Online Reporter
Africa Moyo-Deputy National Editor
WHEN Tom Müller arrived in Zimbabwe in the early 1960s, he was confronted with a challenge that would define much of his life’s work.
The challenge was to turn degraded land into landscapes that could conserve the country’s botanical heritage while serving the public.
Over the next five decades, the Swiss-born horticulturist left his mark through a succession of major horticultural, botanical and conservation projects, the most enduring being the development of the National Botanic Gardens in Harare.
Müller, who died in April 2026 aged 93, did not simply establish gardens.
He developed landscapes, built plant collections, documented indigenous flora and mentored generations of horticulturists, botanists and ecologists.
His former colleagues now remember him as a man whose influence extended well beyond the gardens he designed.
Building Harare’s botanical jewel
Müller’s most significant project was the transformation of Alexandra Park in Harare into the National Botanic Gardens.
When he took on the assignment in the early 1960s, the site was largely degraded woodland rather than the extensive botanical landscape that exists today.
Working from the ecological character of the site, Müller gradually developed the Gardens into a major repository of Zimbabwean plant diversity.
Rather than imposing a European gardening model on the landscape, he studied the country’s natural vegetation and sought to reproduce its different ecological communities.
The result was a garden that became both a public attraction and an important resource for botanical research and conservation.
Today, the National Botanic Gardens form part of the country’s botanical heritage and remains closely associated with Müller’s name and vision.
More than ornamental gardening
According to Mr Jonathan Timberlake, Müller’s contribution to Zimbabwe extended beyond the National Botanic Gardens.
“His work included the design and development of private and institutional landscapes, as well as the establishment and curation of plant collections,” wrote Mr Timberlake in an article dedicated to Müller.
“His scientific background distinguished him from conventional landscape designers.”
Before coming to Zimbabwe, Müller had worked at the Natural History Museum in London, where he contributed to Flora Zambesiaca, the major botanical work covering the flora of the Zambezi region.
That experience shaped his approach in Zimbabwe.
“He treated gardens as living collections and places of research rather than simply decorative spaces,” said Mr Timberlake.
Müller’s work extended far beyond the National Botanic Gardens. In the 1970s, he conducted extensive plant-collecting expeditions across Southern Africa.
He later landscaped iconic sites including Heroes Acre, the Harare International Conference Centre, Sheraton Hotel, Elephant Hills Hotel, Kingdom Hotel, Westgate Shopping Centre and Nkulumane Shopping Centre. From the mid-1990s to mid-2000s, he advised on vegetation surveys, ecological baselines and post-mining restoration.
His achievements earned him the 1994 Presidential Award for Biology and Conservation and an honorary Doctor of Science degree from the University of Zimbabwe in 1995.
Colleagues remembered Müller’s willingness to investigate plants in their natural habitats, question established practices and share what he learnt with younger professionals.
Those recollections form part of a remembrance of Müller published in Kirkia, Volume 20(1), 2026, which documents the contribution he made to botanical and horticultural work in Zimbabwe.
Mentor to a generation
For many of those who worked alongside him, Müller’s greatest contribution was not confined to any particular landscape.
It was the knowledge he passed on.
He was known for spending time with colleagues and younger horticulturists, explaining plant behaviour, ecological relationships and the reasoning behind particular landscape designs.
His colleagues also remembered his independence of thought, as he was prepared to experiment, challenge accepted practice and learn from failure.
That approach helped establish a generation of Zimbabwean horticulturists and botanists who understood the importance of indigenous vegetation and conservation.
The recollections published in Kirkia portray a professional whose influence was as much personal as it was institutional.
Conserving Zim’s botanical heritage
Müller’s work came at a time when indigenous vegetation was often viewed primarily as something to be cleared or replaced by formal gardens.
He took a different view.
Through the National Botanic Gardens and other projects, he demonstrated that Zimbabwe’s indigenous landscapes could themselves form the basis of sophisticated, beautiful and scientifically valuable gardens.
Therefore, his work contributed to a broader appreciation of native trees, shrubs and other plants.
The Gardens became a place where members of the public could encounter the country’s diverse flora while researchers and students could study plant species and ecological communities.
A legacy still growing
Müller spent more than half a century in Zimbabwe.
His legacy is now visible in the trees, landscapes and collections that remain after him, but also in the people he taught and influenced.
The National Botanic Gardens is perhaps the clearest expression of that legacy, says Mr Timberlake.
What began as degraded woodland was transformed, over decades, into one of Harare’s most important green spaces and a major repository of Zimbabwe’s botanical heritage.
For colleagues remembering him in Kirkia, however, Müller was more than the man who built a garden.
He was a horticulturist who combined science with design, a conservationist who understood the value of indigenous vegetation, and a mentor who freely shared his knowledge.
His contribution cannot therefore be measured simply by the number of gardens he designed or plants he cultivated.
It lives on in the landscapes he created, the professionals he influenced and the continuing work of conserving Zimbabwe’s botanical heritage.
Mr Timberlake says Müller may have left the soil, but much of the landscape he shaped continues to grow.
Müller is survived by his two daughters Anita and Amanda.
