An Impressionist's Dream

Pale pink roses, beard irises that resemble a Monet painting and fluttering lavender give this garden old-world charm.

- Marie Opperman

Just three years ago, Ramona Afonso knew nothing about gardening.

Now she cannot imagine life without her beloved garden – a romantic haven perfumed with the sweet scent of roses and lavender.

Ramona and her husband Nuno were the 2017 runners-up in Home’s Fix it with Flair competition with their kitchen renovation. Interior decorator Ramona runs a small décor business, Ruffles and Rust, and is also creative director of the company Busby Promo.

She admits that gardening was never really part of her lifestyle. “Previously, we lived in a cottage on my parents’ property south of Johannesburg,” she explains. “The only flowers I recognised when we moved here five years ago were the lavenders and hydrangeas.”

The garden on this 1 500m² property was already well-established when they bought the house. “It was very pretty but a bit old-fashioned. There were huge trees and curved flowerbeds surrounded by lawn. And about four rose bushes. I love trees but removed two tall yuccas, and replaced the huge lavenders in front of the bedroom windows with roses.”

When Ramona started gardening, she had no preconceived ideas about her garden’s design. “It just evolved,” she says. “Whenever I do designs, they take on a life of their own. I just go with the flow. If it works, it works, and I build on that. I’m not a landscape designer, so I’m learning as I go along. In about two years’ time, my garden will look different; more mature and more beautiful. After all, a garden is a work in progress...”