Keith Kirsten

Keith Kirsten is one of South Africa’s best known gardeners and  a world-acclaimed horticulturalist. He has informed and inspired gardening enthusiasts for more than 30 years, on television and through the publication of many gardening books. These include Gardening with Keith Kirsten, Bonsai Success in Southern Africa, Keith Kirsten’s Gardening Solutions, Handy Hints for SA Plant Lovers, Down to Earth Garden Plants and Flowers, Flora – A Gardener’s Encyclopaedia, Wennerwenke vir die Tuin, Garden Almanac, Blooming Ideas, Garden of Plants and Flowers and Create a Garden. In Gardens to Inspire, Keith introduces 25 South African gardens, chosen for their ‘wow’ factor.

He has rekindled a passion to return the South African environment to its original biodiversity by popularising the planting of indigenous species but admits that he is not a purist. He also promotes the planting of non-invasive exotics such as new roses and other flowering ornamental plants and foliage.