A Vernacular Restoration Project Published

To devote oneself to a restoration project means that you have to sacrifice and compromise along the way. Our passion for history and particularly architectural history allowed us to discover not just the joy of restoring a Cape vernacular building but the history of a whole region that has been unrecorded.

We have taken an old building and through the restoration of it have discovered the human lives that has shaped it and transformed it. In honouring the buildings and their integrity we have honoured the people that lived in it.

The rich history of the region is something to be proud of and we tried to capture it in restoring a house and garden that celebrates the best of a simple but generous life.

Towerwater  has enchanted our lives and made it rich with experiences culminating in the lecture about the restoration of the property to the Vernacular Architecture Society of South Africa followed by a tour to the property and Bonnievale in October 2014. The nomination for a Captrust award and winning that in November 2014 was a big unexpected honour.  Publishing the record of the restoration of Towerwater in December 2014 was the biggest Christmas present ever.

The best Christmas Present

Years of research, days in the archives and hours on the internet e-mailing different parts of the story between Cape Town and Pretoria finally came together, I would research and write bits of the history in Cape Town and Keith will fit the big picture together in Pretoria. After days of intense editing we agreed on the final draft and it was presented to Dr Antonia Malan who spent more time on the layout and presentation to make sure it meets the requirements of publications for the Vernacular Architecture Society of South Africa.

We are grateful for the time and effort Dr Malan spent on the publication and we are very proud of the final product.

And the biggest thanks are owed to Heinrich Wolff who made time in his busy schedule juggling teaching in  Zurich and the practise in Cape Town to draw the cover  for the publication.

Cover Drawings by Heinrich Wolff

It was an eventful year and we enjoyed every minute of it, thank you to all the people we could share it with. Joy is not just one big experience but a million little ones.

Enchanted Waters

We decided on the name of the property as Towerwater Aan De Breede to honour the historical name of the original Loan Farm “Aan De Breede Rivier” and to maintain the historical context of the buildings.  

The Towerwater part is to honour the later history of the canal that flows past the property and provides the water that turns the garden into this magical space.

Towerwater means enchanted water and because the water in the canal imparts this magic quality and effect to the property we decided to call it that. The charm is that the water in the canal flows straight out of the Breede River and in essence the property is still “Aan de Breede Rivier” (Next to the Breede River)

The cottage from the rosarium

The canal creates a micro climate for the rosarium that borders the whole length of it. The roses are a feast for the senses and having this silent body of water flowing next to them is magical in its own way.

Drops of cool water
burst into bright rose petals
it must be summer.

Strange Fruit

We are trying to keep the garden as organic as possible especially our edible gardens. We have struggled with fruit fly infestations for years. My efforts with homemade bait stations had some results but we still lost a lot of fruit.

This year I got the M3 fruit fly bait stations from a company in Wellington. I hanged these bright yellow square stations through the orchard giving it a feel of trees covered in strange fruit.

Strange Fruit

How the bait station works is that the female fruit fly needs  a protein meal before reproduction and is attracted to the bait station and is killed.

Apricots

This year the problem has been reduced to such an extent that I could harvest the healthiest fruit and what a joy it is to walk in the orchard picking fresh fruit and eating it right there with the sweetness of the ripe fruit bursting into my mouth . 

Plums

The apricots, nectarines and plums are such a luxury to have in a bowl in the house.

Nectarines

Plums

The apples and pears are also promising to be a success this year.

Apples

  

Pears

Haiku for my orchard:

The African sun
captured in your fruit
the taste of happiness

Adventure is a Garden Path Away

When I plan my seasonal vegetable garden I plan for the plate. I enjoy playing with colours in a meal and that is why I prefer classic white crockery. White plates are the perfect canvas for colourful vegetables.

I planted red, black, yellow and orange tomatoes and then my garden gave me a profusion of tomato plants that is coming up wherever we used the home grown compost. I suppose the garden decided if I like surprises it will surprise me.

I have three types of corn(maize) in my garden. Yellow sweetcorn, Thai Gold baby salad corn and Black Aztec corn that a colleague bought for me at the Oranjezicht city farm. I cannot wait to see the black corn. Within a week the seeds were up and already stand 3 cm high.

 

It is true what they say, what you send into the world comes back to you. So friends and colleagues constantly present me with interesting seeds that always lead to a new adventure of discovery in my vegetable garden.

I can never be bored because at Towerwater adventure is just a garden path away.

My Garden the Artist

When I look at the garden as a whole I am filled with a sense of awe. It is true that we planned it all and in 23 years we have stuck to the original plan not changing but layering, creating a multifaceted garden.

