Innholdsfortegnelse for February 2023 i SA Garden and Home

ED'S LETTER I must start with a few wise words from Mr Alfred Hitcock… ‘Happiness is a small house, with a big kitchen.’ I think he was onto something – not necessarily related to scale or ratio but perhaps more poetically, about the importance of the kitchen in any home. It is the heart of this issue – and I could find not one person to disagree that it's the heart of every home. This remains true whether you're a foodie, functional kitchen/eating kind of person or fancy yourself a rookie stylist. And it's definitely true if, like me, you would sight your culinary spirit-human to be a splice of Samin Nosrat (or any culinary talent) and a slightly obsessive stylist with a penchant for a crumbless counter and pretty…

Wonderful waste Composting in your kitchen has an enormous impact on South Africa's landfill crisis as well as greenhouse gas emissions. One study found that up to 40% of landfill waste in SA is organic or biodegradable – so it's time to order a Bokashi bucket. Bokashi is simple: Seal organic waste in an airtight container hidden in your kitchen, add some Bokashi bran, drain the tea periodically as scraps ferment, and then add to the compost. And voila! Reduce, reuse, remodel Thinking of remodelling? Find a carpenter who knows their way around reclaimed wood. Working with existing materials – both upcycled and refinished – is a great way to get creative. It doesn't have to look shabby, there are hundreds of ways to make reclaimed wood match up to…

Know your methods Wheel-thrown pottery is made by shaping the vessel as it spins on a wheel while handmoulded pottery is made in four ways: pinch, coil, slabs and slip. Explore your preference before signing up, or try your hand at them all if you can't make up your mind. Keep expectations realistic Don't let the new hobby and skill burn out because you hoped to become the next South African ceramic star after a few lessons. Take it as an opportunity to practise patience and mindfulness as you learn to work the clay. Pottery is a patient craft! Practise often Practise makes… well, maybe not perfect but better at least! Accept that many creations will come out wonky at first, but persevere until you're proud of what practise and…

Standard trays often simply don't fit your drawer and more than cutlery and utensils. These simple instructions can be tweaked to create organisers of every kind. No more digging around tangled heaps – another win for ‘doing it yourself’! Time to complete: +- 1.5 hours Tools & materials needed: Jigsaw or hand saw and mitre box Hammer and small panel pins Wood glue Pencil and measuring tape Speed square Masking tape and/or long spreader clamps Pine cover strips used 2: 8 mm x 44 mm x 3 m Optional extras: Decorative vinyl contact paper Masonite board LET'S GET STARTED! For custom organisers, use this project as a guide and test the fit by using a few bits of Prestik. Test the build before fixing your custom strips. Remember that even…

STYLEMAKER A kitchen is a place where love is actively cultivated, in the truest sense. Perhaps that's why my love affair with cooking runs as deep as it does. So yes, I do believe the kitchen is the heart of the home – a sanctuary for many, the hero of core memories. From fire food and humble living to suburban bliss and kitchens akin to a show set like on MasterChef, it is the centre of possibility, flavour and storytelling. Everything you keep there is for your delight, experimentation and comfort. And most of what's produced brings joy and fulfilment – we must always account for the dash of very real frustration when a new recipe doesn't quite turn out how we hoped. Cue the burning of onions! From your…

Favourite material for kitchen worktops? Cross-laminated sustainably sourced bamboo and light stone tops fashioned from recycled raw materials. Top cooking essential? A heavy-based cast-iron griddle pan I use indoors, outdoors and in the oven! Appliance you can't live without? A decent gas hob – moving to a small coastal apartment with an ancient oven has made me appre date the simple things even more. We use a camping stove when gas is all that will do! Secret power in the kitchen? Cookies! I actually had a small food business that specialised in cookie dough and picnic snacks before I rejoined the publishing space. Thoughts on sustainability? We have a Bokashi bin on our balcony. By the time this issue reaches the shelves, we'll have started a fresh batch for a…

HOT TOPIC A LIVING KITCHEN Over ime, the kitchen has become more than just a functional space to prepare food. Now, it's the heart of most homes regardless of its size orthe skill of those using it. Here are a few quick tips on making sure your kitchen is ready for some extra memories: A few plants or herb pots to add some greenery and prettify those action pictures Practical seating that suits your space A compact device for streaming music or to connectyour phone to A few pretty candles to create the mood and deter insects Extra aprons and cutting boards for visitors…

DIY DELIGHT Confronted by a tiny kitchen filled with generic cabinetry, the owners simply pulled it all out, gave the worn tiled splashback a slick of matt black paint, and added simple wooden shelving sourced at the hardware store. Practical steel countertops installed by a friend lend the space a quirky, industrial appeal, and the final additions of a solid poplar wood table and vintage school chairs transformed this little kitchen into the most popular room in the house. WONDER WOOD In a small, open-plan loft conversion, the kitchen consists of part of a wall storage unit on one side, plus a wooden room divider on the other. The latter does triple design duly: it demarcates the entrance hall, separates off the working kitchen space, and houses appliances out of…

