Johannesburg - The annual Lifestyle Home Garden Design Show is on at Randpark Ridge and continues until the end of May.
This year’s show takes a look at gardens through the ages that were designed by the legends of landscape design. The landscape icons include Gertrude Jekyll, Roberto Burle Marx, Diarmuid Gavin, Capability Brown, Luis Barragán, Martha Swartz and Kitayama Yasuo.
“Over the past century, their masterpieces of garden design have influenced generations of scholars in this ancient and complex art,” said Lifestyle College principal, Richard Gibb.
The highlights of the show are eight designer gardens built by students of the Lifestyle College. Two additional gardens have been created by lecturers from the Lifestyle College and members of the Guild of Landscape Designers (GoLD), bringing the total number of designer gardens at the show to 10.
“This is a completely different show with a whole new look that challenges the essence of design,” said Gibb.
“The brief given to the student designers to create a garden inspired from a landscape icon was a tough challenge.”
“First staged in 1997, the show was created to give the students of the Lifestyle College a platform for developing their skills in exhibition design and garden installation,” said Lifestyle Home Garden’s Mike Gibbons.
The judges of this year’s show said all the gardens incorporated strong colour, with grey being used to offset the brightness. The traditional penny royal groundcover as well as pink and white gaura is used extensively in all the gardens.
Look out for the garden featuring the unusual tortured willow (Salix matsudana “Tortuosa”) and the old- fashioned favourite, silver birch (Betula alba), which can be seen in two of the gardens.
The judges all agreed that elements of each iconic designer can be seen in each garden, although the students have interpreted them in their own way.
The levels of creativity were remarkable this year and included students welding three standard metal bicycles together to form a sculpture and using wire hanging baskets to create air plant balls.
Best on show
The top award at the show went to A Garden Kaleidoscope designed by Vicky Harris, Christelle Ras and Dean Sutton. Their garden was inspired by the design ideas of British landscaping icon Jekyll, who believed a garden should reveal unexpected views and pictorial surprises.
Jekyll popularised the informal, naturalistic look that we identify with English country gardens today – a tradition that informs gardens in this style around the world.
The judges said the winning garden showed careful attention to detail and an excellent presentation, with one of the male students dressing up as Jekyll, which kept the judges thoroughly entertained.
Second place, and a platinum award at the show, went to the garden entitled Moarography created by Keith Carter, Kelsey Gray, Shannon Gray and Lauren Keeve.
Based on the work of Brendan Moar, this garden is an expression of individuality.
The garden uses recycled, repurposed and upcycled items and objects in new and innovative ways, while never compromising on quality, comfort or style. The garden also incorporates water-wise conservation principles and encourages gardeners to think beyond the ordinary.
Third place and a gold award at the show went to Carmen Arrand, Warren Goode and Kristen Lovell who created a garden entitled Deconstructing the Eye of Martha Schwartz.
Schwartz has been referred to as the Andy Warhol of landscape architecture, in that she challenged the world to think about what a garden should be.
“Should they always have to be green?” she asked. “What’s wrong with using gaudy pink flamingos?”
Against this backdrop and with an element of humour in the garden, the students have created a garden which challenges the eye.
A portfolio of the gardens has been created for the 15th consecutive year to raise funds for the Childhood Cancer Foundation of SA.
The full colour portfolio details all the gardens, providing insight into the rationale behind each one, hard landscaping and plant lists and some tips on how you can achieve the same look in your own garden.
Interested in seeing 10 innovative mini gardens?
* Visit the Lifestyle Garden Design Show. Ends May 31. Lifestyle Home Garden, cnr Beyers Naudé Drive and Ysterhout Ave, Randpark Ridge, Gauteng. Free. Tel: 011 792 5616 or e-mail [email protected]. www.lifestyle.co.za.
GENERAL GARDENING TIPS
Never be afraid to plant boldly in groups. Repeat a particular plant at regular intervals for greater impact. It helps unify the garden.
Lift and divide evergreen arums if they are crowded. Remove the old leaves and replant in moisture-retentive, composted soil to which a handful of superphosphate has been added. Once the plants have finished flowering, lift deciduous coloured arums and store them in a cool, dry place.
The rose-coloured flowers of the March lily, Amaryllis belladonna, appear in late summer and early autumn before the leaves. Ideal for containers, this is a true bulb that resents disturbance and may not flower for several seasons after transplanting. Keep watch for the lily borer.
Low-growing, clipped hedges provide a living framework for informal plantings in borders. These include Euonymus microphyllus, box (buxus), Abelia Cardinal, ‘Confetti’ and ‘Dwarf Gnome’, Cuphea mexicana ‘White Wonder’ and Euonymous japonicus ‘Microphyllus’. Duranta ‘Sheena’s Gold’ is an all-time favourite for hedging and topiary.
Saturday Star