A Perfect Contrast

The Grovés’ distinctly different front and back gardens – one veld, the other formal – are the result of meticulous planning and heaps of creativity.

- Cecile Greyling

Get the basics right from the start and you’ll save yourself a lot of money and effort in the long run.

With this as their guiding principle and drawing on their previous building experience and creativity, Trix and Koos Grové of Napier converted their property into a hassle-free, waterwise showstopper where they can now sit back and relax, instead of dealing with the hassle of maintenance.

Which is precisely what they wanted.

The Grovés are the owners of Napier Antiques, which celebrated its 25th anniversary in May this year. Having lived in several houses in this beautiful Overberg town over the years, they finally decided to build a place of their own about 12 years ago.

Their new home had to meet two basic requirements: it had to be low-maintenance and feature stone detail for texture. The same elements were echoed in the garden. In addition, their plant selection had to be waterwise and they wanted shelter from the wind that sometimes batters this town.

“We were very realistic. We’re not at home much and we realised that water will become increasingly scarce in the future. We also had to keep the clay soil in mind,” says Trix.

“It would have cost us thousands of rands in compost and sand to maintain a kikuyu lawn or a manicured rose garden, so we decided to use stones in various shapes and sizes as a prominent element in the garden. Even now, we’re like magpies looking for another beautiful stone to add to our collection.

“Make sure you get the foundations right and use only the best materials. Although it was quite costly to build our house, these days maintenance is minimal and we get to just kick back and enjoy our surroundings.”