LANDSCAPE
The Cape Region forms a small area on the southwestern tip of the African continent. This landscape has ancient mountain ranges that have weathered over millions of years into acidic sandy soils low in nutrients which are critical for plant growth. The Cape Region is renowned for its showy and diverse flora and is unlike that of any other area of the world. The characteristic vegetation is fynbos, an evergreen shrubland dominated by the family Proteaceae and a diverse assemblage of small-leaved shrubs. A second important community is renosterveld, a low shrubland which occurs on richer soils. Herbaceous geophytes (i.e. plants with bulbs, tubers, or other fleshy underground organs) are a notable plant group in both communities. Woodland and forest communities are rare.

HUMAN HISTORY
Human history in the Cape Region of South Africa dates back as much as 150,000 years, with evidence of active hunter-gatherer tribes in the region 21,000 years ago. Bushmen occupied the area until the 17th century when European settlers arrived. Although little or no agriculture was possible on the poor fynbos soils, the Dutch brought French Huguenot settlers in the late 17th century to produce wine grapes on the richer renosterveld soils. Many of our common garden bulbs including gladiolus, watsonia, freesia, agapanthus, and calla lily are native to this region.