Our garden makeover

Renovating our garden was a huge challenge, especially for me a first-timer. But with a little research and a healthy dose of patience, flexibility, and elbow grease, I turned what was once a monstrous bare backyard made up of a huge pool and lots of grass into a garden we love — and had fun in the process.

With four children already out the house, I found that the pool maintenance was just not worth it as we rarely swan and wanted to change it from a kids’ hangout into a dream garden.

I poured through magazines and started making a scrapbook of all the gardens that I liked. Once I had settled on a design, I started sourcing contractors to do the major work. I draw up a scaled picture of what I thought the garden should look like and gave this to the various contractors.

I wanted a more appealing view and a more practical swimming pool and lots of greenery.

Before: Huge pool with grass on each side and nothing else Picture taken - 11/01/2004 Under my watchful eye, and combined with all the ideas into a master plan. I engaged t services of a pool builder to break in the old pool and create a rock pool in the deep end of the old pool. They came there with jackhammers and dumpsters and broke down the old pool on the 01/06/2006.






















After: now the garden is an oasis. I designed the pool

The whole garden makeover took three months from start to complete and I will show you some of the steps in the process. It is always a work in progress but it is now at the stage (1 year later) that it is exactly as I envisaged it from the first scratchy drawings.

















Breaking down the old pool. No going back now
01/06/2006

















Building the retaining wall inside the old pool’s deep end
02/06/2006

















Putting in the steel re-enforcing
05/06/2006

















Cement sprayed into the shell
06/06/2006

















Pool taking shape and had to dry for a couple of weeks. Winter is our rainy season so the cement took a long while to dry.
20/06/2006

















Rock features finished and first paint applied.
04/07/2006

















Laying out the garden.
23/07/2006

















Pool filled
23/07/2006

















Some of the plants going in. A lot of the plants were indigenous to South Africa. I also put it an irrigation system which is fed from a borehole.
24/07/2006

















Another view of the first plantings
25/07/2006

















Pathways taking shape and the walls painted
30/09/2006

















Entrance to garden being constructed
05/10/2006

















Gazebo completed
18/10/2006

















Trompe L’Oeil painted on one wall
22/10/2006





















Now – One year later. Entrance to the garden
16/12/2007






















Now – One year later. Bird bath
16/12/2007






















Now – One year later. View of the grass area
16/12/2007




















Now – One year later. View of the grass area
16/12/2007






















Now – One year later. View of the gazebo
16/12/2007






















Now – One year later. View of the pathway
16/12/2007