With summer just around the corner – and to inspire your inner gardener – we bring you four exciting garden makeovers by Craig de Necker and his team at The Friendly Plant. With each project, a drab and uninspiring space was transformed into a lush and beautiful garden.
House Auckland
The Friendly Plant’s client was looking for an outdoor space in which to relax and spend leisure time. The space is very tight, but our landscape design included a pool, lounging area and two water features that flow into the pool to create a wonderful soundtrack for the garden. From bland to grand – this back garden is now a showstopper!
House Combrink
This garden consisted of mostly sparse planting and concrete flooring. The pool is an awesome feature and we focused our landscaping design around this element. The Friendly Plant introduced fuller planting, replaced concrete slabs with planting and lawn, added a fire pit area and a Zen space with hanging chairs in a small side garden section that was underutilised.
House Kendrick
The Friendly Plant brought this garden up to date by replacing the timber decking with concrete flagstone pavers and bullnose pool coping. This provided a more contemporary and welcoming feel to the garden. The garden installation also included an extension to the patio, pathways to provide access and new planting to soften up the space.
House Korber
Talk about a makeover! The Friendly Plant’s client wanted a minimalist feel to their landscape and asked us to design an entertainer’s garden including a jacuzzi, pergola, outdoor bar, fire pit, updated planting and concrete flooring. The team transformed this garden into a showpiece that will be enjoyed for many years to come.
Five ways to transform your garden
1. Add a water feature
Water adds a relaxing soundtrack to your garden, providing white noise to drown out surrounding neighbours and traffic that may be in the area.
2. Create a destination
A place that you can use to relax and enjoy your space. Sometimes this takes the form of a simple bench or meditation space.
3. Get cooking!
An outdoor kitchen makes an awesome environment in which to prepare and cook food. Pair this with an outdoor dining space and you have an incredibly versatile and enjoyable garden feature.
4. Fire it up
A fire pit or outdoor fireplace creates an awesome atmosphere that can be enjoyed equally in summer and winter. These are great for larger celebrations and entertaining as well as for those more intimate times when the flicker of the flames enhance the moment.
5. Light it up
Garden lighting is about setting a mood in your garden and is completely different to security lighting. Garden lights create a sense of boundary in the garden and can be enjoyed whether you are hibernating inside during winter or enjoying time with friends around the braai in summer.
About The Friendly Plant
Established in 2006, The Friendly Plant offers a bespoke, client-focused, turnkey garden landscaping service. This includes holistic landscape design (including planting, fire pits, water features, outdoor kitchens and entertainment spaces) right through to project installation all under one umbrella.
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