Portfolio: Contemporary
This is a garden we designed and installed in Cape Town. The brief was to create something that would cause people to stop their cars in the street and stare. As the house was very close to the beach, we could not use much plant material to create an impact, so we decided to make use of pots and water.
On one side of the property three blue pots overflow with water, which seems to disappear into the paving.
The owner of the house actually had a few people complaining about the waste of water – she had to explain that there is an underground reservoir, and that she does not have a tap running all day long!
From this feature, a curve of white pebbles breaks up the expanse of black cobblestone paving, leading the eye to the front door of the home that is surrounded by a koi pond, with three pots that seem to be floating on the water, this time with plants in them.
On the other side of the home (to carry the theme of pots through) we placed a large pot on its side which simply overflows into a bed of pebbles. Again, scale was important here – this pot is large enough for a grown man to sit in!
Waterkloof Ridge
This is a garden in Pretoria that we have totally redone. It all came together beautifully with very positive shapes being formed.
The large rock pillar on the pavement is a declared monument, therefore we suggested that the clients lower the height of their existing wall so that this pillar can be seen better. We then built three concurring rock pillars within the garden.
Northcliff, Johannesburg
The slope of this garden used to be the same as the driveway, which we repaved in cobble to modernize it. We built a circular retaining wall that wraps around the house, creating a level lawn area. Before this, the entire garden was unlivable as there was no level area.
The client hated their house, which looked old and dated. We were given total carte blanche, and fortunately the client was very accepting of our ideas, as we could really go all-out to create something amazing.
The front entrance to the house was turned into a focal point, with two Anton Smit sculptures brought in on either side of the door. We then started renovating their bathrooms! We turned them into modern living spaces, with glass walls opening up into outdoor courtyards filled with lush plants. From drab old 1960’s style tiles, with frightfully coloured baths and basins, the house was transformed.
We could not have achieved this without the client’s trust, and we were fortunate that they had the patience and confidence in us.
Waterkloof
Waterkloof – Pretoria. Another difficult garden on a strange slope. We played around with juxtaposition in this garden.
Going for very formal straight lines, which we then broke totally by pulling a winding, serpentine pathway through the garden, almost like a river. This created an interesting walkway through the plants. At one point the “river” flows over the lawn, where the brick edges cross over, giving the feeling of a stream.