimate fantasy for others.

1 _{For a detailed discussion of the meaning of the words ‘garden’ and ‘gardening’, see Chapter 1.}

2 _{The Afrikaans word stoep, also commonly used by English-speaking South Africans, is a vernacular}

term for a simplified version of a verandah. A stoep is typically an uncovered platform attached to a house, while a verandah is usually covered and more ornate.

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2 South Africa’s gardening culture, which had developed over the course of centuries, is the result of a process of acculturation and inter-cultural influencing3 that involved several cultures, most notably the European (including British) and African cultures. This dynamic process led to the development of a strong and unique gardening culture and tradition among South Africans. Given South Africa’s long history of colonialism and racial discrimination, its gardening culture had always been much more visible and pronounced among the European inhabitants than among the indigenous people. For centuries, South Africa’s garden owners were predominantly white but it does not mean that the black4_{and coloured}5

inhabitants were not involved in gardening. A strict and deeply-ingrained labour division, typical of most colonial societies, determined that white people were responsible for the mental labour, while people of colour were responsible for the menial labour, which typically meant manual labour. Consequently, South Africa’s racial divide also affected the world of gardens and gardening – a world in which white garden owners and black and coloured garden labourers occupied opposite sides of the labour divide. As a result, a perception developed among black people that for them, gardening was essentially manual and, by implication, menial labour, and as a pastime, gardening was the exclusive privilege of white people. Gardening required unskilled labour, which also happened to be cheap, and was mostly done by blacks6 and coloureds. For this reason, whites – the garden owners – considered garden labour so-called ‘kaffir7 work’, an English translation of the original Afrikaans term kafferwerk, which means labour of a menial and lowly nature.

The fact that South Africa’s racial divide greatly determined the different racial groups’ experiences and perceptions of gardens and gardening for centuries does not imply that black people did not consider themselves gardeners in the true sense of the word. They might have been garden labourers who worked in white people’s gardens by day but after hours many of them went home to tend their own small gardens. The labourers who turned into gardeners at home were not only males (the so-called ‘garden boys’) but also female (the so-called

3 _{For a discussion of acculturation and inter-cultural influencing, see Chapter 1.}

4 _{In this study, the word ‘black’ refers to people of African origin.}

5 _{In this study, the word ‘coloured’ refers to people of mixed race.}

6 _{In this study, the words ‘blacks’, ‘whites’ and ‘coloureds’ are used alternately with the terms ‘black}

people’, ‘white people’ and ‘coloured people’ to avoid unnecessary repetition. No negative connotations are implied.

7 _{For many years, words such as ‘kaf(f)irs’ and ‘niggers’ were regarded – and are still regarded today –}

as derogatory and unacceptable; however, in this study, they are quoted from historical sources and should be read in their historical context. No negative connotations are implied. For a discussion of this phenomenon, see Chapter 7.

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3 ‘kitchen girls’). On their small plots they laid out front and back gardens planted with flowers, shrubs, vegetables and crops. Often their gardens were modelled after those of their white employers, which were typically formal gardens laid out in the traditional style with symmetrical flower and vegetable beds. Most plants in the garden labourers’ gardens were originally obtained as cuttings from plants which grew in their employers’ gardens. Many black gardeners observed their employers and learned from them, such as Sarah Khetse (born 1944), who described her employer, a Mr Van Heerden, as a passionate gardener who inspired her to lay out her own garden in Batho,8_Mangaung’s9_{oldest existing historically}

black township.10 According to Khetse, her employer taught her everything she knew about gardening: “Ek het my ‘gardening’ dáár geleer – ek kyk hom [Van Heerden] wat doen hy.”11

The same knowledge and skills applied by black gardeners when maintaining their employers’ gardens were also applied when tending their own. Consequently, a gardening culture also developed in South Africa’s townships, mainly because of the black garden labourers’ efforts.

