Page 30 - Cornwall 1 2021

CORNWALL HILL COLLEGE

is easy to adopt.” Thus, I was delighted to be
invited to explore the beautiful garden of
Cornwall Hill residents Carol and Eric Klein
to see first-hand just how colourful and
exciting a water-wise garden can be.

Carol and Eric started building their
home in 2000 on a north-west facing
dolomitic ridge of Cornwall Hill Estate. The
vegetation was typical of the Bankenveld
grassland with grasses, non-grassy herbs
and a few endemic trees, such as the
Cabbage tree (Cussonia), growing between
rocky outcrops. By the time the building
was finished in May 2001, and the Klein’s
and their two young children had moved
in, they had a selection of boulders and
giant rocks excavated from foundations
and the hole for the pool. This gave them tank to beds along the perimeter of the onerous and Carol employs a gardener to
the idea to arrange the rocks attractively property. help stay on top of the constant weeding
throughout the garden to mimic the rocky and pruning. As one expects of a nearly
outcrops, that were already there. Carol loves aloes and what she calls strong twenty-year old garden, there are now areas
plants: plants that are easy to grow, easy that Carol and her gardener are radically
Carol explains that she doesn’t like a to propagate and that need very little in pruning and clearing, particularly after the
manicured-type garden and that she the way of supplementary water. Almost heavy frosts of the recent winter season.
consciously chose to work with, rather than all the water used in the garden comes Her recently re-designed and re-planted
against, nature when designing it. Deep from the rain harvesting tanks they have driveway garden of agave and cactuses with
flower beds were laid out in long flowing had installed. The beds in the garden are light coloured rock and gravel is extremely
lines around existing and newly formed filled with big swathes of group plantings, showy, and hints at the delightful garden
rocky outcrops, dividing the almost one such as along the rear boundary with the beyond.
hectare property into separate garden neighbours where 100 Freylinias have been
rooms. Carol assures me that no rock was planted to form an informal hedge, or the An added bonus to a natural garden such
trucked out of the property - all were masses of vygies (Lampranthus) that cover as this one is the wildlife that also calls it
used in some creative way. I thought a the rockeries in showy colour and the home. Throughout our garden tour we
particularly clever use of the blue-grey dozen or so Pompom trees (Dais cotinifolia) were accompanied by mongoose and
dolomitic rock was the attractive rock that fill the summer evening with their watched warily by nesting Dikkop and
“river” that flows diagonally across the sweet scent. Kiewiet parents. This truly is a garden that
lawn, past the swimming pool, taking is not boring and not lacking in life or
overflow water from the rain harvesting Maintenance in a garden of this size can be colour at all. It is a water-wise wonderland.
28 Cornwall View • Issue 1 2021