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WHO LIVES HERE? Lee and Hanko de Wet and their wheaten Scottish Terrier, Sibella; their daughter Manya and her hubby Gerild van Rensburg live in a cottage on the property

WHERE Auckland Park North, Johannesburg

SIZE OF GARDEN 350m2 in total

TYPE OF SOIL Slate-like

AGE OF GARDEN 12 years

The entrance garden. Photo: Christoph Hoffmann

Once Lee de Wet understood what she liked, the layout of her garden fell into place.

"I first had to acknowledge that I'm not a purist. It was simply impossible for me to stick to a limited colour palette," she says.

"I also loved the idea of having veggies and herbs but didn't want to plant them exclusively. It was only once I realised that I liked fragrant herbaceous plants and started planting them, that they began to form a golden thread running through my garden. It then started to take shape," says Lee, a lecturer in fashion design in the art faculty at the University of Johannesburg.

I work in the garden regularly, doing something every day if time allows. For me, it's not just a Saturday chore. - Lee. Photo: Christoph Hoffmann

The De Wets moved in 12 years ago and set about revamping the garden, which was established but fairly neglected, with large overgrown shrubs and bare soil beneath.

"I developed the garden gradually, with just a framework in my head. I didn't draw up a formal plan," says Lee.

She divided the garden into three sections, namely the entrance garden, the kitchen garden and the pool garden. All three areas create the feel of a courtyard framed by either built walls or plant screens.

(45m²)

ENTRANCE GARDEN

A gravel pathway leading from an old farm gate that the couple discovered at an antique store takes you through the entrance garden.

Lee created three garden spaces. Photo: Christoph Hoffmann

Inca lilies, Cape scabious, gaura, a white Petrea volubilis and a white bougainvillea, among others, are planted in the first part of the entrance garden that gets sun most of the day, while bush lilies, ferns, orchids, arums and a variety of air plants thrive in the part of this garden that is shaded by the walls of the house and beautiful pride of India trees.

The long steel planters came from a scrapyard and were previously used to store electrical cables. They were lined with plastic and attached to the wall with strong supports, then planted up with a variety of succulents. Photo: Christoph Hoffmann

A steel pergola covers the entrance to the kitchen garden beyond.

(200m²)

POOL GARDEN

PLANTING TIP: Since the soil is so rocky, Lee incorporates plenty of compost, bone meal and fertiliser. Planting holes - twice the size of the plant - are dug and filled with compost and a handful of bone meal. Flowering and fruiting plants are given 3:1:5 fertiliser, while foliage plants get 2:3:2 as needed. Lee avoids using poisons in her garden, instead growing onions and garlic in between plants to repel pests. Photo: Christoph Hoffmann

The garden around the swimming pool required some careful planning. There was an ancient pool in poor condition, which the De Wets had refurbished and finished in dark grey Marblite. They removed the lawn and laid paving.

The pool is now surrounded by beds finished off with neatly trimmed hedges of common box (Buxus sempervirens), as well as raised planter boxes.

"It took me a while to come up with a plan for this part of the garden," says Lee.

Lee says that even though her beds are a bit chaotic, the plants are thriving! "Although not everything in the beds is edible, plants in the herb family such as yarrow, lavender, pineapple sage, mint and lemon verbena are mainly grown here. I also didn't want masses of the same plant, but rather a combination of plants that complement each other." Photo: Christoph Hoffmann

"We wanted to reduce the lawn in the entire garden. The sloping erf has terraces to provide level areas - but this also made mowing difficult. In the end we only kept a patch of grass in the kitchen garden for Sibella to use.

"We are now trying to grow a wall of plants around the pool that we'll allow to grow quite tall so that eventually the roofs of neighbouring houses will no longer be visible from our stoep. The planter boxes we've built here add structure to the space."

LEE'S FAVOURITES

The Inca lilies (Alstroemeria aurea) in interesting and unusual colours which Lee got from her mother are very dear to her.

"My mom was an avid gardener. She had tunnels filled with Inca lilies on our farm in Rustenburg and collected plants in incredible colours."

Lee's other favourites include:

Trees

• Olive (Oleaeuropaea)

• Pomegranate (Punica granatum)

• Pride of India (Lagerstroemia indica)

Herbaceous plants

• Basil (Ocimum basilicum)

• Coriander (Coriandrum sativum)

• Dill (Anethum graveolens)

• Feverfew (Tanacetum parthenium)

• Lavender (Lavandula)

• Lemon verbena (Aloysia triphylla)

• Mint (Mentha)

• Oregano (Origanum vulgare)

• Rosemary (Rosmarinus officinalis)

• Sages such as pineapple sage (Salvia elegans)

• Thyme (Thymus vulgaris)

• Yarrow (Achillea filipendulina)

Other flowering plants

Flower of the air (Tillandsia aeranthos). Photo: Christoph Hoffmann

• A variety of orchids

• Arum lily (Zantedeschia aethiopica)

• Cape scabious (Scabiosa africana)

• Chinese jasmine (Jasminum polyanthum)

• Day lilies in unusual colours (Hemerocallis hybrids)

• Gaura (Oenothera lindheimeri)

• Rock rose (Cistus hybrids)

• Sweet alyssum (Lobularia maritima)

• Yellow bush lilies (Clivia miniata)

Pre-loved garden art

In addition to Lee's plant selection, interesting finds from antique stores and scrapyards also form a continuous theme in the garden.

When the sun shines through the stained-glasspanes of this old church window, it forms a lovelyfocal point in the garden. Photo: Christoph Hoffmann

"One of our favourite hobbies is rummaging for things we can repurpose. We came across the most beautiful stained-glass windows at a scrapyard that were originally part of an old church. Now they have a new purpose in our garden!

"Hanko discovered one of our sculptures when he went to the dump to offload garden refuse. It was just lying there so he bought it from the supervisor for a few rand. The sculpture of the little girl by the pool dates back to the 1920s.

The sculpture of the little girl by the pool dates back to the 1920s. Photo: Christoph Hoffmann

"We spotted her at a place where we had carpets cleaned. The owner was happy to sell it to us; she felt it was time for the little girl to find a new home."

Lee's garden full of herbs, sculptures and pots is her happy place.

"I love getting my hands dirty and coming into contact with the soil and plants in my garden. It's where I enjoy myself, and is an escape from work stress," she says.

The mosaic by the fountain is Lee's handiwork. "The fountain's crescent-shaped bowls came from a scrapyard. It was one large circular cement structure without a base. Hanko cut it in half and stacked the two halves on top of each other, then attached them together on the inside. It's three years old already and doesn't leak at all, so whatever he's done is working!" says Lee. Photo: Christoph Hoffmann

"I don't have to compete with anyone here. I'm not concerned about other people's opinions of the garden - to us it's a beautiful, tranquil environment.

Lee and her daughter Manya. Photo: Christoph Hoffmann

"But I wouldn't have been able to make these changes to the garden on my own. Hanko enjoys helping to plan the structures, while Americo Macamo, an excellent handyman and gardener, is good at executing all our plans.

Americo Macamo. Photo: Christoph Hoffmann

"Hanko works in the corporate world so he finds it relaxing to do projects over the weekends. Our garden really is a team effort."

(105m²)

KITCHEN GARDEN

"One thing I knew from the get-go was that I wanted a kitchen garden with six huge planter boxes in which I could grow veggies and herbs," recalls Lee.