Ivor Markman

 

When husband and wife Andy and Lesley Stuart bought their farm, Kelvinside, a few kilometers outside Bedford 32 years ago, there was nothing to speak of in terms of a garden.

"There was a hole in the ground and terraces, a plane tree, an oak tree and two or three others were between two and two-and-a-half metres high and that was it,” said Lesley.

Now the garden boasts a beautiful, colourful array of flowers and an outstanding water feature.

Formerly citrus farmers near Fort Beaufort, the Stuarts were compelled to sell their farm on the Kai River by the previous regime, as the property was situated in the old Ciskei homeland.

"When we arrived at Kelvinside there was not a drop of running water on the farm,” said Lesley.

All the water on the land is pumped from underground.

"I love Bedford, the people, the farm. I love everything but I must have running water.

“So I built a water feature so I could have that sound of running water like the Kat River.

“It is my personal mini Kat River;' she said.

A variety of different sized rocks were required for the feature so Lesley went for long walks in the veld, marking selected rocks with a piece of chalk.

"I then asked Andy for a tractor and trailer and we went to fetch them,” she said.

Originally it was intended there would be fish in the bottom pool, but when the base was poured, staff were a bit over-enthusiastic.

"The pool was supposed to be 30cm deep but because too much cement was poured, it is now only l0cm. So now there are no fish and no water lilies, but we've got the ducks;' said Lesley.

The theme of the garden is peace.

Lesley's favourite flower is a yellow rose with a pink edge, named no other than "Peace”.

All over the garden she has created nooks and crannies with benches where she can sit and soak up the serenity after a hectic day at the farm.

"I wanted a peaceful garden and to have one I needed water, shade and all the plants to be within the perimeter, because as soon as you start doing little bits it gets busy.”

When the Stuarts arrived in Bedford they were among the first members of the local garden club.

One of the club's first speakers was Keith Kirsten, who told them it would be five years before they would be able to tell in which direction their gardens were going.

"I couldn’t wait for five years,” said Lesley.

Planning is the secret to a successful garden, she says.

First, the garden perimeters must be drawn out and the plan must be stuck to.

"You mustn’t then go and make another bed in the middle:'

She admits to making one mistake when creating her garden.

"By the end of the first season I hadn’t planted one tree.”

Lesley told Andy she wanted to plant a fast-growing tipuana tree for shade.

Although she promised to cut it down as soon as the other shade trees grew, she became so attached to it she was unable to do so.

The tree still stands in all its glory today.

Andy helped a lot by organising the pop-up sprinkler system and allowing farm staff to clean the water gardens, said Lesley.

 

TEXT: Copyright Ivor Markman 2013