Page 15 - LandscapeIssue-143

FEATURE

THE SANCTUARY GARDEN

The Sanctuary Garden in Houghton, Johannesburg, serves a private medical
facility, whose two specialists believe in the power of nature to facilitate healing
and restore wellbeing. An area between two buildings created a green space that
speaks to this theme.

The garden descends from the historic Sir Herbert Baker styled house down to the property below, where the building has a more contemporary look and feel

tudies have shown that spending time in green spaces can The Fibonacci spiral embodies symbolism and purpose,
reduce stress, lower blood pressure and improve mood and representing the interconnectedness and harmony found in nature
Scognitive function. These benefits reflect peoples’ innate and the universe. This sacred geometrical pattern signifies growth,
connection to the natural world, often lost as a result of the hustle evolution, balance and the divine order.
and bustle of daily life in a fast-moving city.
The brief to landscaper Martine de la Harpe of De La Harpe Different preferences
Landscapes was to renovate the existing space, consisting of Martine explains that although the two doctors shared a vision of
established trees and paths, and turn it into a peaceful and healing well-being for the garden, their aesthetic preferences were quite
setting for the medical practice and patients. The space now consists different. One favoured a wild and more natural look, while the
of formal and informal areas, spaces for contemplation and stillness, other preferred structure, topiary, order and simplicity. The former
a serenity garden and planting that attracts bees and butterflies. preferred a mixture of colours while the latter chose a ‘restrained
Water features, frogs and birdlife contribute their special dimension palette dominated by cooler shades’, according to De la Harpe. Her
of sound. intention was to create a garden that could accommodate both their
tastes, and fortunately the property leant itself to a design that could
Fibonacci sequence be defined in ‘rooms’, with each room being stylistically, aesthetically
A small labyrinth was created to honour the Fibonacci sequence, and structurally different.
which appears in biological settings such as the branching of trees, Wherever possible, existing materials and plants were retained and
the arrangements of leaves on a stem, the flowering of artichokes and reused, and large, flat stone pavers were uncovered from under the
the spiral arrangement of seeds in a sunflower. It is the mathematical tar in the driveway. They were used on the terraces, although some
language by which nature has ‘constructed her magic’. new stone had to be brought in to construct the sweeping staircase

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