Screen

There is a trick to designing a windscreen that both deflects the wind upwards and over the barrier and slows air movement by filtering it through the foliage.

As winter wanes and our thoughts turn to spring and puddles of warming golden sunshine, a coastal garden pulls on its itsy bitsy teeny weenie orange-pink-yellow polka dot bikini! Against a lapis lazuli sky, the colours are clear and oh so cheerful!

With howling winds and salt-laden air a fact of gardening life along the Western Cape coast, it is essential to grow a shelter belt before planting the more tender plant types - without it, gardening here is almost impossible!

Tough, evergreen hedges and screens, either formally clipped or allowed to take on a looser form, are critical components to help deflect and filter the famous Cape winds.