We planned the canvas but nature is the real artist transforming the garden in to an art gallery where I get glimpses of Gregoire Boonzaier, Conrad Theys and Francois Krige.

Moonflowers by my Garden

Moonflowers by Gregoire Boonzaier

The Magic of Load Shedding

The weekend’s frustrations and pleasures were caused by Eskom and the ever present Load Shedding.

Watering the garden in 34° Celsius on Saturday and 5 hours daylight time without power was nearly impossible and the watering had to continue on Sunday in 36° Celsius.

It was a rare weekend to have Heinrich home from Zurich and I decided to have him, Michael and Susan over for supper. The Challenge was to have a meal that could be prepared in spite of Eskom.

The summer evenings in Bonnievale is perfect for al fresco meals and I had set up the table under the oak tree and hanged the area full of  solar lamps that the Wolff’s gave me for my birthday earlier this year. The bright sunshine during the day meant that the solar lids of the jars could charge properly.

The lights were like fireflies captured in preserve jars and made me feel like a child discovering the fun of capturing a special moment.

Sunshine in a Jar

With the full moon in the sky it was a magical setting. The garden provided most of the ingredients for supper from Royal apricots, young green beans, mixed salad leaves, yellow salad tomatoes and fresh strawberries.

 

We had Aperol Spritz with bacon rolls filled with Royal apricots and blue cheese for pre-dinner drinks and snacks. I baked a “potbrood” in between load shedding and that provided some relieve from stray hunger pangs.

As main course I served smoked chicken (from the local butcher) on a bed of mixed salad leaves with yellow and red tomatoes, blanched young green beans, avocado and feta cheese  all this was complimented by Susan’s Green Goddess salad dressing. The wine for the evening was Graham Beck’s Gorgeous, a Pinot Noir/Chardonay blend that really complimented the chicken and the creaminess of the salad dressing. It is a playful rose wine with a cheeky name.

For desert we had minted strawberry cups with vanilla bean cream and Susan brought a delicious traditional American pumpkin pie. This was served with Rooiberg Muskadel over crushed ice.

Capturing a Light Moment

It was a magical evening shared with special friends and in a secluded garden in Bonnievale the darkness was kept at bay by the sun captured in preserve jars.

Daiquiris at Dusk

I must have talked about the taste of sun ripened Strawberries before but I am always surprised by the flavour of a freshly picked Strawberry from the garden. I can taste the sun  from a million happy days in one sweet Strawberry.

Saturday was a scorcher and keeping the garden cool and hydrated left me thirsty but luckily I could make fresh lemonade with the lemon cordial I made earlier in the year.

Garden Gifts

The garden rewarded me with a bowl of Strawberries and I decided to celebrate my glorious hot day with a Frozen Strawberry Daiquiri or two.

If I thought the taste of freshly picked Strawberries were incredible the Frozen Strawberry Daiquiri made with them was unbearably delicious.

Frozen Strawberry Daiquiri

I sat under the big oak sipping the sweet pleasure from the garden through tiny bits of ice, leaving me cooled in the diminishing heat of dusk.

The frogs softly echoed the cool contentment of a happy garden and I felt oddly sophisticated sipping sundowners at dusk.

A Petit Problem

My weekend was filled with the harvesting of vegetables. I needed days to turn the bounty of vegetables into amazing meals but the hot days forced me to just tend to the garden. The rose garden demanded constant attention and every plant was extremely thirsty.

 

I could fit some harvesting in between watering the lawn, herbs, fruit trees, flowers and vegetables.

 

The Patty Pans did not read the instruction properly and turned into Grande Pans in two weeks.

 

The Patty Pan in front of the basket is how big a Patty Pan should be

I find harvesting beans the most time consuming of all the vegetables, carrots and beetroot I can just pull out but beans need to be picked one by one with a scissor. If you know how a bean bush grows you will understand it is not just   about picking but extracting them from the profusion of stems.

The best green beans, I can eat them like asparagus

But as Marina Schinz said “To create a garden is to search for a better world. In our effort to improve on nature, we are guided by a vision of paradise. Whether the result is a horticultural masterpiece or only a modest vegetable patch, it is based on the expectation of a glorious future. This hope for the future is at the heart of all gardening.”

Pumpkins on the roof  with a petit french flair

Do I Smell Christmas in the Garden

Coming home after two weeks was like coming home to a whole new property not because it is now an award winning property in fact the house did not look aware that it won an award, it was still standing there gracefully as usual waiting for me to relax and enjoy just being home

 

Explosions of Hydrangeas

The garden did what gardens do best, grow. The garden is getting ready for Christmas with the Hydrangeas and Agapanthus coming into flower. My memory of the garden at Christmas is big bushes of Hydrangeas brightening up shady spots in the garden with their profusion of pinks and blues. The Agapanthus are flowering everywhere , on traffic islands and along the road between Robertson and Bonnievale.

