Landscaping
SALI Awards
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Juncus effusus, locally indigenous to streams
and swamps. All these plants with their roots
and soil act as natural filters. Rainwater is
harvested and borehole water is stored for use
in the lodges and for watering the garden.
The site is very steep and had an existing
heavy clay soil content. A lot of soil retention
had to be done with the use of gabion walls
and terraces out of natural stone. Natural
materials were used for construction of
pathways, including authentic railway sleepers
and decorative crusher stone.
The garden is planted up, predominantly, with
flora from the Cape Floral Kingdom (fynbos),
as well as some exotics. Colourful species
include, amongst many others, extensive use
of Scabiosa incisa, with its prolific flowering
of pale mauve flowers, which grows locally
on the coastal sands and limestone of the
south-western Cape. The fabulous Orphium
frutescens (Sea Rose) with its dark pink satiny
flowers, which is buzz pollinated by Carpenter
Bees, along with a species of the same family
which is also buzz pollinated by solitary bees,
Chironia baccifera (Christmas berry) provide
interesting displays. Both of these shrublets
are indigenous to the coastal sands and pans of
the south and south-western Cape. The latter
produces bright red berries in summer, hence
its common name.
Other colourful species of fynbos are
Watsonia fourcadei which has mostly flowers
in the colour range from orange to red
and sometimes in pink or purple; Polygala
virgata, a single-stemmed willowy shrub
with purple flowers which blooms for a large
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Judges’ comments
The Cape regional judges, Cherise Viljoen and Louise Badenhorst (both horticulturists),
commended the wonderful use of colour in the landscaping of the Spanish Farm Guest
Lodge and added that it was nice to see some of the less seldom used locally indigenous
plants used effectively. They said the success of the design considering all the constraints
on site (such as defective waterproofing on the roof garden, remedial work to retaining
structures on the steep slope and late completion by the builders) was commendable.
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