WEAVER’S NEST

Higgovale, Cape Town

This home is suspended over a steep and uneven site. Running through the site to the lowest point were two muddy trenches that formed part of the stormwater drainage system in the area. Our brief was to create a tropical garden providing a lush green backdrop to the contemporary architecture of the house, whilst also celebrating the massive granite rocks that are as much of a feature of the site as the steep slopes. Inserting long stone walls into the landscape served several purposes: they spoke to the contemporary lines of the house which cut across the site, but they also provided much-needed retention of soil at critical points and acted as bridges into and across the site to the extent that the whole landscape is now accessible and can be enjoyed at ground level as well as from the treetops views inside the house.

HOUSE PILLAY

Bishopscourt, Cape Town

Set in the leafy suburbs of Bishopscourt, this majestic barn-style home rises from a bed of ornamental grasses in a flowing prairie styled garden. Pennisetum Cream Falls line the driveway, along with an avenue of Pride of India trees for a splash of seasonal crimson colour. As part of our design, we encouraged planting from the drive all the way up to the front door, where large leafy fronds on the delicious monster and white bougainvillea flowers, draped over the balcony, greet you as you make your way to the front door. On the approach, pavers are softened with blue Pratia, and soft cheerful blooms of day lilies nod as you pass your way in and out of this home.

HOUSE FERREIRA

Oranjezicht, Cape Town

The challenge with this landscape was to find the story that connected the powerful new building that rose majestically out of the steep slope, singular in its black finishes, with the natural sandstone already on the slope at the foot of Table Mountain.
The solution was to allow the natural vegetation directly butting up against this site to cascade down and around the new home. Existing steps and pathways were retained where possible, but a series of small square lawns edged in stone brought a measure of order to the back patio area, acting as a ‘drawbridge’ between the natural slope outside the boundary and the strong geometry of the house. A series of roof gardens created outdoor softening on the taller facade of the house.

THE ECO POOL

Tamboerskloof, Cape Town

Ecopools SA called us in to collaborate with them on this project in Tamboerskloof. The client had already decided to remodel her existing swimming pool into an eco pool and assistance was needed to design the location of the filtration zones so that it would integrate with the rest of the garden, requiring a rethink on the whole garden layout. The outside is used extensively by the animals who joyfully chase each other while playing, and the client loves to sit under the big tree facing the mountain in summer when she is not on the raised patio. A rainwater harvesting system for the maximum amount of tanks the site could hold would be essential for the tropical garden brief.

The dogs love the pool as much as the run-around space we’ve created for them. The fountains are a great entertainment source, and the shallow shelf is the perfect perch from which to bite at the spouts of water. The synthetic lawn was a client pre-requisite, and in the face of summer drought and easy care, it has been a successful part of the solution. The pool now brims with life, the water is crystal clear and the garden is more useful than ever before. 

HOUSE SPOKES

Constantia, Cape Town

Set in the beautiful Constantia hills, initially, this garden started out as a renovation to a neglected ditch running through the middle of the garden. The client, and a new owner to the property, had a liking for natural ponds and before the house was even built, we were turning our spades to create a beautiful water and meadow garden. The success of this project was an ideal window of opportunity to bring in large landscape elements and establish some of the garden well before the build took place. This allowed us some time to identify existing trees to be retained, bring in new feature trees and boulders, and redesigned the new stream, developing larger feature ponds close to the new footprint of the proposed house well before building works had started. When the garden was ready for planting, we focused on low meadow grasses to the height of the perimeter fence. It was important that the eye could continue onto the distant Constantia Hills, thus blurring the lines where the property starts and ends. Today the client and his Labrador dogs love the garden ponds – the central vein that pumps heart and soul into this home and space.