The Lifestyle Garden Design Show 2010 is open from now until April 6th and promises to provide a wealth of inspiration for gardeners.
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Inspired by last year's Chelsea Flower Show gardens which highlighted 'credit crunch' gardens, the Lifestyle show is showcasing leaner and greener 'recession' show gardens.
Since they were first staged in 1997, the Lifestyle show gardens have increasingly become the focus for garden design innovation and are an accurate barometer of the trends and issues that are preoccupying most of us in our own back gardens. This show kick starts the year and is the best place to review current trends in garden design, featuring the latest and most desirable plants, gardening products and accessories, all the while creating an explosion of colour and scents to titillate the senses.
The financial crisis has had its effect on the way South Africans work and play. Belts have been tightened and non-essentials, such as holidays and designer 'home wear' are some of the first things to disappear on the homeowner's wish list. People are staying home more – and what better way to enjoy your living space than to jazz up your garden? With a little bit of flair, and not much expense, students at Lifestyle College have come up with 11 easy-to-implement gardens that would make even Ebenezer Scrooge happy!
This year, the show will not be ignoring the molehills in the lawn of life. The show will be giving green-fingered ideas and tips on how to prune your budget while showing how everything can be cleverly combined to produce a garden that is both functional and beautiful and a true extension of the living area. The designs, which can be recreated with minimum effort by the homeowner, can easily be adapted and transformed to suit any garden and those featured are simple yet striking, making it easier than ever before for the everyday man in the street to have a spectacular garden.
Collaboration with CHOC
For the 11th consecutive year, CHOC - The Childhood Cancer Foundation of South Africa – and Lifestyle Home Garden will once again partner together, raising funds from the sale of the show brochure. The funds raised from the sale of the portfolio are used to purchase medical supplies, provide transport, upgrade and maintain the CHOC home. The full show brochure details all the gardens, providing insight into the rational behind each garden, plant lists and some tips on how you can achieve the same look in your own garden.
Fact file:
Event: Lifestyle Garden Design Show
Date: February 13 to April 6, 2010
Venue: Lifestyle Home Garden, Beyers Naudé & Ysterhout Ave, Randpark Ridge, Randburg, Gauteng
Entrance: Free
Contact: Ursula for more information on (011) 792 5616
Fax: (011) 792 5626
E-mail:
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Or log onto: www.lifestyle.co.za
Programme of events
The events programme runs in conjunction with the show. There is an exciting line-up of talks, demonstrations and other events set to inspire visitors.
- February 27, 9.30am-1.30pm – Mosaic Workshop. Cost: R350.
- March 6, 2pm-4pm – Thai cooking with the Angela Day Kitchen. Cost R75.
- March 10, 9.30 for 10am – Create a Night Garden with Colin Thompson. Cost: R50.
- March 11, 9.30 for 10am – Attract Wildlife to your garden with Roy Trendler. Cost: R50.
- March 17, 9.30 for 10am – Indigenous Gardening with Lynton Johnson. Cost: R50.
- March 20, 9.30 for 10am – SA Garden Readers Day with Lizette Jonker. Cost: R60.
- March 25, 9.30 for 10am – Elegant Table Settings and Entertaining for Easter by Louise Bredenkamp. Cost: R50.
- March 27, 10am-12noon. Easter Baking with the Angela Day Kitchen and Maatje Vollmer. Cost: R75.
Best Water Wise garden
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The winner of the best Water Wise garden was the 'Clockwork Meadow' garden. This garden was chosen because of the following:
- Plant choice of meadow flowers and grasses make it an attractive garden that does not need a lot of water, being divided into low and medium water use zones. The planting will also attract wildlife.
- The mix of exotic and indigenous plants shows how to combine these based on a theme and water use. This shows that Water Wise supports indigenous planting enthusiastically, but there is also a place for exotics in the Water Wise garden.
- The permeable pathway (gravel) with beds on the same level mean that all run-off rainfall will soak into the soil, and will not be lost.
- The water feature is non-splash, and birds will be able to drink and bathe in it.
- Containers are used to create height, and are part of the Water Wise gardening concept as these can be watered as a separate 'zone'.
- The garden is also practical to maintain, as well as being affordable, giving it a wide appeal to the public.