The current state of research on garden history

The academic study of the history of gardens, landscapes and gardening culture is an internationally-recognised discipline in its own right. Although some historians consider it a sub-discipline of history, the subject of garden history has become a well-established and independent historical genre in Britain, the USA and Europe. However, garden history is still a relatively new field of study. As recently as the 1990s, the well-known American garden historian, John Dixon Hunt, called garden history a “new branch of historical study”,12_{while Jane Brown, a British garden historian, referred to it as “a young and callow}

discipline”.13_{Garden history is a dynamic field, which evolved during the past six decades}

8 _{Batho is a Sesotho word meaning ‘people’.}

9 _{The greater-Bloemfontein area (Bloemfontein, Botshabelo and Thaba ’Nchu) is officially known as}

Mangaung, which is a Sesotho word meaning ‘place of the cheetah’. Batho forms part of the Mangaung Metropolitan Municipality.

10 _{In the South African context, the word ‘township’ means a designated living area or suburb historically}

reserved for people of African origin. For more information, see Chapter 5.

11 _{National Museum Oral History Collection, Interview conducted by H.J. du Bruyn with: Ms S. Khetse,}

Batho, 26.11.2013. “I have learnt how to garden there – I watched him [Van Heerden], what he does.” (Free translation)

12 _{J.D. Hunt, “Foreword” in J.D. Hunt (ed.), Garden history: issues, approaches, methods, p. 1.}

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4 from its narrow art and architectural-historical approach14 into a discipline with a much more inclusive and wide-ranging focus. As a result of garden history’s patrician art and architectural history provenance, this field of study traditionally focused on the gardens of Europe’s grand estates, the historical development of European garden style and the famous European and British gardeners and designers, such as André Le Nôtre, Humphry Repton, William Kent, Horace Walpole and Lancelot ‘Capability’ Brown. As happened to be the case with other sub-fields of history, including social and political history, the focus of garden history has gradually shifted from a so-called ‘top-down’ and “garden-as-art”15

approach with a focus on formal gardens and landscapes to a so-called ‘bottom-up’ approach, which made the modest domestic garden the subject of study. Although professionally-designed gardens and landscapes still receive attention from garden historians, vernacular,16 semi-vernacular and folk gardens and landscapes have also become important focal areas. Thus, the focus of garden history shifted from the professionally-designed gardens of the elite and moneyed classes to the humble non-designed gardens of ordinary people.17

Since the 1950s and 1960s, the academic standing of garden history as an independent subject has improved substantially, mainly due to the founding of garden history societies18 in Britain, the USA and Europe, as well as the launching of garden history journals on both sides of the Atlantic. These developments have not only convinced the critics and sceptics that garden history can be ‘proper’ academic history, they have also lent garden history, in the words of Kate Tiller, much needed “vigour and validity”.19_{Respected international}

journals dedicated to promoting and developing garden history scholarship include, inter

14 _{See, for example, M.L. Gothein, A history of garden art (vols 1 & 2), passim and M. Hadfield, The art}

of the garden, passim.

15 _{A. Meredith, “Horticultural education in England, 1900-40: middle-class women and private gardening}

schools”, Garden History 31(1), Spring 2003, p. 70.

16 _{For a discussion of vernacular and semi-vernacular gardens, see Chapter 2.}

17 _{M. Conan, “Introduction” in M. Conan (ed.), Perspectives on garden histories, p. 8; J. Pendlebury & F.}

Green, “Impolite landscapes? The influence of local economic and cultural factors in garden history: a case study of Tyne and Wear”, Landscape Research 23(1), 1998, pp. 5, 6, 17; K. Tiller, “Garden history at Oxford”, Garden History 24(1), Summer 1996, p. 147; J. Roberts, “The gardens of Dunroamin: history and cultural values with specific reference to the gardens of the inter-war semi”, International

Journal of Heritage Studies 1(4), 1996, p. 229; M. Bhatti & A. Church, “Home, the culture of nature

and meanings of gardens in late modernity”, Housing Studies 19(1), January 2004, p. 37; Brown, pp. 18-25; A. Claremont et al., “Going public: landscaping everyday life”, Cultural Geographies 17(2), 2010, p. 278; K. Helphand, “‘Leaping the property line’: observations on recent American garden history” in M. Conan (ed.), Perspectives on garden histories, p. 138.

18 _{For more information on the British Garden History Society, see W.T. Stearn, “The Garden History}

Society’s tenth anniversary and some historians of garden history”, Garden History 5(1), Spring 1977, pp. 42-52.

