Indigenous Plants And A Limited Colour Scheme

Indigenous plants and a limited colour scheme define this well-planned garden.

- Marié Esterhuyse

Trish Guilhermino refrained from changing her garden until she’ddone some careful planning. “The first year after we moved in, I spent hours – at different times of the day – in the garden observing the movement of the sun and the shadows during the different seasons and which plants were thriving or struggling.”

She did rough sketches, using the house plans and Google Earth to get an idea of the unusual shape of the property. And then she started clearing. “I removed the plants that were dotted all over the lawn, two long hedges in the middle of nowhere and about a dozen Tibouchinas. The plants that were removed were shredded and turned into compost and mulch,” she says. The next step was to create garden rooms leading from one to the other.

Since the soil in large parts of the garden was extremely poor, Trish incorporated loads of compost; in some areas the compost was mixed with river sand to improve drainage. She also started planting trees to create privacy and a habitat for birds. Now she loves watching the wildlife in the treetops from her entertainment area.

Form, texture, colour

“I actually had no budget for the garden. The money I did have went on labour costs and felling unwanted trees. I would ask for trees as birthday gifts and got cuttings of the plants I was looking for from friends. I was quite specific about what I wanted to plant.”

Trish says form, texture and colour determined her choices. “I limited my colour scheme in the different garden rooms as it is restful on the eye. It is very easy for a garden to look like a fruit salad.”