African Design Magazine March 2017 | Page 30

LANDSCAPING SALI Awards 2016
estimate is that about 99 , 9 % of the plant species are indigenous to the nearby vicinity .... in other words , locally indigenous ( they grow naturally in the area ). Virtually all of these were grown from seed in the site ’ s large nursery which was started by Watson and has been in existence for almost twelve years .
The main developer , who has partnered Steyn in the enterprise , is Giuseppe Plumari , CEO of Steyn City Properties . The general vision for the property is that it should be a ‘ green city ’ and the masterplan landscape designer Watson chose all of the plant species for the communal area , while Golf Data was responsible for the design and construction of the hard landscaping in these areas , and for the planting out of species in discussion with Watson . Viljoen says that Watson has great vision and can see in his mind ’ s eye the growth of the forest , for example , over a long period .
Watson said that Steyn believed planting to be so important that it should be given an open-ended budget . The former pointed out that it also only comprises a small percentage of overall development costs . Watson has estimated that the on-site nursery alone has grown close to 500 000 locally indigenous trees and shrubs – and between 2 and 3 million when the smaller , understorey plants , groundcovers and grasses are included . He mentioned , in passing , that Steyn does not favour palms or cycads or the ‘ tropical style ’ of landscaping .

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