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5 alia: Studies in the History of Gardens & Designed Landscapes, Garden History and

Landscape Research.20 While British garden historians, such as Christopher Hussey,

H.F. Clark, Christopher Thacker and Susan and Geoffrey Jellicoe, dominated the field during the 1950s and 1960s, American garden historians became more prominent during the 1970s. The rise in prominence of the American scholars was preceded by the establishment of the Dumbarton Oaks School of Garden Studies near Washington, D.C. in 1969. The school’s programme in garden and landscape studies supported and stimulated advanced scholarship in garden history and landscape architecture. During the past four decades, some of garden history’s most prominent and prolific garden historians and garden writers, including Elisabeth Blair MacDougall, John Dixon Hunt, Joachim Wolschke-Bulmahn and Michel Conan, were associated with Dumbarton Oaks.21

Since the 1990s, the number of research articles on garden history published in scientific journals has increased substantially. One factor that contributed to the increase in research output is the growing tendency of inter-disciplinary and multi-disciplinary research and collaboration between garden historians and academics from other disciplines, including history, cultural history, sociology, anthropology, philosophy, geography, botany, horticulture, archaeology, environmental studies and leisure studies. Gardens and gardening are broad subjects with multiple potential focal areas; therefore, Patrick Taylor argued that “garden history, to tell the story it seeks, needs to deal with a bewildering range of subjects”.22_{A inter-disciplinary approach to the study of garden history, which will be}

discussed in more detail later as well as in Chapter 1, led to a more integrated view and an improved understanding of vernacular, semi-vernacular and other non-designed gardens and landscapes than had previously been the case.23

20 _{For more information on garden journalism and garden writing, see G. Jellicoe et al. (eds), The Oxford}

companion to gardens, pp. 212-213 and P. Taylor (ed.), The Oxford companion to the garden, pp.

181-182.

21 _{M.R. Brownell, “‘Bursting prospect’: British garden history now” in R.P. Maccubbin & P. Martin (eds),}

British and American gardens in the eighteenth century: eighteen illustrated essays on garden history,

p. 5; Conan, pp. 1, 3, 5, 8; Tiller, p. 146; Anon., “Research”, <http://www.doaks.org/research/garden_ landscape.html>, 1.3.2011 (Accessed: 6.4.2011).

22 _{Taylor (ed.), p. 178.}

23 _{Brownell, pp. 5, 9; J.D. Hunt, “Approaches (new and old) to garden history” in M. Conan (ed.),}

Perspectives on garden histories, p. 78; E. Harwood et al., “Whither garden history?”, Studies in the History of Gardens & Designed Landscapes: An International Quarterly 27(2), 2007, pp. 93, 103.

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6 An important trend noted in recent garden history research output is a significant change of focus, which should be considered part of the mentioned ‘bottom-up’ approach to garden history. As opposed to the traditional art historical approach, which focused primarily on the aesthetics of design and stylistic trends, recent research has significantly broadened garden history’s focus to include other often neglected factors and forces that shape and influence a garden’s style and appearance, including cultural, socio-economic and political factors. Inter-dependence exists between garden history and broader social and political issues. Due to the powerful influence exerted by politics and ideology on society, garden history is greatly influenced by political and ideological discourses. As a result, garden history’s main focus shifted from period gardens to, among others, contemporary issues and problems that affect or relate to gardens. In this regard, the French sociologist, Michel Conan, who is also one of garden history’s most influential and prolific scholars, argued that “cultural or social issues, paradoxes, and theoretical questions are a number of ways of establishing a problem to be analysed as the focus for historical research on gardens.”24_{This argument emphasises}

the important link between a garden’s design, the environmental and historical contexts and the factors shaping these contexts. Garden history’s significant shift in focus led to a better understanding of a garden as something that is essentially defined by its context(s) and to an understanding that the history of gardens must, above all, be understood in the context of the

wider history of society.25

Garden history in the South African context

In South Africa the study of garden history is a fairly recent development and the subject is not nearly as mature and established as in the USA, Britain and Europe. As a matter of fact, the study of historical gardens and landscapes is a much neglected subject in local academic circles. Locally, the study of garden history has been far more popular outside the academy, and garden history research has mostly been the concern of amateurs rather than professional historians. No South African university offers a degree in garden history (to be distinguished from horticultural studies), which led to a situation where in this country, as is the case in

24 _{Conan, p. 11.}

25 _{Pendlebury & Green, pp. 5-6; Hunt, “Foreword”, p. 2; Tiller, p. 146; Roberts, p. 229; Meredith, p. 70;}

Conan, pp. 5, 9, 12, 13; Hunt, “Approaches (new and old)...”, p. 81; Helphand, p. 137; K. Helphand, “Defiant gardens”, The Journal of Garden History 17(2), 1997, p. 104; B.J. Heath & A. Bennett, “‘The little spots allow’d them’: the archaeological study of African-American yards”, Historical Archaeology 34(2), 2000, p. 39.

