WHERE McGregor, Western Cape SIZE OF GARDEN 2 000m2 TYPE OF SOIL Bokkeveld shale bank AGE OF GARDEN 5 years
It took lots of backbreaking work with jackhammers before Heidi Muller and her partner Jeremy could start gardening on their extremely steep, rocky property in McGregor. “The ground is rock-hard Bokkeveld shale which, when it gets wet enough, turns into heavy clay,” explains Heidi. “To be able to plant, we had to create raised beds on top of the rock which we then filled with new soil.
“The low walls around the beds were built with rocks found on the property. The slope of the erf meant that our garden was exposed and open, so we also built stone walls by the braai area and stoeps to provide privacy and shelter.”
Jeremy had renovated the house before he met Heidi. “My 'brief' was to create a garden for it,” she
