Playing, connecting, growing and resting are all important functions that people need to do in gardens. The latest garden designs that highlight these themes can be seen at the 2020
Lifestyle Garden Design Show which has just launched in Randpark Ridge, Gauteng. The show features a number of garden spaces, designed by students of Lifestyle College.
The garden spaces have been designed to highlight the trend of urban renewal, urban greening and living within a community space.
With the belief that one can create a garden almost anywhere, the show provides ideas for patios, micro gardens and small balcony spaces.
While a garden must be pleasing to the eye and capture the senses with colour, fragrance and texture, gardens are also extensions of our homes. As an outdoor room, the garden needs to be functional, providing a place for entertainment, for children and pets to play, a place for rest and a unique space which speaks to our own interests and hobbies.
Show designs
Proteas species are showcased in the Fynbos À La Mode garden. Picture: Lukas Otto
The Lifestyle Garden Design Show has created a range of gardens which are built up in a community district where families meet and children play safely. Green spaces, including a showcase of edible delights, are connected by a boulevard, overlooked by stacked balconies that add a riot of colour.
One show garden not to be missed is Fynbos À La Mode, a contemporary setting showcasing the best our floral kingdom has to offer. Framed by a series of moon gates, the garden features intriguing colour accents and fynbos species like proteas, leucadendron (cone bush) and coleonema (confetti bush).
Functional take-home ideas
Show organiser and senior lecturer at Lifestyle Design College, Mike Rickhoff, says the show provides myriad ideas for those who can’t necessarily garden directly in soil, with a focus on balcony gardens and patio areas. These small-space ideas can also be incorporated into larger gardens, with pick-up-and-put-down appeal.
“The Softly Social garden demonstrates this perfectly,” says Rickhoff. “It contains hidden places and even a bonsai garden within the space.”
Rickoff says that a number of items used in the gardens have been repurposed, with a strong push towards recycling and upcycling for cost-saving.
The Garden Guide, free to show patrons, provides a comprehensive breakdown of all the show gardens and includes advice and inspiration for you to try at home in your own garden.
Which four aspects of functionality can you consider for your garden?
Play
This vertical tic-tac-toe adds a fun element in a children’s garden. Picture: Lifestyle Home Garden
Add elements of play into the garden to encourage your children to spend more time outdoors. Go bold with colour and bring in features that capture the senses.
The park area of the On Common Ground garden, the central area, features interactive activities for adventure and includes a sand playpen, tic-tac-toe frame, colourful tepees and a xylophone for music-making.
Connect
A moon gate, used in Chinese garden design, is a circular opening in a wall or a standalone structure which frames a beautiful view. Moon gates can be built from brick or stone, or made from wood or steel. They can be used as a way to separate and yet connect various garden rooms.
Grow
A greenhouse may conjure up images of large glass houses on sprawling estates, but there are several products compact enough for inclusion in a small garden.
A greenhouse allows you to grow produce throughout the year or cultivate tender ornamentals with specific temperature requirements.
A greenhouse, worm farm and composting bin are included in the garden Incredible Edible, providing evidence that these eco-friendly garden practices can be implemented in the smallest of spaces.
Rest
For centuries, gardeners have created hidden spaces within larger gardens for rest and relaxation. In Softly Social, a dramatic living space featuring gardens within gardens, the patio is covered with a bamboo pergola and features gabion seating for a striking look. A fire pit next to the patio overlooks an intimate corner, a perfect seclusion zone for gentle reflection, meditation or reading.
Such secluded areas are easy to replicate with a small table and chairs or restful bench placed under a canopy of trees or down a private pathway.
Show details
Lifestyle Garden Design Show 2020. On until May 31 at Lifestyle Home Garden. Corner Beyers Naudé Drive and Ysterhout Avenue, Randpark Ridge, Randburg, Gauteng. Entrance is free. For more information, call 0117925616 or see www.lifestyle.co.za.
Steampunk Spaces
Industrial Plant features an array of succulents. Picture: Lifestyle Home Garden
Steampunk culture continues to gain traction globally and combines the technology of the 19th and early 20th centuries with elements of science fiction in the footsteps of Jules Verne and HG Wells.
The culture is making inroads into garden design, with the inclusion of industrial items such as old gears, water pumps and farming equipment as focal points in the garden. Industrial Plant, a garden at the 2020 Lifestyle Garden Design Show, features a tract of industrial land reclaimed by succulents.
The interplay between the industrial elements and the succulents creates steampunk-like appeal. It presents a fresh way of using succulents in garden design.