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7 most countries, garden history, to quote Patrick Taylor, “hovers only on the margins of professional academic life.”26_{Traditionally, most garden history research conducted locally}

focused on well-known historical Cape gardens. Since the early 1900s, research had been conducted on the Company’s Garden (Kompanjiestuin), as well as other historical gardens, including the Arderne Gardens27_{and those at Bishopscourt (Bosheuwel),}28_Leeuwenhof29

and Vergelegen.30 The thorough research conducted by Mia Karsten,31 Gwen Fagan32 and Pamela Roditi33_{is particularly noteworthy. As far as the state of garden history in the rest of}

the country is concerned, the situation is worse. Some well-known Gauteng34_gardens,

including those at the Oppenheimer family’s Brenthurst Estate35_{in Johannesburg and the}

Union Buildings’ gardens36_{in Pretoria (Tshwane), have received some attention. Generally,}

it is mostly the work of prominent architects and landscape designers, such as Sir Herbert Baker (1862-1946)37 and Joane Pim (1904-1974),38 which received attention.

The study of gardens, landscapes and gardening culture still remains a seriously neglected genre in South Africa. Typically, research on issues related to tangible heritage mostly focuses on architecture and the built environment. Gardens and gardening culture are seldom the main focus of attention and, when they are mentioned, the information provided is severely limited. Currently, most academic studies on the history of gardens and gardening culture are limited to a small number of articles in accredited journals.39 Generally, very little

26 _{Taylor (ed.), p. 178. See also Hunt, “Approaches (new and old)...”, p. 78.}

27 _{A. Tredgold, The Ardernes & their garden: a family chronicle, passim.}

28 _{M. Cook, “Bosheuwel”, Simon van der Stel Foundation Bulletin 6, April 1963, p. 11.}

29 _{G. Fagan, “Leeuwenhof: restourasie van die slawehuis, bo-tuin en die werf”, Restorica 12, October}

1982, passim.

30 _{W. de Bruin, “Vergelegen: a perfect blend of past and present”, Restorica 28, 1994, passim.}

31 _{M.C. Karsten, The old Company’s Garden at the Cape and its superintendents: involving an historical}

account of early Cape botany, passim.

32 _{G. Fagan, Roses at the Cape of Good Hope, passim; G.E. Fagan, An introduction to the man-made}

landscape at the Cape from the 17th to the 19th centuries (Unpublished D.Phil. thesis, University of

Cape Town, 1994), passim.

33 _{P. Roditi, The Company’s Garden at the Cape of Good Hope (Unpublished Garden Conservation thesis,}

Architectural Association London, 1995), passim.

34 _{One of South Africa’s nine provinces and known for major cities, such as Johannesburg and Pretoria}

(Tshwane).

35 _{A.H. Smith, The Brenthurst gardens, passim.}

36 _{Anon., Die Uniegebou: die eerste 75 jaar, pp. 31-32.}

37 _{G. Viney, Colonial houses of South Africa, passim.}

38 _{J. Pim, Beauty is necessary: creation or preservation of the landscape, passim.}

39 _{See, for example, S. le Roux & G. Breedlove, “Die tuin wat Pierneef gemaak het”, South African}

Journal of Cultural History 18(1), June 2004, pp. 10-33; S.-A. Murray, “The idea of gardening: plants,

bewilderment, and indigenous identity in South Africa”, English in Africa 33(2), October 2006, pp. 45-65 and L. van Sittert, “Making the Cape Floral Kingdom: the discovery and defence of indigenous flora at the Cape ca. 1890-1939”, Landscape Research 28(1), 2003, pp. 113-129.

