Page 20 - Landscape SA 99

PROFILE FEATURE

Aerial views of Rand Airport, where Plonland was responsible for
designing and installing 1.8 ha of landscaping

PROFILE ON CHRIS MISPLON

Landscaper Chris Misplon started his working life as an electrical engineer with Siemens,
just as the company had won the tender to roll out Cell C in South Africa. He then moved
to Cell C and thereafter to Accenture, where he acquired the business knowledge to
forge his entrepreneurial career. He made a career change decision at the age of 38, after
realising that the path he was on was not what he actually wanted to do.

is great, great grandfather, Ralph He is now fully immersed in running his to help visualise a project, to the inclusion
Henry Arderne, was an avid new landscape design business, Plonland, of software into the actual landscape.
Hgardener, famous for the Arderne which was initially launched in early 2019.
Gardens established in 1845 in Claremont, Despite the impact of Covid, he says With smart cities becoming a reality, smart
Cape Town. “Ralph’s landscaping blood the market has picked up a bit in recent homes are becoming ever more accessible
runs in my veins and a large part of my months. “It has been a privilege to begin to the end user. Previously one had to
youth was spent in those gardens, so to support the landscape dreams of many create complex circuitry combined with
it was a natural thing for me to choose people in Joburg,” he says. code just to control a kettle from one’s
landscaping,” he explains. phone via a landline and a microcontroller.
Using a technology background in Nowadays, there are various products
He enrolled at the Lifestyle College for landscaping that are almost plug and play, enabling
Landscape Design as a full-time student, the control of multiple things via an app
knowing that he had finally found a career Technology has supported landscapers on a cell phone. No longer just gimmicky,
that would give him immense fulfilment in many ways, from the software technology can save clients in operating
and provide for his family. programmes used for 2D and 3D designs costs. For example, a landlord managing
multiple properties can control his
irrigation operations and spend from one
centralised platform.

This isn’t only restricted to the actual land-
scaping. Technology extends to software
that assists people to market and run their
companies. “I can now use my technical
background from my earlier, corporate
years to provide recommendations on
software applications or hardware require-
ments for my clients,” explains Misplon.

Landscape services
Plonland is an owner-run landscape design
business, offering a quality experience for
its clients, from briefing to end product.

One of 120 Vachellia sieberiana trees planted at Rand Airport

18 Landscape SA • Issue 99 2021