At the far end of the verandah, a magnificent bronze of a leopard by renowned sculptor Dylan Lewis commands attention.
At the far end of the verandah, a magnificent bronze of a leopard by renowned sculptor Dylan Lewis commands attention.
The wide, covered verandah combines elegance with comfort: chunky cane sofas are piled with plump cushions, while an outdoor dining table blends with the neutral tones of the sofas.
Previously the tennis court, the formal garden now features a central fountain, which separates a pair of putting greens.
Cape artist Simon Stone was commissioned to execute a mosaic on the high back of a concrete bench, with the express request to include Cape scenes in the design. The bench creates a focal point in the garden at the end of a long bed of Salmon Sunsation roses inside quads and edged with a buxus hedge. When in flower during summer, the abundant blooms of an overgrown Pride of India tree (Lagerstroemia indica) echo the strong peachy colours used in the mosaic.
The circular fountain is surrounded by a bed of miniature Salmon Sensation roses.
The pond itself is covered by a custom-designed iron grid to protect the goldfish from small children and rapacious herons.
An even better asset – once a tennis court, the new layout of the garden includes a pair of putting greens.
Benjamin, the family spaniel, greets visitors who reach the front door via an entrance courtyard. A magnolia tree provides shade to pot plants and flowerbeds that soften the hard lines of the paving.
What could have been a large and boring stretch of paving has been given a new look by alternating the paving stones with checkerboard squares of mondo grass (Ophiopogon japonicus). A small bamboo forest along the boundary brings an interesting oriental touch to the garden. The bronze torso, under a leopard tree, is by Fanie Eloff.
A ‘Cape townhouse’ best describes the architecture of this delightful house in Johannesburg, set among an arboretum of marvellously mature large trees, including silver birches, stinkwoods, English planes, elms, magnolias, a yellowwood and a massive 100-year-old English oak.
Rosa Dougherty admits that her desire to be rid of a seldom-used tennis court – just recently resurfaced – was proving to be difficult. Her husband, Simon, explains that the thought of demolishing an ‘asset’ went against his conservative nature. However, fate played a hand and Rosa’s dream of transforming the hard outlook of the court into a visually beautiful, soft, structured garden took a step forward when a very old belhambra tree collapsed onto the court in a storm.
Grabbing the opportunity thus presented, Rosa proposed that two matching formal lawns in the new layout for the garden be converted into putting greens simply by deepening the foundations. Simon’s heart softened and now, with the benefit of hindsight, he admits that the result is a win for them both. He says, ‘You are now drawn down onto the putting greens, and the new garden from which you can at last fully appreciate not only the immediate garden, but all the magnificent trees around you.’
The style and ambience of this garden embraces aspects of Cape Town (where Rosa grew up), Simon’s passion for golf and their mutual love of art. It was achieved with assistance of close friend and professional landscape gardener Jenny Anderson, and now the garden is a potpourri of colourful plants, flowering roses, a fountain feature, artworks and, of course, a pair of putting greens.
A fun gift from Rosa’s sister of a pair of animal print gardening clogs unintentionally co-ordinates with the bronze leopard.
‘I’m not superstitious, but when lightning struck the belhambra tree and it fell over the tennis court, we felt it was a sure sign that the court should go and a putting green should step forward.’