From dust bowl to vibrant heaven for fruit, veggies, birds, insects and of course owners! The owners of this property wanted a wild yet calming paradise at the entrance to their beautiful home. One they could both retreat to, grow food in, nourish the local bird population, keep the dogs cool in, get the kids involved in, feed the resident lizards and geckos. (And maybe show off to any guests that would walk through before entering their home). We started the project soon after they finished building, and the soil was absolutely terrible: not merely looking like desert sand, but also filled with the rather careless dumping of leftover building sand and clay. The first thing we worked on was building up the Natural Organic Matter content of the soil, not only to grow a beautiful garden, but also to create an ecosystem that would be low-maintenance and drought/heat resistant (as Paarl weather can reach up to 45 degrees on some days in summer, followed by little rain until winter cold fronts arrive)! We built a hand-mosaiced water feature, and an eye-catching hand-laid stone walkway (from stones found on the property). We were able to seed and propagate a lot of the perennial and annual plants, so the cost of the project was reduced significantly.

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The owners continue to love this space.