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8 extensive research has been conducted on the history of South Africa’s gardening culture and, particularly, that of the country’s indigenous people. One is left with the impression that black and coloured people’s gardens and gardening culture are subjects not worthy of academic study. This is especially true of the Free State40 and Bloemfontein. Apart from references to Bloemfontein’s gardens in writer and historian Karel Schoeman’s (1939-2017) historical works and novels on Bloemfontein,41 as well as in a small number of architecture scripts, dissertations and theses,42_{detailed information on the history of gardens and}

gardening in the Free State capital is scant.

The garden history of Bloemfontein’s black residents, particularly those located in Batho, is mostly an unknown aspect of local black history. Ironically, this history sheds light on much of Bloemfontein’s and Batho’s socio-cultural milieu and cultural history of the 1920s and 1930s. This study attempts to fill this void by exploring both the ‘long’ and ‘short history’ of Batho’s topiary gardens, gardeners and gardening culture. To trace the origin and history of Batho’s topiary gardens43_{they should be placed within the context of not only Batho’s}

garden history but also that of Bloemfontein and South Africa. However, it is not only necessary to explore the history of topiary gardening in Bloemfontein and South Africa but also to trace the earliest origin of topiary – a key element of British and European gardens for centuries – and how it eventually became popular among Bloemfontein’s and, eventually, Batho’s gardeners. Thus, the South African and local history of topiary should be viewed against the backdrop of the international history of gardening in general and topiary gardening in particular. The prevalence of topiary on the African continent is also taken into account and this history adds yet another dimension to topiary’s ‘long history’. It is argued that the international and African perspectives represent important aspects of the ‘long history’ of Batho’s topiary gardens.

40 _{One of South Africa’s nine provinces and previously known as the Orange Free State.}

41 _{K. Schoeman, Bloemfontein: die ontstaan van ’n stad, 1846-1946, passim; K. Schoeman, Portrait of}

Bloemfontein 1860-1910, passim; K. Schoeman, ’n Ander land, passim.

42 _{See, for example, S. Botha, Die verandering en ontwikkeling van die woonhuisargitektuur in}

Bloemfontein gedurende die tydperk 1846-1946 met bydraende faktore (Unpublished M.A. dissertation,

University of the Orange Free State, 1991), passim and C.J.S. Coetzee, Herbert Baker in die

Oranje-Vrystaat en Noord-Kaap (Unpublished B.Arch. script, University of the Orange Free State, 1975), passim.

43 _{The phrases ‘Batho’s topiary gardens’ and ‘Batho’s gardens’ will be used interchangeably throughout}

this study. References to ‘Batho’s gardens’ also imply ‘Batho’s topiary gardens’, unless indicated otherwise.

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9 Concerning the South African history of topiary, it is necessary to provide background information on the history of gardening in South Africa since the first Dutch colonists had settled at the Cape in the mid-17th century. An important aspect of this history, which may still be considered part of topiary’s ‘long history’, is the development of a preference for a garden style characterised by formality and symmetry. The taste for topiary – an important feature of the formal garden – and the development of a strong gardening culture among both white and black people since 1652 will be discussed and presented as a prologue to the development of a specific garden style and a strong gardening culture in Bloemfontein and, eventually, in Batho during the 19th and 20th centuries. For the purpose of this study, the ‘short history’ of Batho’s topiary gardens commenced with the founding of Bloemfontein in 1846 and reached a historical climax during the period 1918-1939, which is considered Batho’s ‘Golden Age’. It is argued that both the ‘long’ and ‘short histories’ of Batho’s topiary gardens form two ‘lines’ or ‘threads’ of history which do not run parallel to each other. Instead, the ‘short history’ (1846 to present) is a continuation of the ‘long history’ (1652-1846).

