Home Home Yard 2020

Blades of glory While designing the walkway leading from her parent’s contemporary home in Zwavelpoort, Pretoria to the cottage located on a lower level on the erf, architect Nadine Engelbrecht made the most of the slope of the yard to create these beautiful integrated grass steps. “The separate two-bedroom cottage, used for visiting family, is not internally connected to the main house. The grass stairs provide easy outdoor access between the two spaces,” explains Nadine. “Using grass steps softens the link and creates a continuous landscaped path.” Working with contractor Hans Boersema and landscape architect Nandi Koster, the team planted concrete curbs into the landscape, using steel rods to secure them, then filled them with soil and planted LM grass. Mind the gaps Designer Marius Hitge solved the problem of a patchy, unloved lawn at…

ELECTRICAL ADVICE “Always use a qualified electrician who will issue a Certificate of Compliance after his work is completed,” advises Gerrit Terreblanche of GTEC in Cape Town. Also consider the following: • Choose garden lights with an IP (ingress protection) rating of at least 65 if they are out in the open. • Make sure that it will be simple enough to change the bulb yourself when it needs replacement. • Use a combination of ambient and security lighting for best results. A few garden lights work better than a 100W LED floodlight if you want to create a more subtle atmosphere, but a floodlight has obvious security advantages. • Advancements in technology means that there are plenty of great options for illuminating your garden – from solar-powered options to lights that can be switched…

WHO LIVES HERE? Trix and Koos Grové with Prince Charles the cat WHERE Napier SIZE OF GARDEN 750m² TYPE OF SOIL Clay 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…

WHO LIVES HERE? Johan and Sanet van Rooyen with their children JD (23) and Sylvia (22) WHERE Durbanville SIZE OF GARDEN 400m² TYPE OF SOIL Clay After the severe drought in the Western Cape two years ago, there was little left of Johan and Sanet van Rooyen’s beautiful back garden. A “waterwise” design was, therefore, a must when they revamped their garden in 2019. “We’ve been living here for 23 years and when we started rethinking the space, we also wanted to ensure that maintenance would be kept to a minimum,” explains Sanet. “But naturally it still had to be attractive and inviting!” Sanet and Johan decided to create sociable areas with balau decking connected by wooden pathways that lead from one nook to the next. “Wood is timeless and creates a softer look than paving stones,”…

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WHO LIVES HERE? Helen Muir, her kids Kerris (28) and Klyne (26), and her mom Marietjie van den Oever WHERE Roodepoort, Johannesburg SIZE OF GARDEN 75m² on a 1ha property TYPE OF SOIL Acidic, sandy and rocky Twenty years ago, in 1999, Helen Muir bought a 1-hectare property in Poortview, Roodepoort near the Walter Sisulu National Botanical Garden. A year later, she started a nursery there. It was shortly after her husband Samuel’s death, and today she describes it as “a leap of faith”. The following year, she helped to design and build her house on the same property. However, a section on the south-facing side, between the house and a 35m-long retaining wall that separated it from the backyard, was never developed. The problem “It was ugly and neglected,” recalls Helen. “The ground sloped and was…