Page 16 - LandscapeIssue-143

FEATURE

from the driveway down to the labyrinth garden. An old-fashioned
rockery was dismantled to rebuild the stone terraces and staircases.
The symmetry and balance required for the ‘paradise’ garden dictated
that this area had to be levelled and the existing path lifted before
the new hardscaping and water features could be installed.
Two tall palms and cycads were moved to create balance, and all
the trees were pruned and conditioned. Many new trees were brought
in to add seasonal and structural interest, including Weeping crab
apples, Flowering cherries, Magnolias. Olives, Ficus and Pittosporums.
Main garden area
The main part of the garden bridges a space between the two
doctors’ rooms. The garden descends from a historic and traditional
Sir Herbert Baker style house down to the property below, where the
building was given a more contemporary look and feel. De la Harpe
says she aimed to “evoke different emotions and energies as one
journeys from one office to the other.”
Below the one set of rooms is a circular terrace that expands from a
central water feature, symbolising the life force and the link between
women and nature. This was designed to be a feminine space with
maternal symbolism for the gynaecologist’s patients to enjoy. The
plant material is mainly white, representing purity of heart, mind and
soul, and a bench invites visitors to pause and enjoy a statue of a
An area designed as a feminine space, with predominantly white plantings goddess bending in front of a profusion of Brugmansia bells.
symbolising purity of heart, mind and soul From here the garden descends down a stone staircase to two more
terraces dedicated to the ‘vibrancy and spirit of nature’: wild, free
and diverse. Flowering plants of Irises, burgundy roses, Crocosmias,
Salvias, Hemerocallis and Gaura occur here, and the colours were

The labyrinth garden is made up of pavers arranged in a Yin Yang spiral in A square pond in the centre of the paradise garden references the source of all
the lawn. The design takes one into the centre from one direction, and out creation and the bowl with four spouts overflowing into it symbolises the flow of
again in the opposite direction. water, wine, milk and honey that traverse paradise

A steel pergola in the paradise garden functions as a shaded resting place and
calm area for yoga

14 Landscape SA • Issue 143 2024 Check us out www.salandscape.co.za