Meticulous site planning and the careful selection of salt- and wind-tolerant plants were the key to success in this tough hill-top Plettenberg Bay garden.
There’s a sense that the world lies at your feet here, with majestic views that take in Robberg and the deep blue Indian Ocean beyond, but this certainly is a challenging place in which to garden! Not only is it rocky, making it nigh impossible for large, protective trees to grow, but it is also constantly exposed to salt-laden winds and breezes. And as if this weren’t enough, rain is unpredictable, Plettenberg Bay having recently experienced four years of drought. So it’s all the more remarkable that award-winning landscaper Graham von Hoesslin has been able to create such a beautiful garden in this spot, with soft forms and textures that belie the tough coastal environmental conditions. It’s a testimony to his skill as a landscaper who has applied his considerable horticultural knowledge, partly acquired through having trained and worked at prestigious institutions like RHS Wisley in England, to his deep experience of gardening in the specific conditions of Plettenberg Bay and the wider Garden Route region.
The design brief
Denne historien er fra December 2016-utgaven av The Gardener.
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Denne historien er fra December 2016-utgaven av The Gardener.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
Allerede abonnent? Logg på
FIRE AND Feathers!
On a dreary winter's day, a screen of fiery and feathery leaves puts up a fight against dullness!
GET THE ladies in!
At this time of year, early-flowering shrubs vie with each other to get the most attention. We say: Trust those with female names for frills and butterflies. They go the extra mile to flower their hearts out.
Vegetable Soups and dumplings
Vegetables make the most delicious soups and classic combinations are always a winner.
Yummy sweet potatoes for your good health
Boiled, baked or braaied, sweet potatoes (Ipomoea batatas) are a delicious and healthy winter comfort food. Just a dollop of butter, a little seasoning and you are good to go.
Pretty and functional
If cooking is your main thing, you would probably be more interested in the culinary value of the three herbs and some of their varieties we are describing.
Dried Seedheads & Pods
Autumn and winter are the best times to see what flowers produce the best seedheads that can be left on the plants to feed the birds and bugs and for harvesting for dried arrangements.
SO MANY FACES and so many choices...
Whoever associated a Cotyledon orbiculata (pig's ear) with the ear of a pig obviously did not know about all the varieties and cultivars this species in the genus Cotyledon has.
COLOURFUL Cold Weather WINNERS!
If it comes to a vote, these dependable shrubs will be the top candidates for prime performance in winter and in other seasons...
What makes a garden sustainable?
It is interesting to note that the United Nations defines sustainable development as: “development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs”.
Nurturing NATURE-The Story of Kraal Garden's Transformation
Nestled within Prince Albert's rustic embrace lies a gem that is a testament to the transformative power of human vision and nature's bounty.