It's time to garden

Buy a bottle of perfume redolent with aromas of fynbos and the Karoo; admire world-class botanical art in Stellenbosch; discover what the gardening trends forecasters are predicting for 2026; and, if you're feeling creative, make your own “flower frog”.

- MAJA PALM

FRAGRANCE ENTREPRENEUR

Bottled landscapes

The Karoo landscape of Liana Jansen's Montagu farm inspired her to develop the award-winning botantical skincare range, Fijn Botanicals, over the past few years.

It's now a favourite in homes around the world and in use at luxury spas. She told us more about her latest passion, a natural perfume range called Loam Pure Parfum.

How did your love for body products grow into developing this perfume?

I've loved perfume and fragrances long before I started making body products – as children, my sister and I would create brews using flowers and leaves from the garden. Smell is the strongest of my senses; I first understand the world around me through smell, then visually.

Tell us more about your perfumes

The Loam Pure Parfum range will eventually consist of nine perfumes. There are currently five fragrances and I will create the rest as their stories unfold. Loam refers to the fertile soil that contains the humus needed to nurture new life, and the name of each perfume is an Aramaic word for a personal characteristic. Avodah is “self control” and this fragrance captures the landscape on our farm, Kogman en Keisie. Aytme means “faith” and reflects the scent of my grandmother's flower garden in the Free State. Pao means “peace” and refers to a combination of Mauritius (where my father once lived) and the Little Karoo. Phyo is “joy”, the fragrance of a citrus orchard at the foot of the Langeberg, and Anothen is “goodness”, the aroma of an almond orchard amid the sweet-thorn trees.

How are you influenced by your profession as a landscape architect?