Members of the Randburg Horticultural Society (RHS) were impressed during their recent visit to the home of Paul and Pearl de Chalain. The couple have transformed the outside space of their Fourways Gardens’ home into a ‘his and her garden’.
“My husband is a Frenchman who is passionate about roses and enjoys a formal Versailles look,” said Pearl. “I love hydrangeas and a more wild and woodland look with a water feature as a key component.”
Pearl works from home as a calligrapher with views of both the ‘his’ and ‘her’ sides of the garden. “I almost resent having to go out and do the shopping,” she joked.
Members of the RHS were pleased to learn that the large rose bushes set in what looked like an old, established terraced garden, were in fact only three and a half years old. The woodland garden is even newer.
“Originally the entire area was mainly lawn as the previous owners had four cricket-mad boys,” said Pearl. “When designing our dream garden we wanted a more flower-filled space so we called in landscaper, Shirley Wallington.”
For some time there was no garden. The clay soil was trenched and dug and filled with everything needed for the growth of good, healthy plants.
“At one stage in all the dust and mess we felt quite desperate wondering if anything was ever going to be planted,” said Pearl. However, three years later, the garden proved that putting in a solid foundation of the right growth medium pays huge dividends.
Several wide trellises loaded with climbing roses and star jasmine welcome visitors into the ‘his’ garden through their scented archways.
Steps lead down past terraced beds heady with the perfume of scores of roses surrounded by boxed hedges and a myriad of choice blooms.
Past a pool and a shady patio and down some rustic steps lies the ‘her’ garden complete with splashing stream leading into a water lily-filled pond.
The visitors agreed that the gardens complemented each other perfectly.
