garden, noun

Forms:
Also with small initial.
1. [see quotation 1913.] In the phrases the Garden Colony, the Garden Province, the Garden of South Africa, etc.: a. the colony of Natal (now KwaZulu-Natal); b. the Province of KwaZulu-Natal (formerly called Natal); c. the southern part of KwaZulu-Natal.
1877 J. Noble S. Afr. 319Natal, the garden colony of South Africa — covers an area of 20,212 square miles.
1896 Purvis & Biggs S. Afr. 231The new Natal Franchise Bill..certainly does not give unqualified satisfaction in the Garden Colony so far as Press comment is any guide.
1904 O. Thomas Agric. & Pastoral Prospects of S. Afr. 197 (Swart)Natal, commonly called ‘The Garden of South Africa’, with which Zululand now is incorporated.
1908 D. Blackburn Leaven 205The mine compound is..the preserve of the Natalian..for the..reason that the youth of the miscalled ‘Garden Colony’ are the only South Africans who learn native languages.
1913 C. Pettman Africanderisms 181Garden Colony, The, This designation has been given to Natal on account of the variety and beauty of its flora.
c1936 S. & E. Afr. Yr Bk & Guide 24The scenery of Southern Natal, ‘the Garden of South Africa,’..is certainly as beautiful as any to be found in this part of the continent.
1937 C. Birkby Zulu Journey 26The scene is ever green — a common-place for people who live in the ‘Garden Colony’, but a benison on the eyes of those who come from that greater part of Africa which is brown all over.
1953 D. Rooke S. Afr. Twins 13Natal is known as the Garden Colony of South Africa because of its beautiful vegetation.
1973 A.F. Hattersley in Std Encycl. of Sn Afr. VIII. 47Natal,..On account of its fertility it is known as the Garden Province.
2. [see quotation 1989.] In the phrase the Garden Route: the major road and railway line between Cape Town and Port Elizabeth (now Gqeberha), especially the section between Swellendam and Humansdorp, known for its scenic beauty; the coastal belt through which this route passes.
1934 Star 12 May (Swart)A mail-boat express between Cape Town and Port Elizabeth, via the Garden route, will start on June 4.
1936 Cambridge Hist. of Brit. Empire VIII. 793Between 1902 and 1906 about eleven hundred miles of new lines were completed, opening up the old ‘Garden’ waggon route from Cape Town through Mossel Bay and Oudtshoorn to Port Elizabeth.
1950 H. Gibbs Twilight in S. Afr. 128He goes by car from Cape Town, along the aptly-named ‘Garden Route’, cutting across the top of False Bay to Somerset West, to Caledon and Riversdale and Mossel Bay, along the National Road.
1955 A. Delius Young Trav. in S. Afr. 112The next stage of the Wisleys’ journey lay over the ‘garden route’, the six-hundred-odd-mile stretch of south coastal belt which lay between Cape Town on the west and Port Elizabeth on the east.
1969 I. Vaughan Last of Sunlit Yrs 47I came into Cape Town through the Garden Route,..which, by rail, as well as by road, has always proved an attractive and absorbing path across the southern peak of Africa.
1971 Golden Fleece (S. Afr. Wool Board) JunePlettenberg Bay, with its lovely unspoilt beaches, has grown from a tiny fishing hamlet into one of the fastest growing seaside resorts along the Garden Route.
1987 C. Sawyer in Style Feb. 84Rediscover the Garden Route’s idyllic beaches and holiday magic.
1989 P.E. Raper Dict. of Sn Afr. Place Names 172Garden Route,..Named thus because of the beautiful scenery...It has also been suggested..that the name is derived from the surname Gardiner, an entrepreneur, engineer or railway official during the early stages of the New Cape Railway Company.
1992 Living Feb. 112So on to the Fairest Cape...They hired a car to travel along the Garden Route from Cape Town to Port Elizabeth.
the colony of Natal (now KwaZulu-Natal);
the Province of KwaZulu-Natal (formerly called Natal);
the southern part of KwaZulu-Natal.
In the phrase the Garden Route:the major road and railway line between Cape Town and Port Elizabeth (now Gqeberha), especially the section between Swellendam and Humansdorp, known for its scenic beauty; the coastal belt through which this route passes.
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