Having a perfect landscape

Amanda Ncube

“BECOMING a great gardener takes time, passion, patience and experience,” said a landscaper from Property Changers, Mr Tendai Zonde.

Mr Zonde gives tips on different types of gardens for different age groups.

Mr Zonde said with landscaping there are a lot of things to take into account from location to budget to the homeowners.

“It is important to know the people you are dealing with and have a plan before you do anything. There are different people you might be dealing with from elderly people to single people to married people and bachelors,” he said.

Mr Zonde said people have different taste but that should not hinder you from having a perfect landscape.

“When doing gardening for elderly people who are 60 years and above, you need to take into account that they do not have the strength to be always maintaining their yards; there is a need to include a lot of artificial things hence I suggest an artificial garden for them,” he said. “Include things like paving, artwork in it and minimise on hard labour in terms of cutting and shaping shrubs and things like that. An artificial garden consists of artificial animals and flower pots.

“For other age groups I would suggest tropical gardens that are made of natural trees.

“For middle-aged you can play around with trees that you can shape, shrubs and carpet lawns. There are three different types of lawns that you can select from. These include Kikuyu, Durban and Berea,” said Mr Zonde.

Mr Zonde said: “Before selecting the lawn first consider the environment, check if there are enough trees or leaf coverage because some of the lawns are sensitive, they do not work well when there is too much heat.

“Kikuyu is very rigid and strong in the sense that it can go for days without water; it does not need much manure. I would suggest this especially when you are dealing with elderly people,” he said.

“For Durban lawn you need to buy treated manure, fertiliser and frequently water the garden. This will be good for young and active people who can maintain it.”

Mr Zonde said with single people and young people you can go crazy with you gardening. Have the modest of gardens where you can sit and enjoy the view.

“For all age groups, to spruce up the look of your garden you can include a gazebo and tile it using any outdoor tiles or just concrete. Decking can also work and the most common one you have is wood decking. Add garden chairs too,” he said.