FARM GARDEN
THE OAKS | GREYTON
It is an honour to contribute to the built fabric of the historic werf of one of the oldest farms in the Overberg. Hours of research have gone into studying Overberg built forms and the patterns typical of werfs in this region. The reintroduction of local Renosterveld is a key idea – increasing biodiversity and, especially, bringing birdlife back to this historic site.
FARM GARDEN
PRIVATE FARM | GRAAFF-REINET
We are working closely with architects and Karoo veld rehabilitation specialists, Renu-Karoo, to create a truly unique Karoo garden on this magical farm which overlooks Camdeboo National Park. The central concept is a gravity-fed water system originating from a mountain spring, with the water piped to the garden’s edge, cascading down exposed bedrock and then meandering gently through the werf before returning to the stream.
SCULPTURE AND STONE GARDEN
BLAAUWKLIPPEN | STELLENBOSCH
This very special site lies high up on Blauwklippen Road in Stellenbosch. Built on the site of an old horse farm, the garden is centred around an exciting house designed by Nicholas Plewman Architects. The surrounding pine forest and fynbos will largely remain wild, with a new stone kraal wall holding the space and a collection of sculptures by local artists placed among the granite outcrops and ancient wild olive trees. The garden will also include a meadow with a variety of endemic grasses – most notably erhata calcynia – a grass found wild on the farm.
FARM GARDEN
KLEINBOSCH | PAARL
The restoration of Kleinbosch farm is another thoughtful and considered project from the Babylonstoren team. On this, the site of the very first Afrikaans school, careful consideration is given to all plant and hard landscape elements to ensure contextually appropriate landscape interventions that will be both interesting and timeless. It has the added benefit of allowing us to spend time in the “Bo-dal“, one of the most beautiful areas of Paarl.
FARM MUSEUM
SOETMELKSVLEI | SIMONDIUM
We have spent the last four years co-designing this heritage farm with the Babylonstoren team. Recently opened to the public as a farm museum, this a project very close to home for us, both literally and figuratively, and has required many hours of research. This enriching process included working through Gwen Fagan’s thousand plus page thesis on “An introduction of the man made landscape of the Cape from the 17th to 19th centuries“ has led us to much interesting and insightful literature on the built forms of the Cape werf, which has always been an area of great interest to us.
APOTHECARY GARDEN
SPIER | STELLENBOSCH
As part of the new Spier Hotel landscaping, we have designed apothecary gardens that will supply endemic plant materials to use in treatment at the spa.
