Landscapes in seascapes

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.

- Kevin Beaumont

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