Thus, as indicated, this study cannot be fully understood without considering the necessary historical context because the garden histories of Batho and Bloemfontein do not stand in isolation from developments, trends and changes in garden history on both national and international levels. These dynamics directly and indirectly influenced the garden history and gardening culture of Batho. As this study aims to provide both international and local perspectives, it may be ‘read’ on different levels in the sense that it aims to be more than a history of Batho’s topiary gardens only. This wide-ranging approach, which is essentially a holistic and integrated approach to garden history, resulted in this study being a lengthy piece of work.44

Apart from the general history of gardening among Batho’s residents, other unknown aspects of this theme will also receive attention because these have not been previously researched either. One could argue that not only Batho’s garden history but also that of South African black people in general is essentially a ‘hidden’ and ‘forgotten’ history. One could also safely claim that the lives and times of black gardeners and garden labourers are mostly

44 _{For similar arguments concerning the wide-ranging approach necessary for the study of garden history,}

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10 undocumented and, therefore, unknown and mostly obscure experiences. Furthermore, little has been written on black people’s gardening culture, the horticultural education of black people in black schools and tertiary institutions, and the relationships between white employers and black garden labourers, to name a few. Added to these is the phenomenon of acculturation and inter-cultural influencing between the black and white cultures as far as garden styles and gardening knowledge are concerned. This study will address these and other neglected aspects of South Africa’s garden history.

The main research problem and research questions

The fundamental research problem of this study is essentially an attempt to understand why the style of the majority of Batho’s gardens resembles the classic European style characterised by a mostly formal layout with trimmed hedges, edges and individual plants clipped into various shapes. To date, no research has been conducted on this issue. This study will address this hiatus, trace the origin of this semi-vernacular garden style, and explain why Batho’s residents adopted it and laid out gardens that resembled those of Bloemfontein’s white residents. It is no coincidence that Batho’s gardeners developed a penchant for topiary. A holistic and integrated approach will be followed in order to arrive at certain conclusions regarding the research problem.

To adequately address the research problem, the following key research questions are posed:  Why are gardens and gardening considered expressions of culture?

 What is a vernacular garden and why are Batho’s topiary gardens described as semi-vernacular?

 What is topiary and where did this garden style originate?

 Why was topiary popular among Bloemfontein’s white inhabitants and what role did English culture and taste play in popularising it in Bloemfontein?

 When and why did a gardening culture develop in Batho?

 Who contributed to the development of a gardening culture in Batho and the turning of Batho into a garden location?

 Why and how did the practice of topiary become indigenised and Africanised in Batho?

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11  What role did so-called ‘Native education’ play in the development of a gardening

culture in Batho?

 What role did the black garden labourer play in popularising and indigenising topiary in Batho?

 What does a typical Batho topiary garden look like and which styles and forms of topiary are popular in Batho?

 What role do gardens and gardening currently play in the lives of Batho’s residents?  What are the present challenges faced by Batho’s gardeners and what does the future

hold for Batho’s topiary gardens?

These and other related questions will be dealt with in the ten chapters (the Evaluation included) that form the body of this study.

The main theme and theoretical framing of the study

The main purpose of this study is to investigate the origin, history and significance of Batho’s topiary gardens from a cultural-historical perspective. Given the main purpose, the study’s theme focuses on gardens, gardening culture and the development of a semi-vernacular garden style in Batho during the period under discussion. The study focuses on the period 1918-1939, starting with the year in which Batho was founded and ending with the year in which World War II (1939-1945) broke out. The 1920s and 1930s represent Batho’s ‘Golden Age’, the crucial inter-War period during which the township’s gardens matured and the flourishing gardening culture reached its apogee. The year 1939 is considered a symbolic watershed because, from then onwards, Batho began to deteriorate due to political and socio-economic factors. During the period 1918-1939 Batho and its immediate environment was shaped by a combination of political, ideological, cultural, social and economic factors. Today the long-term effect of these factors is visible in Batho’s tangible heritage, most notably its layout, architecture, landscape and, of course, its gardens. This study concerns itself with the combined effect of these factors on Batho’s horticultural tradition, the style of its gardens, its gardeners, as well as the development of a gardening culture among its residents. Considering the mentioned historical background and time-period, it is also necessary to explain the use of the name ‘Mangaung’ in the title and otherwise. It was decided to use ‘Mangaung’ (see earlier explanation of name’s meaning) instead of

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12 ‘Bloemfontein’ in the title because during the period under discussion (1918-1939), Bloemfontein was informally known among local black people as ‘Mangaung’ and today Bloemfontein officially forms part of the Mangaung Metropolitan Municipality.

