The following are key points of the soft landscaping:

• The soft landscaping combines informal planting with formal avenues;

• A sidewalk on the outside of the property is a patchwork of color in the form of indigenous material, planted in triangular shapes which follow patterns on the exterior walls;

• Steep slopes have been stabilized by natural rock rather than retaining walls, combining an aesthetic and engineering approach;

• Although the hard landscaping is presently dominant, this will be balanced out when the trees are bigger;

• Waterside planting features strongly, as do trees that enjoy water;

• Different plant groupings on steep slopes act as erosion controlling elements, for example Bindweed and Erigeron between the rocks;

• Some plants have a screening effect (adjacent to homes, passive recreational areas and children’s play areas) and others have been used to define spaces (sense of enclosure);

• A savanna area with indigenous grasses has been seeded with Rye Grass and fast-growing pioneer species; veldgrasses were established by hydro seeding;

• Organic materials used include logs, rock and gravel;

• Open, larger lawn areas can be used for active recreation such as ball play, social functions etc;

• A ‘forest’ section has been created on a hill, moving down towards the dam. So, gazebo on the hill with a view over the dam is reached via a pathway of logs and gravel;

• A path goes down the other side of the hill and two sections of lawn are communal and play areas;

• The created forest is a relaxation area which imitates an actual forest on the opposite side of the Kruger Dam.