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Making a good impression is key in a residential estate market. An outdoor area is often the first impression potential buyers or visitors have of your estate. Buyers want to see clean and well-maintained landscapes that celebrate the local flora and fauna.
Follow these steps to ensure you meet their needs.
1. Start with a plan
A well thought out plan will ensure your outside area is just as elegant and stylish as the inside. Make a list of everything you would like to have included outside, using your homeowners as a guide.
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If your estate is family orientated, with a children’s play area, outdoor gym, and tennis courts for example, then you will want sturdy, long-lasting plants that require minimal maintenance whereas you could get away with more exotic plants in a retirement estate.
Careful planning will also ensure that plants are positioned correctly to make the most of the surrounding environment and that the full breadth of the area is put to best use.
2. Know what to plant
This will largely depend on your region and terrain and will require some research. Fynbos might be native to South Africa, but it doesn’t grow well everywhere in the country. If you are unsure about this part, consider getting the experts in or look at the South African National Biodiversity Institute’s website recommends Llwelyn Coertzen from Servest.
‘It is a great online portal with various aspects of South African biodiversity and lists the hardiness zone your estate is located in. This will help determine which plants will be best for your estate. From there, local soil conditions, aspect and lighting conditions come into play,’ he says.
Some of the most common South African plants include Clivias, Dietes, Arum lilies, Strelitzia, Vygies, Kniphophias, Proteas, Tulbaghias, Agapanthus, Aloes, Chlorophytum and various commercially available indigenous grasses. By determining your hardiness zone, you will be able to determine which plants will work well with the temperatures, humidity, and soil within your estate.
3. Diversity is key
Even if you are after a water-wise and proudly South African environment overflowing with indigenous grasses and succulents, you may have to change things around to allow for biodiversity. This is key in promoting and attracting fauna and builds up landscape resilience for it to cope under stressful conditions.
It is of particular importance if you want to attract species to your estate. Indigenous plants that stimulate your surrounding environment will help to attract animals, insects and birds, which can in turn extend the natural ‘green-belt’ of your area.
‘Play around with subtle terrain changes and aim to create heterogeneous micro landscapes within your estate,’ advises Coertzen. This way, you create pockets of biodiversity that together will contribute to the wider area.
4. Don’t forget about the trees
Gardening is not just about plants. Trees play an important role as they not only help to increase landscape diversity but also manage micro-climates.
‘It is important to consider tree size and root aggressiveness when choosing what tree and also where to plant the tree,’ explains Coertzen. Before selecting a tree, you should check to see if it will grow in your hardiness zones as well as whether the height and spread of the tree is suitable for the area.
The last thing you want is for the trees to block a view, or for the roots and branches to disturb the foundations of a property. To avoid this, consider plotting the size of the tree at maturity, to scale, in the landscaping plan of your garden.
