Between SKY & SEA

A sweeping estate garden in the Cape balances formality and order with naturalistic planting and resident wildlife. Heady borders of fragranced jasmine and giant clipped domes bring allure to drifts of wild grasses and a central reflecting pool

- HEIDI BERTISH

High on the foothills of the Helderberg Mountain, tucked into the last remaining buffer between human habitation and the Helderberg Nature Reserve one will find a home and garden in Land-en-Zeezicht, a leafy neighbourhood in the greater Cape Winelands district. The area was once part of Vergelegen farm, the historic property from where the disgraced governor of the Cape, William Adriaan Van der Stel, was stripped of his position and exiled from the Cape in the early 1700s. Directly translated, Land-en-Zeezicht means, 'Land-and-SeaView', aptly named, as the outlook from this garden is panoramic, spanning across False Bay and the towering Helderberg. It was these views and majestic stands of English oaks, stone pines and pin oaks trees that sealed the deal for the new owners before winning the three-acre estate on auction in the late 90s.