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A Garden Shaped By History

Mother and son team, Liz and Tim Steyn, use their considerable landscaping skills in the magnificent garden of one of the oldest buildings in Westcliff, Johannesburg

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By Amy Saunders | March 9, 2018 | Gardens

Words by Di Barrell

 

One enters the driveway garden flanked by evergreen planting where Tim chose a mixture of traditional stone and exposed aggregate inlay for the hard landscaping which has weathered beautifully and looks like it has been there for years.

An old tennis court was transformed into an impressive circular garden, inspired by the Mughal-style gardens of Baker and Lutyens in Delhi, which has a round pond in a sunken central lawn enclosed by raised beds densely planted with small trees, shrubs and perennials. It also succeeds as a transitional area interlinking the entire back garden.

 

 

The main bedroom opens onto this part and the owner, an author, can enjoy a stroll to her writer’s cottage where she can watch the birds and relish the scents and sounds from her desk. There is a resident flock of guinea fowl and a wooden dovecote momentarily colonized by bees whilst the spotted eagle owl chicks from Glenshiel visit from time to time.

Tim chuckles, ‘Normally the only request from the husband is for lots of lawn but this time we were asked for paths of differing lengths to meander on as he had recently returned from Japan where meetings are kept short and sweet by everyone having to stand and he felt a walk was more conducive to good business rather than hours over a boardroom table.’

 

Liz’s favourite plants in the Garden:

For pink borders:

Penstemon, yarrow and rose varieties ‘Duet’ and ‘Anne Lorentz’.

For evergreen:

Star jasmine and Murraya exotica for sun or semi-shade, hardiness and scent.

 

 

Pick up a copy of House & Garden’s March 2018 issue for the full story. On shelves now.

Images: Elsa Young

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