A clever landscaping solution for a sandy patch of lawn
A sandy patch of grass right outside their front door was a real headache for the Esterhuyses, so they devised a clever solution.
A house on the edge of the desert, just a stone’s throw away from the ocean, may sound idyllic, and it is. But it presents its own set of challenges.
“We’ve always got sand in our house,” says Laurette. “Especially with our Staffie kids, Josef and Sofia, who love rolling around on the beach. It sometimes feels as if I’m sweeping the entire Dune 7 – the highest dune in Namibia between Swakopmund and Walvis Bay – out of the house!
Laurette and Willem initially planted grass outside their front door but it cost a fortune to irrigate and needed constant upkeep to keep it alive. “It simply refused to
thrive,” recalls Laurette. “In addition, the foot traffic to the front door had created a track across the lawn and eventually there was more sand than grass.”
Since water is scarce and costly, the couple considered many different waterwise options. “Tiles, a deck or a concrete slab were all on our list but we’ve always loved a touch of greenery and didn’t want to abandon the idea of grass. After visiting friends in Cape Town, Willem came up with the idea of laying pavers with artificial grass in-between.
“Werner Kotze of Perfect Settings in Cape Town, who did our friends’ project, gave us invaluable advice, then we decided to tackle the job ourselves – and it only took us five days!” Laurette explains what they did...