Need a break? Enjoy your very own paradise at home

When one thinks of spending time in peace and tranquility, one’s mind almost immediately associates with a faraway destination. A destination that can only be reached after having spent a considerable amount of time and money. The difficulty with this is that we usually have either the time or the money, but seldom both simultaneously.

If you can’t manage the time off to visit your favourite getaway destination, why not re-create it at home? Having your own piece of paradise at home means that you not only need a minute or two to reach your destination, but you also increase the enjoyment and value of one of your most prized assets – your home.

Your window of opportunity to escape to paradise will no longer be limited to weekends and holidays… you can go at any time! Just imagine having a tough day at work and being able to arrive home and immediately sneak away to your private garden destination?

Relax near your very own water feature, while it plays one of nature’s tunes. Engage in conversation around a flickering fire. Perhaps add a little sizzle to the braai… Your options are endless.

In times of worldwide economic uncertainty, what better place is there to invest your money than your home?

A landscaped garden can add substantial value to your property with every passing year, as it grows and matures. It is also the very first thing that a potential buyer or visitor will see as they arrive at your home. Your garden is what provides that first, lasting impression and is seen long before your kitchen or bathrooms, places where people traditionally spend vast amounts of money.

Gardens are by no way limited to planting alone. A truly awesome garden should also cater to your lifestyle. For example, if you love to entertain, you should consider an outdoor kitchen, a fire pit area or an outdoor patio. These features will take your events to a new level.

Perhaps you are more of a home body. In this case, a meditation space, outdoor work space or a reading nook may squeeze additional enjoyment from your outdoor space.

We have spent many years not simply designing and installing beautiful gardens, but creating designer outdoor living spaces that entice one to make full use of the space outside. The addition of a well-designed fire-pit, braai area, swimming pool or patio area can have an enormous impact on the enjoyment that you will get out of your property. These are places where you will build memories and spend time with the ones you hold dear.

A garden is not just something to look at, it is something that stimulates all of the senses and must be experienced in order to fully appreciate and enjoy what it has to offer. Gardens can offer: sound stimulation such as the rustling of leaves or water flowing through a water feature, visual stimulation in terms of design, colours, shapes and textures, olfactory stimulation from the scents of flowers and freshly cut lawns, stimulation of taste from fruits and edible flowers and of course, the sense of touch is stimulated by the textures that are found in rocks, tree bark and leaves.

A well-designed outdoor area that is designed to suit your specific lifestyle and aesthetic requirements can quickly turn an otherwise unused area in the garden into a practical and enjoyable feature that is not only a great talking point but a treasured part of your home.