Food gardens
A system of stone channels – inspired by the original‘ gragten’ of the garden – have created a gravity-fed irrigation system, that are operated by a series of sluice gates( pretty to watch but takes a few hours to operate). The attractive stone channels run on a central axis through the garden with ponds, with timber bridges, reflecting the earthy tones of the garden. The ponds allow for reflection and seem to attract the geese too.
The Garden’ s design was informed by historical maps, drawings, paintings and town plans, as the City of Cape Town’ s City Parks Department and Environment & Heritage Management Branch set about their work on the project in 2001. Their resultant design strongly recreates the Baroque Dutch design of the original garden, however this very formal geometrical discipline is overlaid with a more flowing Victorian style curvilinear design, elaborates Phelan.
The result of the new Dutch Garden design is a garden of a very pleasant scale, which is linear and workmanlike but also freeflowing. The Baroque period was all about“ control of Nature” while the Victorian era was typified by“ working with Nature”. The garden is about 1 750 square metres and was designed by heritage professional landscape architect Phillip Smith.
The Dutch Garden contains edible vegetables and fruits, as well as medicinal indigenous and culinary herbs. There is an emphasis on heirloom varieties. The city’ s gardeners propagated cuttings from historic fruit trees( for instance, the old pear and mulberry trees) in the Company’ s Gardens as well as in and about Cape Town, for example from the old vine at Heritage Square in Bree Street. The saffron pear tree in the Company’ s Garden is thought to be the oldest cultivated tree in South Africa. In the original Company’ s Garden there were many citrus trees. In fact, Government Avenue now resplendent with Oak trees was first lined with citrus trees.
from the public. Indeed, the day I visited, there were several people closely examining and reading the signs depicting the name and use of the various plants, from rose geranium to buchu and lavender. Natural healing is indeed fascinating to us all, it seems. Several tourists wandered around the food gardens, with the odd squirrel and Egyptian goose.
Landscaper Eric Cherry, CEO and owner of Urban Landscape Solutions, tells us that it was an honour for his company to do the landscaping installation for such an immensely historical and important educational project. In 2014 the Dutch Garden was one of Cape Town’ s Design Capital of the World projects.
“ It was an exciting project to work on. It is super that the new Dutch Garden is used for educational purposes, to encourage the healthy practise of urban food gardening and the use of heirlooms in urban farming. I like the ethos of the garden which espouses the use of heirloom seeds, which are excellent nutritionally. Of course, to work on a garden recreating the oldest garden in South Africa was a special experience.”
Cherry says the Dutch Gardens was an interesting installation, given its historical setting. Their work started from the demolition of the building and the car park, down to 600cm. They needed to excavate in layers of 150mm, with sample trenches being inspected by the Heritage Council for any historical artefacts.
Award winning
Once the site was cleared, the hard landscaping proceeded, with construction of the channels, ponds and seating. The brickwork was clad with sandstone rocks, sourced from Bredasdorp area, rocks which had been stockpiled 200 years ago. The cladding gives the brickwork an old look and feel.
Eric Cherry of Urban Landscape Solutions worked on the Award-winning Dutch Gardens.
also supplied by Reliance.
A special soil mix, specially made by Reliance Compost, was applied in the beds, and included a sandy topsoil and a fine compost mix. A mulch was added to the landscaped area,
“ The Dutch Garden has added a wonderful new element to the Company’ s Gardens,” says Cherry.
Notably, Urban Landscape Solutions’ building of the Dutch Garden won three South African Landscapers Institute( SALI) Awards in 2015. Urban Landscape Solutions have won 52 Awards for their work on a variety of projects, with 43 of these accolades being won in the last four years.
Flourishing
Canal system based on the Dutch lei water system
There are many varieties of vegetables, including celery, radishes, onions, leeks, cabbages, lettuce and peas. There is a berry section, with blueberries, raspberries, gooseberries and strawberries There is an orchard section with peach, plum, apple, pear, quince and citrus trees, some grown in an espalier style – flat against the trellis work, which is characteristic of ancient methods of fruit tree cultivation. It feels like a very flourishing garden when one visits, with lots of healthy, fruitful looking plants, bees and butterflies. Phelan says the medicinal beds of the garden draw good interest
A legendary landscaper Eric Cherry was honoured with an Honorary Achievement Lifetime Award, at a relatively young age, from SALI in 2014, for his incredible work in landscaping. Cherry has worked on some breath-taking landscaping projects since he became a landscaper after completing his studies as a horticulturist in 1979. His work has included projects such as the magical garden paradise of the Lost City at Sun City for Sol Kerzner to the Cape Town Green Point Urban Park( an amazing modern park) and the gardens of the One & Only Hotel in the Mother City. The rehabilitation of the Lourens River is yet another high profile project Cherry and his team worked on.
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