A Garden in HARMONY

Nestled beneath the slopes of Muizenberg and nourished by the spring-fed Peck's Stream, Coniston is no ordinary garden. It is a layered, living expression of decades of travel, memory, and botanical passion, transformed through vision, collaboration, and a deep connection to place.

- Connall Oosterbroek

The garden's ambitious transformation began in May 2022, coinciding with renovations to the house. For John, the garden's owner, it was a long-held dream that was finally taking shape. He had been thinking about his dream garden for years, and with the house being renovated, it was the perfect moment to take everything he had learned and loved from gardens visited and those he helped create around the world and distil that into something new.

Before its re-imagining, the garden was already rich in character. Thanks to decades of planting, it had a strong structure. Trees and shrubs were added over time, creating a mature backbone from which to build.

Despite its innate beauty, the garden called for a more cohesive and immersive design. That's where landscaper Alan Dawson came in. John, a very knowledgeable plantsman, had a very clear vision of what he wanted. Still, the scale and complexity of the site meant it needed translating into something physically achievable. Alan’s role was, and still is, to support, guide and technically realise that vision.

What followed was a deeply collaborative process. They worked closely on everything from plant sourcing to layout and the design of the eco pool system. At the heart of the overlying design lies a concept inspired by John’s decades spent in Asia and his experiences in the gardens of Bali, Thailand, and Japan. His goal was to create a series of immersive garden rooms, each with a distinct atmosphere and emotional tone.