PLANT OF THE MONTH When starting a vegetable garden, the first plants that come to mind are often ones we find most often at grocery stores – tomatoes, onions, lettuce, and more. But there is one essential edible garden plant you won't always find in stores that's likely to become your new favourite – nasturtium. Nasturtiums (Tropaeolum majus) have a seemingly endless list of uses in the garden. Spreading quickly as a low-growing ground cover, the massive leaves fill up space, keep weeds away and retain moisture. Above these leaves emerge bright flowers in a range of fiery colours that add wonderful ornamental interest. Nasturtiums are perhaps most well known for their use as a trap crop, drawing pests like aphids away from your prized vegetable patch and taking one…

HANDS ON WHAT YOU'LL NEED Fresh flowers Tin snips Scissors Two metal vents Water vials (available online or from floral stores) Glue Rope 4 hooks 4 pieces of wood (to create a frame)…

Megan Paulse Our fabulous group editor is an old soul with a deep love for music. More than that, she's quite the baker outside of herfast-paced career in publishing. What makes the kitchen the heart of the home? ‘It's where special meals and memories are created. Licking the batter off a spatula and dancing in the kitchen with loved ones. There's so much more to it than just a pretty space to make a meal in! What's your dream kitchen aesthetic? ‘A French farmhouse kitchen to home my most precious possession: recipe books passed on from my mom and gran.’ megspaulse Madison Moulton Our gardening gal and blogger extraordinaire doesn't leave foliage behind when she goes home to daydream and eat gorgeous fresh ingredients in her tiny kitchen. What about…

After doing extensive research, Easylife Kitchens have you covered on all you need to know about what to use in your brand-new kitchen or your next kitchen renovation. Metro Tiles Kitchen splash-backs are making a huge comeback this year. The difference is that matt finishes are easing their way out to say ‘hello’ to gleaming tiles. What makes this trend even more exciting is that glossy tiles are so much easier to clean. Rectangular tiles in the metropolitan design will create the perfect trendy kitchen. Sunny Kitchens Natural lighting is everything in 2023. Think large windows and light pipes or tunnels above the kitchen space for extra light, sun and warmth. Natural lighting is much more inviting than artificial lighting and can even make the space feel bigger. It also…

Mfolo Arts Centre, Soweto While the centre is filled with sewing, dance and music lessons, its steward, Mxolisi Ngcayiya, is passionate about pottery. Hidden in Mzilikazi Street, it neighbours a wellused local library. Ngcayiya joined forces with artist John Mbulayeni after they met in 2003. Initially, they focused on a project teaching pottery to the youth. Now, Mfolo Art Ceramic is their pottery studio that offers both beautiful sculptures and products for buyers but also annual pottery workshops for those keen to join a class and learn a new skill. 011 982 2467 Earth's Clay, Johannesburg Veronique Wendling considered herself a potter for a long time before giving her first lesson during the pandemic. When she received a call asking if she provided lessons, she was enthusiastic about sharing what…

HEAVENLY HOMES What would the opposite of folly be? A building that is not purely decorative but practical, too? Whatever it is, the De Wit family spent four years exploring what the answer might be on their farm in the Cradle of Humankind, northwest of Johannesburg. Lee, his wife, Lauren, and their son, Leo, have even ended up living in the result for a time to refine their ideas. When the De Wit family moved to the farm more than a decade ago, people had lived and worked on the land for more than a century, and it bore the scars. Now, large sections of communal lands shared with neighbouring farms form a nature reserve. Caught between a natural landscape and a purely artistic one – and set on the…

Six years ago, Kobus van der Merwe quit his job as an online editor for a restaurant review website in Cape Town, South Africa's cosmopolitan tourism hub. He wasn't quite sure what it was that he needed to do, but he knew he wanted to start afresh and do something more hands-on with food. And so he moved out of the city to the arid West Coast town of Paternoster to live in a beautiful yet spartan cottage deep in the veld. What happened next was even more unusual. Rather than opening a fish and chip shop or a classic seafood restaurant – businesses that would have an obviously decent chance of survival – he started something completely different with his restaurant Oep ve Koep (Afrikaans for ‘Open for Business’).…

Almost any vessel can be used as a plant container, but there are some very important facts to note before you start planting. If you are a beginner gardener, the bigger the pot the better. Large containers hold more soil and therefore hold moisture for longer. Drainage is the most important factor in container gardening – soggy roots kill most plants. Make sure that your container is deep enough. Leafy vegetables such as spinach, lettuce and salad leaves are fine in a shallow pot, while fruiting vegetables like tomatoes, peppers and brinjals require more depth for their roots. Take care not to overcrowd containers. It will result in nutrient competition and impact plant health. Make sure that tall and vining varieties, such as tomatoes or beans, have enough support. The…

SEASONALLY FRESH Bees and their magical sweet honey have featured prominently in myth and storytelling from the beginning of mankind, illustrating their long relationship with humans. In the last decade, however, their numbers have been diminishing at a frightening rate, due to pesticides, disease and urbanisation. We might not miss our honey as much as Pooh Bear would if it's gone. And while we'd manage without it, we would struggle to survive without bees because they are vital pollinators for the majority of crops that feed us worldwide. As gardeners, there is plenty we can do to provide happy homes for bees. About honey bees Approximately twenty to eighty thousand bees live in one hive, working and cohabitating in a harmonious and ordered social group. At the heart of the…