Highveld Colour At Its Best

When her client, who is a florist, asked her to design a garden that 'vomits' colour , Debbie Smit compiled with a garden straight from a storybook.

- Ina Opperman

The phrase ‘riot of colour’ gets a new meaning when you step into this informal cottage-style garden in Northcliff, one of the leafy north-western suburbs of Johannesburg. Shades of red, cerise and purple are balanced with softer tones that paint a picture of abundance that delights the senses.

The owner, Cheryl van Acker, briefed Debbie four years ago to design a garden that will have flowers and colour throughout the year that she can also use in her home. “Roses, hydrangeas, lilies, tulips, daffodils, sweet peas, foxgloves and delphiniums are some of Cheryl’s favourite flowers, but she didn’t want only annuals in her garden,” Debbie explains. Both Cheryl and Debbie also support gardening to attract bees, which also influenced their choices of flowers.

“A garden is one of life’s great teachers. It’ll teach you science through soil and plants, music through birdsong, life lessons through the birds and the bees, and it’ll introduce you to your maker – but most of all, a garden will teach you how to be patient, kind and nurturing,” Debbie says.

The house had an existing garden with a plunge pool, but Cheryl also wanted a swimming pool where she and her husband, Terry, could swim. Debbie basically started the garden from scratch after building a new pool.

“We raised the level of one area of the lawn to create interest, space and depth, and created a raised planter box for interest and visual impact when you look out of the picture window of the stairwell in the house,” Debbie says.