Getting down and dirty has taken on a whole new meaning. No space is too cramped, no budget too limited and no schedule too busy to join the new gardening craze: it’s time to go back to green living.

“This yearning for barefoot living at home is an effective way to balance the long hours worked in high-tech spaces,” says Melanie Robinson, director of Decorex Kzn.

Gardens offer endless opportunities to be less serious and more playful. Rules are less rigid and there’s room for a child-like sense of whimsy and fantasy. Defining your unique space and choosing a theme for your outdoor living area is easy once you’ve established the elements which best suit your lifestyle, say the experts.

Green therapy

The purity of nature inspires our way of life, both inside the home and out. “No wonder our gardens are now a complete source of comfort to us, a sanctuary for the entire family,” explains Louise Kelly of Green with Envy, a garden decorating shop in Durban.

After a hard day there is nothing better than relaxing on the veranda, soaking up the calming effects of a night garden. Candlelight and perfumed plants create a soothing mood.

“Gardens can be aromatherapy zones providing an extra dimension for our senses. This surprise element also adds a hint of the exotic, especially when teamed with accessories such as comfy furniture, hurricane lanterns, richly patterned throws and plump cushions.

Plants such as Jasmine, Murrya Exotica, Yesterday Today and Tomorrow, Datura (moon flower) and heliotrope exude wonderfully heady scents. Herbs also scent the air with their delicate aromas,” Kelly recommends.

Wrought iron candle chandeliers, storm lanterns or even threading fairy lights through the branches of shrubs can add a touch of whimsy an exoticism.

“Attractive lighting entices one outdoors and extends the time we spend in our garden sanctuaries,” says Kelly. “White flowering plants are also popular as they lift the garden at night instead of letting it recede into black space,” she explains.

Water is essential

No garden is complete without water. A source of texture, movement, sound and reflective light, water also attracts a host of birds, butterflies and small fauna to your garden.

Water features can be large-scale and elaborate or simple and discreet. From a small pot sunken into the ground filled with beach pebbles and a single water lily, to a series of waterways stocked with koi fish, water adds a special dimension to your garden, irrespective of size or budget.

The soothing sound of trickling or burbling water can drown out pesky traffic noise.

Grow your own greens

“The veggie garden is no longer relegated to the back garden,” says Kelly. “These days we’re planting our brinjals and broccoli in amongst our roses and rhododendrons,” she explains.

An organic garden is a happy one. So ditch those insecticides and let the earthworms and ladybugs work their biodynamic magic instead.

Add some green to small spaces

Making the most of the confines of your veranda, courtyard or balcony may be challenging, but you’d be amazed how much ‘roomier’ they’ll appear using a variety of clever tricks and optical illusions.

“Just as you would make a room inside appear larger, use big accessories such as statues placed against a wall at the end of your courtyard,” suggests Kelly. Narrowing a path slightly towards the end makes it appear longer. Lawns can be neatly edged with cobblestones creating a cared for and more defined look.

‘Pot-scaping’ can completely transform a small space. Stand-alone pots can be planted with a multitude of colourful annuals, perennials and dwarf trees and shrubs.

Use climbers, vines, trellises and window boxes to guide the eye upwards. Shelves, candleholders and artworks also add extra oomph to bland wall surfaces.

Saving the planet

According to award-winning architect Andy Horn it’s easier to go green than people think:

# Start requesting from builders and architects for products with ‘green’ credentials. For swimming pools go beyond chlorine and saline with E-Clear pools (ecleartechnologies.com).

# In certain areas, alien Gum tree wood can be used on decking in place of Balau and teak.

# When you build or renovate watch where builders dump their rubble, especially concrete. It can ruin the possibility of a thriving garden. Try and reclaim what builders demolish as much as possible and recycle it as land fill or in contouring banks when landscaping.

# If nothing else ask first before any materials are used and be a savvy and ecologically-minded consumer.

source : lifestyle.iafrica.com/