ONE of South Africa's finest succulent collections is housed in the Johannesburg Botanic Gardens, but you'll have to make an appointment to see it.

Visitors must make an appointment to see the succulent houses at Johannesburg Botanic Gardens

The collection consists of South African succulents as well as plants from Namibia, Madagascar, Zimbabwe, Ethiopia, Saudi Arabia, the Canary Islands, Europe, Asia and the Americas. The succulents are housed in six glasshouses - pots and pots and pots of beautiful, bulbous plants.

This is just one of the treasures at the 81-hectare Botanic Gardens, one of the city's many green lungs and a popular weekend unwind spot for Johannesburgers.

The land for the gardens was set aside in 1969 - at the time it was a sports field and golf driving range consisting of bare veld and no trees.

Now it consists of large grassy open spaces scattered with trees and used by runners, picnickers and dog walkers. It hosts the occasional concert season and kite-flying competitions, and visitors to its special gardens - the Shakespeare Garden, the Rose Garden, the Herb Garden, a Hedge Demonstration Garden and the main arboretum which houses family groupings of plants and trees of South Africa and the rest of the world.

The Shakespeare Garden is planted with herbs referred to by Shakespeare in his plays, including mint, camomile, marjoram and lavender. Each plant is labelled, and includes the quote referring to the particular plant. Each year a Shakespeare festival comprising song, music and comedy is held in the garden to celebrate his birthday. The audience sits on a circular amphitheatre in very pleasant surroundings.

The Rose Garden was laid out by curator Patric Chambers in 1964 and is planted with 10 000 roses in seven sloping terraces. It is based on a Renaissance/Baroque garden, and every year an old bed is cleared and planted with the newest roses on the market. This garden is surrounded by Japanese flowering cherries, and together with the roses, it makes a breathtaking setting in spring. Wedding parties often take advantage of this splendour for their photograph albums.

The Herb Garden contains the usual herbs but also a section devoted to African medicinal herbs, as well as culinary herbs, cosmetic herbs, oil-yielding herbs and herbs used for the production of dyes.

An interesting hedge garden consists of 58 different types of hedges, demonstrating those that require trimming and those growing in free form.

The main arboretum has a mix of Californian Redwoods, English oaks, silver birches and cork oaks from Spain and Portugal.

The 81-hectare Botanic Gardens form one of Johannesburg's vital green lungs

The broader gardens contain an attractive mix of bunched indigenous and exotics surrounded by lawns, overlooking the 7.5-hectare Emmarentia Dam, which dates back to the turn of the century, popular with canoeists and boaters. There is also a tea pergola and a floreum for meetings, shows and exhibitions.

The dam is fed by two smaller dams above it, which are home to many aquatic birds.

There is also a collection of over 3 500 pressed plant specimens of both exotic and indigenous flora and an extensive horticultural reference library of some 4 000 volumes, open for researchers.

The gardens have lots of plans for the future, pending funds. One of the most exciting is the Prehistoric Garden, where a number of Yellowwood trees have already been planted. The object will be to show how the species changed when the continents divided, with a different species growing in South America.

Pots and pots and pots of beautiful, bulbous plants ... The succulent collection at Johannesburg Botanic Gardens

A wonderful collection of cycads in the nursery will be transferred to this garden when it is developed. The evolution of flora will be demonstrated, plus fossil remains of trees and fungi.

Other future plans include plant display houses, in particular for the succulents, a touch and smell garden, and the expansion of the herb garden. A two-kilometre perimeter fence for the broader area is also planned.

The Botanic Gardens is involved in a seed exchange programme with 300 other gardens worldwide. Seeds can be ordered from their website .

Wide open green spaces, splashes of water, trees galore, roses, succulents, herbs, birds ... perfect for a big city like Johannesburg.