Reader garden

Beautiful blooms and striking foliage provide this Pretoria artist with the perfect backdrop for creating her artworks.

South African artist Karin Miller told her children that she had always dreamt of having a house filled with books and a garden brimming with blooms. When the family of six moved into a neglected 50-year-old house in the leafy Pretoria suburb of Waterkloof in 1997, Karin envisioned an “atmospheric paradise of flowers” for her garden.

Back then, they chose the quiet and established neighbourhood for sentimental reasons as it was close to where Karin grew up. “This specific property stole my heart because it had a lovely quaint old wooden gate,” says Karin with a smile.

Unfortunately, the garden was completely destroyed in 2009 when a second storey was added to the house, which included a long overdue studio for Karin with wonderful natural light.

However, this renovation afforded her the opportunity to sit down with landscaper Michelle Terblanche of Lilymela Landscaping to rethink the garden, which Karin often uses as a backdrop for the photography in her artworks.

“We sat with many pages marked in my treasured gardening books and talked about plants that I love and discussed how to get everything to work together as a whole,” explains Karin.

“My husband, a structural engineer, had one request: he wanted a pergola covered with polycarbonate roof sheeting where the kids could play table tennis,” says Karin with a laugh. “That turned out to be quite a big feature in the garden.”

Between this spot and the boundary wall, Michelle selected shade-loving plants with different-sized foliage, among them giant sage (Brillantaisia subulugurica), elephant’s ears (Colocasia esculenta) and misty plume bush (Tetradenia riparia). “I love the ‘jungle’ feel it created,” says Karin. “It’s my favourite background for casually photographing people.”

When the garden was redone, the natural slope was levelled and cement pathways with brick edging were laid to divide it into different rooms and sections. “The pathways draw you into the garden and invite you to explore the various rooms and nooks,” explains Karin.

Besides the formal paths with their straight lines, a winding path of grey stones leads to the more informal section of the garden.

“And with so many beautiful floor coverings available, why stick to one type? The tone of the different parts of the garden determined whether each path would be formal or informal.”

Other hard landscaping elements include pots, a fish pond and pergolas; each garden room also features different lighting, which Karin finds useful for her art and photography.

“My garden is everything I desire,” she says. “Since Covid-19 and the first lockdown, I’ve been enjoying afternoon strolls around the house – I can rack up about 8 000 steps a day. This period has really made me well acquainted with each corner of my garden in every season.” >>

I like some order and a little bit of chaos consisting of my favourite plants. I’m definitely not a perfectionist as far as my garden is concerned. – Karin

By Beatrice Moore-Nöthnagel Photographs Elza Cooper WHO LIVES HERE? Raimund and Karin Miller WHERE Waterkloof, Pretoria SIZE 800m² TYPE OF SOIL Rocky outcrops, initially loam, now compost-rich

“Combinations of colours that are traditionally regarded as ‘clashing’ – like the burgundy roses and purple salvia – really speak to me,” says Karin. She loves using these combinations in her artworks too, as they create dynamic energy.

The original garden gate that Karin fell in love with still welcomes visitors. Mexican bush sage Karin hard at work in her garden, with a backdrop of lilac irises. Pansies and mondo grass

‘Burgundy Iceberg’ rose The table tennis area only lasted a year or two as the balls kept getting lost in the lush garden. The space was converted into an entertainment area next to the pool, complete with a hanging chair (below left). Petrea volubilis

Bougainvillea, wisteria and tickey creeper (Ficus pumila) adorn the walls of the house.

The fish pond has been dubbed the “cat entertainment centre” as the Millers’ three cats love watching the fish and hiding or rolling in the lush mondo grass around its edges.

Hibiscus Azalea Pelargonium

Pelargonium Butterfly bush Cotula sericea

Begonia maculata Foxglove