Garden profile
Ideally your garden , the design and what you grow in it , should say something about you and your personality .
Just out of Kwekwe , down a dirt track , we ventured off to see the intriguing and stunning garden of Jeanette Burger and her family . Many people often say that you can tell much about the person through their garden , and Jeanette ’ s garden not only reflected her beauty , grace and a wonderful sense of calmness , but also when leaving , wanting to know more about Jeanette as her garden offered so many stories and interesting aspects to it .
With a hotter climate in Kwekwe , Jeanette has planted a variety of different trees , thus adding more shade to the garden and cooling it down . The front of her garden is partly covered with wonderful lush mondo grass , which sweeps from her house to the middle of her garden . The much-needed shade for the mondo is provided by a wonderful canopy of tall trees , palms and leopard trees . Mondo grass is always a wonderful alternative to lawn in shady areas , as most lawn struggles in the shade , mondo thrives , and it ’ s more water wise than lawn .
Amidst the mondo haven , there are several paths leading through it ; one takes you to a little remote setting under the umbrella of trees , with a table and chair , a wonderful place to absorb the views whilst having an afternoon cup of tea . There were a variety of paths in her garden , leading you around the garden , over bridges and into different areas – this is what created a lot of intrigue and curiosity .
Recently chatting to a local landscaper , Henning Jordaan , he advised me that the views outside of our gardens are also part of our garden , so we must incorporate them into our design . Therefore , if your neighbour has a rather spectacular tree , don ’ t block it from your view rather hide the more unsightly views you can see , like a water tank . Jeanette has taken this into consideration as she is surrounded by beautiful fields and has made them part of her garden by not hedging off the view . Instead , she has planted water wise low growing ground covers of osteospermum and arctotis , which sweep the borders of the garden so she can sit and admire these views from her house .
These large sweeps of ground covers or meadows , are becoming ever popular in the gardening world as it means less lawn , less maintenance and less water – it is a great idea to replace lawn with groundcovers in areas which are not often frequented .
Most of us put more effort into one side of our garden than the other , but not this garden . Just as much thought has gone into the front of the garden , as it has in the back , which she
24