THE TASK AT HAND
A few months ago, we were approached by Megan and Craig, proud owners of The Vintage Barn, to design and implement a “Karoo-Style” garden for this exciting new venture on the Collisheen Estate. We set to work a few weeks before their opening, towards the end of June 2022. Well, we can tell you for sure that creating this garden for The Vintage Barn was a very exciting project!
Megan & Craig were very easy clients to garden for because right from the outset they had a complete and detailed picture in mind of what they were looking for.
The idea was to create a succulent garden that would be water wise and low maintenance, whilst at the same time incorporating the aesthetics of a “Karoo Padstal” in look and feel – the type of vibe that they hoped to bring to the North Coast. The area that the garden is positioned in is actually exposed and in a beautifully sunny position, which is ideal for succulents, we were not daunted by the task.
DESIGN IS A PROCESS
As the design process began, we knew that we wanted to be able to create an area that could not only be aesthetically pleasing, but also become a photography or photo-shoot area, as well as a quiet pause area. We wanted to thus be able to invite guests through the garden and so a beautiful pathway was created with a wooden walkway, and a lovely open gravel area, followed by some retro pavers. This area will comfortably accommodate a small party of people for a photoshoot, or even just a couple wanting to enjoy a quiet moment in the sunshine. We were also cognizant of the Collisheen Estate wedding venue next door, in this design.
This garden was “shaped” before planting, by creating mounds from excess soil taken from around the back of the property. This creates a much more interesting line for the eye to follow, than a simple, flat two-dimensional area. At The Vintage Barn this is especially relevant as there are quite a few vantage points from which to view the garden. It has to thus be visible as a “front side” from all sides. No rough edges, so to speak. The way we shaped the soil allowed us to garden in such a way no matter if you had to walk around the garden, through the garden, along the garden path, or on the pathway next to the building, you would be viewing beauty.
Before
PLANTING CHOICE MATTERS
When it came to plants to be used in the garden, we wanted to offer contrast in colours, and were able to make this most obvious with the use of big specimen tree aloes, planted high against the gorgeous rust-red coloured barn building. The planting and the color of the barn really do make a stunning contrast and striking feature as you drive into the property. Tree Aloes are always beautiful, with an incredibly attractive form, and they are very water wise.
The garden is framed around groupings of aloes – such an exciting plant to work with because of the many variations: You get the upright candelabra type aloes, ground aloes, and the very sprawling octopus looking ground aloes. Aloes also produce a magnificent show of different flowers: orange flowers, yellow flowers, even pink flowers. Just because it is a succulent garden, does not mean it will be void of colour! Most people are surprised by this.
So, with aloes being the main framework, we then used a selection of different succulents to accompany them. Succulents that have a grey color, succulents that have variegation, succulents that have beautiful flowers. Some of them are flowering bright red as we speak.
Finally, to tie this all in together, we added a host of red-hot pokers which really have been a beautiful show. They are very similar to succulents, loving the dry and the cooler weather.
DRESSING IT UP
Once we had planted our selection in our “Karoo-style” garden, we started really dressing it up. One of the most exciting things about any garden is that you can always dress it up and you can always bring in beautiful feature areas. It’s much like fashion. We dressed this garden up by using a variety of different stones and pebbles. We used a combination of white pebbles, brown pebbles and river rocks, to compliment the gravel crusher used in the pathways. We also used a collection of pots – they are very ornamental in a garden, and they add wonderful height. We also placed lovely, aged wine barrels in the garden, planted up with aloes and we got some beautiful old pots, found lying unwanted in a dump, which have been repainted and planted them up with some colour. The really fun (and functional) thing about pots, it that you can plant annuals in them for consistency, and then you can also have pots that can bring in whatever is flowering at the time. Functional, and FUN.
FINISHING TOUCHES
Finally, when designing a garden, one also has to fit the garden into the theme of the premises, in this case a vintage barn. We thus needed to be creative in using products from days gone by. The pavers that were used were used were honeycomb-shaped retro hexagonal concrete pavers which are no longer in production. We also used an old rusty blue vintage car door with some bright red painted pots, for a burst of colour that was fully appropriate to the theme, as well as a wrought iron bicycle plant stand. In the gravel area of the garden, we added 2 wrought iron garden chairs as part of the pause or photography area, and we added a little wooden wheelbarrow and an aluminum bath – all vintage features that have created interest and beauty in the garden. These all add to the great allure to The Vintage Barn.
After
If you have not yet visited this delightful garden, you will find The Vintage Barn on this link!
If you want a Karoo-style Garden all of your own, get in touch with us!