Influence of socioeconomic status on design of Batswana home gardens and associated plant diversity patterns in northern South Africa

Over the last two decades, home garden studies have markedly increased in both developed and developing countries. However, garden design and its influence on the overall biodiversity of the urban green infrastructure remains a neglected aspect of home garden research. Home garden surveys were conducted in the North West and Gauteng Provinces of South Africa to contribute to this research focus. The two questions asked in this paper were: (1) Are Batswana garden designs associated with socioeconomic status (SES)? (2) Are the different garden designs characterized by specific plant species richness patterns? We hypothesized that SES influences garden design and that, as the SES of Batswana residents increases, the garden design changes from tshimo to colonial. Our results indicated that garden design reflected less cultural influences and took on a more Westernized colonial design appearance with improvement of SES of Batswana inhabitants. Tshimo gardens tended to have more native and utilitarian species. In contrast, colonial gardens have more alien ornamental species. In affluent areas, sampled Batswana gardens completely changed from a tshimo to colonial garden design. This change indicates that improved socioeconomic status overrides traditional cultural practices.