Despite severe water restrictions it is still possible to have an attractive garden

Despite the satisfactory rains in the Western Cape recenty and reports that water is at last once again flowing into the Cape Town catchment areas, a dire shortage of water continues to be a matter of great concern and in the real estate agency sector its impact has already been felt.

Homes which previously had magnificent gardens have often begun to look shabby and neglected. This sometimes means that not only do they give less pleasure to their owners and their guests but also, when the house is sold, it does not achieve the price it  actually deserves.

However,  home owners across Greater Cape Town have begun to respond to the challenge of severe water restrictions and to realise that they can maintain the appeal of their gardens even when using far less water. Success in this field, however, depends on sticking to certain rules and guidelines.

Quoting Jacques Marais, CEO of the highly respected company Cape Rain Irrigation and Landscaping with whom we have worked on many new developments in the Brackenfell area, he says that it is possible to survive the water restrictions successfully provided that the following essential steps are taken:

• a full commitment is made to the use of water-wise plants, the majority of which in the Western Cape are indigenous
• home owners, preferably with the help of professional horticulturists, do the necessary research to establish which plants will thrive in their property’s soil and how they should be laid out so as to  match  plants with similar water requirements
• install a grey water recycling system and tanks for capturing rain water from gutters. These important steps, says Alexander, have still not been adopted by many supposedly responsible Capetonians although there is a definite swing in this direction
• learn how to use water retaining additives in the soil and how to cover it with bark, plant mulch or other materials to prevent soil moisture escaping
• sink a well point, or better still, a borehole. The latter, Alexander acknowledges, can be expensive but well points are usually within the means of the average middle class home owner and have saved many a garden from the ravages of drought

On the gardens in many of Brackenfell’s recent residential developments, landscaped by Jacques Marais and his team, waterwise plants are flourishing, proving that those who adopt the above measures will achieve success.

We are all learning to face the reality that in the coming years we will probably never again have ample water supplies for our gardens but the achievements of Cape Rain and others have shown that the difficulties resulting from water restrictions can be overcome. This is an important fact to bear in mind particularly if the home owner is planning to sell in the next few years, because an attractive garden adds immeasurably to the value of a home.

For further information contact Rowan Alexander on 082 581 3116.