• SOWING THE SEEDS...
    Of great ideas, landscapes, and beautiful estates.

Celebrate France's National Day...

And the French love for wonderful gardens


Join Keith on an unforgettable July 2019 visit to some of France’s finest gardens. This trip is planned to coincide with the height of the European flowering season, and Bastille Day (which commemorates the French Revolution of 1789).

With Keith as your guide, explore the most beautiful examples of the French horticultural style. The tour includes the spectacular formal gardens of Vaux-le-Vicomte just outside Paris and the world-renowned garden festival at Chaumont-sur-Loire.

Your French sojourn culminates at La Creuzette where you’ll join in the Bastille Day celebrations and enjoy a starlit feast in the shimmering park, with an open-air concert accompanied by fireworks and champagne

Liberté, égalité, flowers!

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Major Projects

For the love of landscapes – and landscapes you’ll love.


Welcome to the world of Keith Kirsten Horticulture International (KKHI). As South Africa’s leading specialist horticultural and major project management company, we focus on stunning landscapes, from conceptualisation through creation to long-term upkeep.

Our projects are noted for their environmental sustainability – especially in our use of indigenous and appropriate species. If you can dream it, we can design, plant it and bring it to life. We always take a long-term view and we’re conscious that the landscapes we create must be beautiful and useful long after we have gone.

We also have the honour of representing some of the world’s leading horticultural brands. This has given us the opportunity to introduce many new plant varieties to South African gardeners – our contribution to the creation of a multi-coloured, multicultural Rainbow Nation.

Love is a ROSE that blooms forever

Celebrate Madiba’s love for his people.


2018 marks the centenary of the birth of Nelson Mandela and in celebration of his legacy, Keith Kirsten is honoured to have been tasked with leading the team that selected the Nelson Mandela rose, which is now available in South Africa ahead of its worldwide launch. For Keith, this was the culmination of a long friendship with Madiba, and this striking new rose gives every South African gardener the chance to honour our late President in gardens and parks across the country he worked so hard to unite.

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Mission Statement

To be South Africa’s leading horticultural project management company, working with the earth to create sustainable, authentic landscapes. At the same time, to inspire all gardeners to be more enthusiastic and confident in their planting choices, by supplying the best information, plants, and resources to empower them to grow their own gorgeous gardens, on whatever scale.

Vision Statement

A world in which exterior design is a key factor in resource management decisions, so that all South Africans can live in a more colourful world, and live, work and play surrounded by the glories of our indigenous plants and trees for the good of their health and wellbeing, and that of our planet.

Who we are

Keith Kirsten: green fingers that have helped a nation grow.


Appropriately enough, Keith Kirsten is an indigenous South African. Through his frequent media appearances, he has done more than perhaps anyone else to make gardening the popular pastime it is today. Even more than gardening itself, Keith loves to share his passion for gardening with fellow veterans and novices alike.

This shines through in every word of Keith’s many gardening books. His published titles have been hugely influential and while he may not have designed every garden you enjoy, you may be forgiven for thinking that he has – his ideas have been that influential.

Keith also proved to be adept at business, with the chain of gardening centres he founded back in the 1970s flourishing and providing him with the opportunity to start “KKHI”. Most companies claim to have a vision; very few actually play a significant role in shaping the spaces in which we will work and play in the future. Today, KKHI focuses on increasing the number of plant varieties available in South Africa and managing major greenfield and brownfield landscape projects at home and overseas.

As well as winning the affection of generations of gardeners, Keith’s flair for garden design has been recognised at the Stuttgart IGA and the internationally renowned Chelsea Flower Show.

Keith retains his unique ability to envision how a landscape will change over the years, and to assist that change in the most positive way. His talent for transforming green spaces naturally means that he has great hope for the future of South Africa, which he sees as fertile soil for progress of every kind. Much like his approach to gardening, Keith feels that we will only achieve our full potential as a nation if we all work together and aren’t afraid to get our hands a little dirty.

Keith has been able to use his influence as a power for good by representing multiple causes he believes in. When he isn’t encouraging us to save water and grow more organic veggies, he can most often be found in the gardens around his River Lodge Farm. This is a project that’s very close to his heart – as are his green-pawed dogs Fuchsia, Namib and Luna.

Meet our family

From green shoots to hearts of oak!


We’re a close-knit team who have grown together through the seasons. Come rain or shine, we’re always there for each other to lend a hand and give shade or support as needed. We like nothing better than to see gardens and people bloom and reach their full potential. It’s what gets us out of bed and into the beds each day. One set of green fingers can transform a garden, but many green hands working together can change the world.