A natural choice

Wildflowers and veld grasses ensure that this garden blends seamlessly with its surroundings.

- Marié Brody

IIinda du Preez wanted a garden that looked and felt like the veld. “I’ve always loved a natural garden, so when I stroll through mine I want to be surrounded by wildflowers and grasses just as it would be in nature,” she says.

“One of the conditions of the estate where we live is that 50% of the erf’s total area must remain natural veld – the house, swimming pool, garden and any other built structure may not cover more than half of the property.”

Linda says that any plants used in the garden should by and large be indigenous to the Highveld. “The estate’s goal is to preserve the grasslands and natural vegetation of the area, so a veld garden was the logical choice for us.”

Since the estate requires a landscape designer to lay out the garden, they enlisted the help of Brenda Niehaus of Fern Design and Lily Landscaping. Brenda and Ilinda planned the garden together and both felt that the ‘landscaped’ part should blend as seamlessly as possible with the veld around it.

Indigenous veld garden

“We started the garden on the veld side, planting agapanthus, crane flower, fairy bell, mauve nemesia, bulbs and ornamental grasses,” explains Brenda. “Gongoni grass that grows abundantly in the veld was repeated in the garden, while other ornamental grasses were planted to complement it.”

Ilinda likes working in her garden and has learned with time which plants survive in this climate with its severe frost.