Don't overthink design...

Its good to have things put into a bit of perspective. I spend so much time planning gardens, trying to choose the right combination of plants and elements, contemplating balance, harmony and contrast, will the garden have seasonal interest, are the plants going to flourish in the conditions they will find themselves in...etc...etc. It sometimes seems like there is so much to be aware of in creating a beautiful garden.

But in the last couple of days, I've had time to relax. In the process, I've just happened on a couple of places as I've driven past that I think are beautiful just as they are, and I couldn't have planned them any better if I spent hours thinking about it.

It just reminds me that beauty is all around us, even amongst the weeds. Beautiful design is everywhere if we open our eyes to it, and often simple is so, so much better.

Topical Tropical

I've heard it said that you can tell a lot about a person by the business they run. A visit to Tropical Nursery in Sherwood (a suburb of Durban), is quite an informative experience, and reveals a lot about the amiable owner - Frank Edwards.

Tropical is always well stocked with the usual plants, pots and nursery-ware. But it's the fact that you can find some quite unique and interesting plants that sheds some light on who Frank is.
The main clue though, as to his eccentricities - are the poems, sayings and garden/life wisdom that are scattered around the nursery. Look out for the city of Gondolin built around a water feature in the middle of the nursery.

To top it all off (literally), Frank's home is a tree house at the top of a beautiful Acacia growing in the heart of his nursery. He is something of a bohemian character to say the least.

But Frank is also leading the way in sustainable living. In attempting to lessen his environmental impact, he has installed a solar geyser for hot water, a worm farm to deal with some of his kitchen waste, and the latest project is an electricity generating wind turbine.

Paula Osborn from Inkanyiso Sustainable Systems - the company that installed the wind turbine says that the plan is to create sufficient energy to run Frank's home and office, and possibly even feed back into the grid.

At this point in time, there is little in the way of financial encouragement from the government, or municipality to make it worth the investment in the equipment necessary. The only pay-off being the self satisfaction in doing what you can for the environment around you.

Going off-grid (creating all your own electricity using 'green' energy) has become quite vogue in environmental circles, but feeding back into the grid is one step better - Germany is one of the countries that has been leading the way for quite some time. An article on Wikipedia states that: "In 2005, 10 per cent of electricity in Germany came from renewable sources and 70 per cent of this was supported with feed-in tariffs."

Apart from trying to educate the public, Paula is working on a few other projects - A Community Gardening program, to make growing beds of vegetables easier for the average person, and experimenting with several different vermiculture methods. She also sells worms for any budding vermiculturists out there?

If you are in the area, and have time these holidays - take a trip to Tropical Nursery, and spend some time looking around - you'll come away a little wiser!

Stone Designs For The Home - John T Morris

I found this book on Saturday that I couldn't put down until I had absorbed every detail in every photograph. It shows seven commissions that Stonemason John Morris has worked on during his career.

His work takes your breath away. I literally had goosebumps as I paged through the book and looked at the way he managed to fit every rock and every stone together so perfectly. From garden walls and steps, to stone cladded interiors. What makes his work even better is that it is all done by hammer and chisel.

I also appreciated his honesty as he explains how he came to be a stonemason. He says that people often assume that he has always aimed to be where he is today, when in actuality he happened on stonemasonry almost by chance.

He describes it as his calling, and it's easy to agree with him! If you enjoy stonework, then this is definitely a book worth buying.

Entrance Area Garden Design

I was a bit disappointed today to hear that a garden that I've been working on some designs for over the past few weeks, is not going to happen. I've been quite looking forward to building this garden.

This is the front entrance at the moment. It is at the top of a long driveway, and is quite plain, with some colourful annuals in pots to brighten things up a bit. There are probably too many different types and styles of pots - it would need something to bring everything together in this area for it to be successful. It also gets quite hot from about 10 in the morning.

The client was looking for something simple but colourful to brighten up the area. It should be low maintenance, but create a great first impression. My suggestion for the new entrance area was built around trying to create the impression of overlapping curves or waves. The first curve would consist of closely fitting rock and pebbles, and the corresponding section of pathway would have the pebbles set into a concrete screed.

The second 'layer' would step up, with a cobblestone edging along the top of the wall. The planting would have been a combination of low growing vygies (mesembryanthemum) or other colourful sun loving plants. Another option would have been to use temporary planting like annuals, so that my very busy clients could have a part to play in the garden without it being overly taxing on their time. The corresponding section of pathway would be an exposed aggregate with a white screed.

The next level up would have an urn with or without running water, and more permanent planting that would grow to about 300mm-500mm in height. Possibly Crassula or Senecio?

The final level would have planting with longer leaves for contrast. Some options would be Red Hot Poker, Bulbine, Agapanthus, or even Aloe. The last section of pathway before the white tiles would be a white concrete screed.

