Estate Living Magazine Connection - Issue 43 July 2019 | Page 46

C O M M U N I T Y
L I V I N G
BE DRY, BUT BOLD
Xeriscapes – succulent gardens, if you will – haven’t always
had the best design reputation in South Africa. Too many of us
remember the circle-of-rocks-with-a-tired-looking-aloe-in-the-
middle style of rockery that graced so many old homes and
farmhouses back in the day.
But xeriscaping doesn’t have to be bleak and dreary, and it
doesn’t have to be flat on the ground, either. There are some
fantastic indigenous ‘trees’ like the lovely quiver tree (Aloe
dichotoma) and the halfmens (Pachypodium namaquanum)
that can create a dramatic sculptural focus.
In the hands of a creative designer, the bold, strong, colourful,
and often geometric shapes and textures that characterise the
appropriate plants, rocks, gravel, and other elements of this
method of gardening can become the raw materials of many an
exciting and unusual landscaping project.
Imagine a formal knot garden in the style of the classic French
gardens at Versailles, a Zen temple garden, or a Mondrian-style
abstract tapestry planted proudly in the earth.
There’s almost nowhere you can’t go if you set your imagination
free.
provide microclimates in the garden – at night giving off the
heat they’ve trapped during the day, and during the day offering
shade for some of the more delicate plants – which partly
explains why you’re likely to see plants clustering around natural
rock formations in undisturbed desert wildernesses.
ZONING
Zoning in xeriscaping is critical. It’s more of a science than an
art, since it starts with knowing about the water, wind, and sun-
or-shade requirements of the plants you’ve chosen – and then
grouping them in those zones of the garden that’ll suit them
best. Fortunately, this kind of information is readily available on
sites like PlantZAfrica (pza.sanbi.org).
When you’re designing your garden, remember, too, that the
space must serve your family as well as your environment – so
allow yourself the luxury if you need a patch of lawn for the kids
to play on, for your pets, or as a place where you can simply
relax. Your local nursery person or landscaper should be able to
advise which grass species is the most water-wise for your area.
(Hint: it is not, and never will be, the invasive kikuyu, Pennisetum
clandestinum.)
Martin Hatchuel