REMARKABLE GARDENS OF SOUTH AFRICA

This extract from Remarkable Gardens of South Africa by Nini Bairnsfather Cloete and Craig Fraser, courtesy of Quivertree, features one of the 20 magical private gardens included in this sumptuous historical and horticultural feast of a book. We selected a walk through the garden of Una van der Spuy, the undisputed doyenne of gardening in South Africa going back to 2012, the year she turned 100. A legend in her own lifetime, the author of 11 books about gardening and the recipient of numerous awards and accolades, Una’s garden, Old Nectar is, in her words, “rather like circling the globe, for the plants in it come from the ends of the earth − China, Japan, Australia, New Zealand, North and South America and Europe”.

[When Una van der Spuy] celebrated her centenary birthday, [it] coincided with the chilly months of the Cape winter of 2012. Hers is a spirit that always manages to overcome whatever difficulties are presented to her. And in the early days of Old Nectar, there was most definitely adversity aplenty.

Una says, “It all began in 1941,” and goes on to explain how her husband, Major-General Kenneth van der Spuy, acquired the then somewhat dilapidated Cape Dutch homestead of Old Nectar in that year. Standing on just 12 acres of steep ground and facing the glorious Jonkershoek mountain, it was a charming property, but no sooner had he taken transfer of it than he had to be off on military assignments as the Second World War was still raging. He was away for almost five years, appearing only now and again for a few days at a time. Una and her two small sons were on their own. She says, “The house was without bathrooms, and worse still, without electricity.” Within six months Una had remedied the bathroom situation, but the electricity was to take five long years to be installed.

Una says her gardening knowledge at that time was nil and it is difficult to imagine how she managed, not just with the house and all that needed to be done, but with the start of the garden. She says she “knew nobody [and] had no-one to turn to for advice but realised some sort of garden had to be started” on the steeply sloping property. Heavy machinery was a thing of the future – muscle power, pickaxes and wheelbarrows were the order of the day and what today would take a few days, took three months. Nevertheless, terraces were created and a lawn laid down in front of the house. “I decided the front gable was so beautiful that I must not have a path running from the steps,” says Una, “it must be plain lawn, so I made a ‘side main path’.” Thus, a plain sweep of emerald lawn it is, stretching across the whole area in front of the house – and the gable of Old Nectar, which is indeed a very fine example of neoclassical Cape Dutch design, is set off perfectly by Una’s landscape design.

The ‘side main path’ leads away past an old reservoir that has been made beautiful with a walkway and plants around it. A small bridge over a mountain stream leads one along a pathway lined with fragrant plants to the seven different gardens that have evolved under Una’s creative care. These provide a perfect setting full of delightful surprises for the beautiful old house that gazes out towards the vista of the mountain, with tubs spilling over with ‘My Granny’ roses placed on the stoep, and erigeron daisies softening the steep steps down to the lawn.

Una believes that the form of trees is of great importance and has therefore planted far more deciduous trees than evergreen ones. In winter, when they are bare of leaves, they stand out like large pieces of sculpture. She says, “A walk through the garden is rather like circling the globe for the plants in it come from the ends of the earth – China, Japan, Australia, New Zealand, North and South America and Europe.” Among the trees here are copper beeches (Fagus sylvatica purpurea), Japanese maples (Acer palmatum), Australian frangipanis (Hymenosporum flavum), American maples (Acer negundo ‘Variegatum’), silver birches (Betula pendula) and Californian redwoods (Sequoia sempervirens), to name just a few.

“In making a garden, one aims to create an atmosphere of peace and repose,” says Una. “Each plant – tree, shrub or climber – should contribute towards this objective. The shape or form of a tree, the texture and colour of its leaves and their arrangement on the tree, are all factors to be considered in order to have a balanced and harmonious picture.”

All the seasons have been accommodated and are amply represented at Old Nectar; no less than 30 camellias and eight magnolias flower profusely in winter, brightening the days with their blossoms, while in autumn the leaves of various trees are dressed in wonderful colour and, Una says, “Spring is a glory of massed azaleas flaunting their beauty in many parts of the garden.” The summer palette is less vibrant; as Una explains, “The air is dry and hot for three months, and white and blue agapanthus stand in defiance of such uncongenial conditions.”

The round rose garden is clearly visible from the steps on the front of the house. It is divided into eight wedges with each planted to a different rose, some remaining from 1944 and still thriving – the delightfully scented ‘Crimson Glory’ is one such doughty survivor, ‘J Otto Thilow’ another and the last, ‘Etoile de Hollande’. Remarkably, all are perfect specimens still giving enormous pleasure. Pathways between the beds are edged with ‘Summer Snow’ roses and lead to a centrally placed sphere of clipped privet.

An old road that years ago led from the then-village of Stellenbosch to Jonkershoek was incorporated into the grounds of Old Nectar when a new road was installed further down the valley, some five years before Una and her husband acquired the property. This old road formed the backbone of (and inspiration for) Una’s beautiful pergola. What started with just a few brick pillars eventually expanded to 40 as they followed the graceful curve of the old road. Months of planning went into the planting, which is designed to acknowledge and represent all the four seasons.

Various roses climb and tumble, along with clematis, wisterias, jasmines and honeysuckles; all have raced up pillars only to spill over and down in dreamy disarray, their fragrances scenting the breeze. A centrally placed bench where the main path meets the pergola walk invites the visitor to linger a while to absorb the astonishing beauty of the garden. Camellias, crab-apples, cherries, maples and magnolias, among others, are planted alongside the pergola walk, each bringing their own variety of beauty to it. When placed against the backdrop of the majestic Jonkershoek mountain, it all makes for an irresistibly romantic ambience. As Una says, “There is magic wherever you walk in the garden at Old Nectar.” •

Giveaway

We have a copy of Remarkable Gardens of South Africa by Nini Bairnsfather Cloete and Craig Fraser to give away, courtesy of its publisher, Quivertree.

To stand a chance to win, send an email to info@silverdigest.co.za with ‘Remarkable Gardens’ in the subject line, including your name and contact details before 30 November 2020.