The planting is never final at this stage, because I like to live with the idea for a while before deciding on the planting. I usually start with the characteristics of the plants that I would like to use in an area, and then refine that to a few options before deciding on the final plant. But often even then, I sometimes have to make concessions because plants are unavailable. This then sometimes has a knock-on effect which results in having to change other plants to get the right combination.

When I get more time later this month, I'll post my ideas for the front garden, which was the area I was most excited about.

Limb-eating insects

Ok, thats a pretty scary sounding title for this post. But actually it is quite scary what these insects seem to be able to do. This branch fell down on top of 2 cars that were parked innocently on the side of the road.

On closer inspection, you can see the core of this branch had been entirely eaten away, and there were insects busy trying to burrow away deeper into the tree.

There were 2 of these insects on the ground next to the severed limb. They were anemic-looking and slightly translucent, and both were about 2 inches long. It looked like 2 pairs of wings were busy forming close to the head. Any ideas as to what this creature is?

Falling branches and trees seems to be on the increase in Durban lately. The windy conditions don't help, but at the core (literally) of this problem seems to be insects that eat their way into the trunks and branches of trees. Most often its white ants, but it seems other insects seem to be capable of just as much damage.

The problem is that this is all happening below the surface of apparently healthy trees. Looking at the tree itself there were no obvious signs of the damage being done on the inside. This is something that will start happening more often now that a lot of our street trees have matured and are showing signs of old age and weakening, and are therefore more susceptible to insects and disease.

Beautiful Dirt, Beautiful Plants

Beautiful Dirt? It seems like a bit of an oxymoron, but, yes I think dirt is beautiful! Or at least it should be beautiful. Plants are just like humans, if you get their diet right, they will live long, healthy lives. They'll be less prone to disease, and will look good at the same time.

I've just given a soil sample report to a client, who's garden went through a bit of a rough patch around mid-winter. She called me in to look at the plants in a section of her garden that were looking a bit shabby, and in some cases were being attacked by aphids, scale and downey mildew.

Deciphering a soil analysis, is usually pretty daunting. The key is to know what you're looking for, and what all the figures mean.

The soil report for the 2 samples came back relatively positive, and this is what it looked like:

The report showed that a lack of Nitrogen (Cat2) would most likely be responsible for the poor health of the plants. The report shows that Phosphorous levels are very good, while Pottasium, Calcium, Magnesium, and Sodium levels are all healthy.

Clay content and organic matter is a little low.

Nitrogen is very low, and the pH is much too alkaline (most plants prefer a slightly acidic soil).

There is also the potential for deficiencies of micro-nutrients/elements such as Zinc and Copper, but this would be rectified by adding compost to the soil.

The overall best long-term solution would be to add regular large amounts of compost (as is usually the case) to all the beds, but particularly to the bank area below the house level. This will boost all the levels, but will increase the amount of organic matter in the soil, which in turn will help retain moisture and increase the plants abilities to absorb nutrients.

If chemical fertilizers (a short term solution) are used to boost nitrogen levels, then it is best to use Ammonium Sulphate Nitrogen (27%N) or ASN as this will help improve the pH slightly.

In general this specific report and remedial feeding of the soil could probably be easily applied to most of the Durban coastal surrounds.

The key to healthy plants is in the soil. If you can get the soil right, you take most of the irritating work out of the garden. Its also not something that you are ever finished with. Adding compost and feeding your soil should be a regular process, especially in areas like ours, with sandy soils and high rainfall. Most nutrients leach out of sandy soils very quickly.

But even clay soils can benefit from copious amounts of compost - it helps soften the soil, and reduces compaction. In short, you can never really add too much compost to the average garden to get beautiful dirt, and as a result - beautiful plants.

Designing a Family Courtyard

I've given a few options to a friend/client of mine who is looking for ideas in the renovation of this beautiful old house. Aside from the obvious need to revitalize the house, the family that stay in the house need an area where they can entertain and spend time with friends and family.
The existing layout of the courtyard is messy, and has several levels, all of which make it less used than it could be.

The first step is to raise the courtyard level, to bring it level with the house. This along with enlarging the doorways, will make the transition between the inside and outside easier.
The area was also quite exposed to the neighbouring property, and the road, and therefore creating privacy was essential.

In the first option, the water feature was a little too large, so it was scaled down, and a built in seat was added instead. A gas braai/bbq was added to the North wall. The necessary privacy would be created from strategic planting in the garden.

The urn water feature, creates a perfect focal point from the path, and from inside the house and is a simple, elegant, but cost effective way of creating the soothing sound of water. It can be easily made child-safe, by filling the reservoir with pebbles or covering with a grid.