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Bringing The Family Together

A little while ago Paul’s Plantscapes had the privilege of re-landscaping a large garden in Kloof. The customer asked us to create a garden for the whole family, a space they could enjoy and use to entertain friends without interrupting the large level lawn areas. We therefore had to utilise the large banks for planting.

A kitchen garden was placed at the back of the property, comprising of mondo grass and paving under the washing line and in front of the wash sinks. A terrace above the retaining wall was used for planting fruit trees, herbs and vegetables, utilising permaculture ideas such as inter-planting with companion plants and mulching with Eucalyptus bark chips. A sleeper stairway leads you up to the kitchen garden where a gravel pathway takes you under the fruit trees. A pit was dug at the back to recycle organic material and make compost to be used within the garden.

In the front garden is a large bank going down to the boundary wall where we have planted a formal hedge of Tecomaria capensis and Freylinia tropica . The top of the bank we planted Carissa macrocapa interspaced with Aloe ferox. To break the dark green, Sheenas gold was planted around the focal Aloes. Two flights of sleeper steps on either side of the bank lead down to a gravel pathway which is lined with boulders. Following the path leads you through the garden past a water feature and to a seated bench area where you can sit and enjoy the tranquillity of the garden. The water feature was created by making our own large concrete bowls which cascade from one to the next. Being a very large bank, we have kept the planting simple using indigenous groundcovers, grasses and feature aloes.

A formal fire pit area was built in the far corner opposite the pool using bricks and cladding with a floor of cobble stones. Planting with Plectranthus hedging and River indigo trees created a lovely peaceful area for entertaining.

The whole lawned area was edged with cobble stones to match the colouring of the house and a feature façade of the house was cladded in the same cladding as the fire pit to create continuity.

A feature was created at the top of the driveway by building an intingu pole screen and planting up some colourful pots. This created a point of interest when driving up the driveway as well as screening off the kitchen garden and jojo tanks at the back.

In the shadier sections of the garden, Plectranthus ecklonii and Mackaya bella have been planted to create a screen from the neighbouring properties. In the sunnier sections, Tecomaria capensis and Freylinia tropica were used.

Our customers’ feedback on their garden has been positive. They have commented saying how the new garden has brought the family together as they now spend time walking the pathways together and socialising around the fire pit. They have also noticed a drastic increase in the number of butterflies and birds visiting the garden as 90% of the plants we used were indigenous. They are also loving the fact that they are able to use fresh herbs and vegetables from their garden in their daily meals.

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The Gardener