Based on the study’s main purpose, the ultimate aim is to arrive at an understanding of why Batho’s gardens display the classical European formal garden style and how this township’s gardens and gardening culture developed throughout history. In order to explain the ‘why’ and ‘how’, the traditional historical research methodology will be used within the context of the interpretivist research paradigm or framework. The key reason for using this paradigm is that it aims to understand rather than predict human behaviour. The research conducted for this study may thus be described as interpretive and qualitative. Since the qualitative research methodology is mostly concerned with understanding the processes and cultural and social contexts which are mainly concerned with the ‘why’ questions of research and also underlie various behavioural patterns, the researcher chose it as the preferred research methodology. Furthermore, a narrative form of analysis will be applied to provide detailed accounts of the cultural phenomenon being studied. Because gardens and gardening are regarded as expressions of culture, a cultural-historical approach will also be followed. The so-called Burden model45 will be used as a theoretical framework within which the study is positioned and as a methodological tool to identify and describe Batho’s topiary gardens as cultural products in their historical context. Within this context, the relationships between the cultural product’s different dimensions, namely tangible versus intangible culture, traditional versus contemporary culture, and folk (vernacular and semi-vernacular) versus patrician culture, will be discussed. Moreover, the theories of acculturation and inter-cultural influencing will be used to explain how one culture’s influence on another affected the development of Batho’s garden style and gardening culture.46

The cultural-historical approach will be combined with a systematic survey approach to garden history, which has been successfully used by the Centre of East Anglian Studies at the University of East Anglia in Britain. This practical approach, identified as a suitable and

45 _{For more information on the Burden model, see Chapter 1, and for its application on Batho’s gardens,}

see Chapter 9. Furthermore, this model is also applied throughout the thesis.

46 _{J.W. Creswell, Qualitative inquiry & research design: choosing among five approaches, pp. 19-21,}

35-37; J.W. Creswell, Research design: qualitative, quantitative, and mixed methods approaches, pp. 4, 12-13, 61-64, 74-75; D. Wahyuni, “The research design maze: understanding paradigms, cases, methods and methodologies”, Jamar 10(1), 2012, pp. 70-71; V.A. Anfara & N.T. Mertz, Theoretical frameworks

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13 workable approach for the study of Batho’s gardens, involves the selection and assessment of a substantial number of gardens – in this case, topiary gardens – in a restricted geographically-identified area, such as Batho. The systematic survey approach emphasises the argument that the history of gardens and landscapes cannot be separated from the wider history of society, that is, the historical context.47_{Therefore, the mentioned approach stresses}

the need for identifying the cultural, socio-economic and political factors that influenced the history of the gardens being studied. The need for identifying the factors that influenced the history of gardens being studied also relates to the argument mentioned earlier, namely that a garden is something that is essentially defined by its context(s). The importance of a contextualised understanding of gardens will be discussed in more detail in upcoming chapters.

The systematic survey approach also advocates a multi-source approach,48 namely the consulting of a wide variety of sources, including archival sources (private and public), published sources (books and articles), newspapers, photographs, paintings, drawings, maps, plans, oral testimonies and fieldwork notes. Regarding the sources in general, a qualitative approach will be followed. This approach will be applied in the interpretation and analysis of the sources collected for this study. This study aims to provide a detailed explanation and description of the ‘why’ and ‘how’ of the theme under discussion on the basis of the sources consulted.49 Finally, the researcher decided to follow a thematic-chronological approach by presenting the research results according to specific themes, and wherever possible, the research results are structured chronologically within the respective themes.

47 _{T. Williamson, “Garden history and systematic survey” in J.D. Hunt (ed.), Garden history: issues,}

approaches, methods, pp. 60-61, 67.

48 _{For more information on the multi-source approach, see Williamson, p. 63.}

49 _{Williamson, pp. 60-61, 67; Wahyuni, pp. 70-72, 75-76; J. Neill, “Qualitative versus quantitative}

research: key points in a classic debate”, <http://www.wilderdom.com/research/Qualitative VersusQuantitativeResearch.html>, 28.2.2007 (Accessed: 8.7.2011); Creswell, Qualitative inquiry &..., pp. 39, 41; Creswell, Research design: qualitative..., p. 4; D. Lambert, Researching a garden’s history

from documentary and published sources, pp. 2, 8-13; J. Phibbs, “An approach to the methodology of

recording historic landscapes”, Garden History 11(2), Autumn 1983, pp. 170-172; M. Batey, “The archives of garden history”, Archives XVIII(80), October 1988, pp. 199-203; M. Laird, “The interpretation of archival sources in garden restoration”, Archives XVIII(80), October 1988, pp. 204-207.

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14

The chapters and their themes

This study consists of ten chapters in total, excluding the Introduction. The first three chapters provide the necessary background information to contextualise Batho’s topiary gardens and gardening culture. Chapters 4 to 9 may only be fully understood and contextualised when viewed against the backdrop provided by the information in Chapters 1 to 3. Chapter 1 focuses on gardens and gardening as expressions of culture. Chapter 2 focuses on the vernacular and non-designed garden as opposed to the professionally-designed garden. This chapter explains what a vernacular garden is and why Batho’s topiary gardens are considered vernacular and, more specifically, semi-vernacular. Chapter 3, which relates to Chapter 2, deals with the ‘long history’ of Batho’s topiary gardens. This chapter focuses on the age-old international taste for topiary and how this garden style has developed since Roman times. Chapter 3 also examines the history of topiary in South Africa and how it became a highly influential garden style – first among the white inhabitants and later among the black garden labourers and black gardeners. The unique role played by the slaves and ‘free blacks’ in the development of a gardening culture and the preference for a formal garden style at the Cape, is also investigated.

Chapters 4 to 9 focus, among others, on the historical development, characteristics and significance of Batho’s topiary gardens. First Bloemfontein’s and then Batho’s gardens and gardening culture and the relation between the two are discussed in detail. Chapter 4 deals with topiary in Bloemfontein’s gardens and the local gardening culture. The influence of British (English) culture and taste on the style of Bloemfontein’s gardens is discussed because British culture had exerted a strong influence on Batho’s gardens and gardening culture. Chapter 5 focuses on various aspects related to Batho’s history and how it relates to that of Bloemfontein. The founding of Batho as South Africa’s first so-called ‘model location’ and the role that gardens and aesthetic considerations played in the model location philosophy, receive special attention. The layout of Batho as a model location with so-called ‘garden facilities’ for all houses is discussed, as well as the role played by the Superintendent of Locations. In Chapter 6, the focus shifts to the role of so-called ‘Native education’ in stimulating an interest in gardening among Bloemfontein’s black learners and students. Chapter 7 explores the role of the black garden labourer in Bloemfontein’s and Batho’s garden history. It is argued that the black garden labourer, who formed part of the black servant class, became a key player in promoting a gardening culture in Batho.

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15 Chapter 8 focuses on the development of a gardening culture in Batho during the period 1918 to 1939. It will be explained that the development of Batho’s gardening culture was stimulated by both a desire among certain location residents to lay out gardens and by the initiatives of key municipal officials. In Chapter 9, Batho’s gardens and specifically the development of ‘township topiary’ as an indigenised and Africanised version of the classical garden style, are discussed and a detailed description of Batho’s topiary gardens is provided. The different categories of ‘township topiary’ and its characteristics and functions are examined. This chapter also focuses on the role that Batho’s topiary gardens played and continues to play in the lives of their owners. In Chapter 10, the final chapter, the research findings are evaluated and concluding perspectives presented.

As previously stated, this thesis is longer than the average doctoral study due to the nature of the theme as well as the holistic and integrated approach followed by the researcher. Furthermore, the theme covers an extensive historical period which cannot be adequately understood without providing the necessary background and contextual information. The same argument applies to the length of specific chapters, notably Chapter 2 and Chapter 5. These chapters provide the foundation on and the background against which the other chapters must be viewed. Ultimately, this study aims to provide a comprehensive account of the theme.

The types of sources used

It was a challenge to source substantial and useful historical information on South African gardens and gardening in conventional historical sources. Finding historical information on black people’s gardens and gardening culture proved to be even more difficult. References to gardens, gardeners, gardening and other related aspects in local historical records are scattered and have to be traced in widely dissimilar sources. Useful information is often limited to a single sentence or a short paragraph in a source. Locating such information was also a challenge because few indices and other finding aids contain references to gardens and gardening. Therefore, it was almost impossible to trace references to gardens and gardening other than reading through entire books and manuscripts. This problem, which

Gardens, gardening culture and the development of a semi-vernacular garden style in Batho, Mangaung, 1918-1939: a historical perspective