The vegetable garden is preparing for the Christmas table with a selection of vegetables coming into season that will grace the lunch and dinner table with dishes complimented with fresh organic vegetables.

 

What is for Lunch?

The orchard smells of ripening fruit and the Christmas plums hang like red baubles on the tree.

 

It is the season for celebrating life and what better way to celebrate it than with the produce from your own garden.

Capturing Beauty

When we saw the house in Bonnievale for the first time in January 1991 it was a house in desperate need of rescuing. The first glimpse of it was from across the canal and the 60’s steel frame windows did not give much away of the age of the house. The house was a mess inside and the “sunroom” added in the 60’s was just that; a space capturing the dusty rays of sunlight falling through threadbare curtains.

The Start of a Dream 1991

Walking through the front door our hearts skipped a beat looking at the cow dung floors covered with threadbare linoleum, the reeded ceilings and wall cupboards.  We saw glimpses of a former beauty and the potential just waiting to be restored.

We sacrificed a lot to realise our dream but we were rewarded time and time again by the property and we still stand amazed at how our dream to capture a lifestyle came true.

We wanted to restore more than just a Cape vernacular house we wanted to restore a true vernacular lifestyle with a holistic approach to the restoration of the fruit, vegetable, herb and flower gardens.

Realising the Dream 2013

We collected Cape country furniture to compliment the house and capture the art of historical craftsmen.  We managed to introduce most of the elements of Cape country furniture back in the house and the rooms came alive with authenticity.

Old Front 1991

We introduced all the fruit and elements of a historical Cape farm garden and the Muscat de Alexandrie grapes, borrie quinces, pomegranates, black figs and other fruit names do not only fall like poetry on the ear but grace the tables  in the house like still-lifes waiting for Luis Melendez to capture them in oil.

Old Front 2013

We love our country and are proud of what our country has to offer and that is why we embrace the South African vernacular in building, furniture, food, art and writing. We have tried to capture all this in the restoration of Towerwater Aan De Breede. Our reward was a lifestyle offering the best of the local life informed by experiences during local and overseas travels.

Cottage 1991

We never wanted to capture a lifestyle suspended in a moment in time but a lifestyle informed by the excellence from different periods and experiences creating an ever evolving lifestyle.

Cottage 2013

Our reward for our sacrifice of time, dedication and passion is the privilege to share this with family and friends who have stood by us over the years, supporting and helping in so many ways.

When we were nominated for a CAPTRUST award for the restoration of Towerwater Aan De Breede it was already an honour but to receive it on Saturday 22 November 2014 was more than we expected. We dedicate this award to our family and friends who have shared our passion and life.

We also dedicate the award to family and friends who are no longer with us but whose spirit will always be part of Towerwater Aan De Breede.

We were able to capture the beauty of true friendship through capturing the beauty of an authentic life.


Towerwater Aan De Breede

 

The 2014 CAPTRUST Award for the Conservation of the Built Environment

In recognition of the restoration, the 2014 CAPTRUST Award for the Conservation of the Built Environment was presented bearing the citation, “In recognition of their dedicated and enthusiastic restoration of Towerwater aan de Breede, an outstanding example of re-construction, which is based on historical records, archaeological evidence, local oral reminiscences, hard and sustained physical labour and intelligent interpretation”.

The Measure of Things

Every day we need to measure something. If you plant seeds you measure the depth of the hole and if you cook you measure the ingredients. I collect old recipe books and most give measures as a pinch, smidgen or dash.

Now a pinch of something is clearly taking the thumb and forefinger and pinching the salt, sugar etc. The problem comes in with the size of ones fingers. Will my recipe be saltier or sweeter than somebody with a smaller hand?

My problem was solved when our friend Meta came to visit bearing gifts, a set of measuring spoons that measures a dash, pinch and smidgen. Based on these spoons, there are two pinches in a dash and two smidgens in a pinch.

Measuring Spoons from New Zealand

Now my pinch and Hildagonda’s* pinch will be exactly the same.

When sowing seeds I just make rough rows estimating the depth of the furrows and much is left to the seedling to do the rest after planting and watering. That was until Keith came home bearing a gift, a dibber.  A dibber dear friend   is a pointed wooden stick for making holes in the ground so that one can plant seeds, seedlings or small bulbs.

The dibber dates back to Roman times and the design has basically stayed the same with a few changes in the handle of it. My new dibber is the classic design, the straight dibber, well it was Keith that bought it so it would be the classic design that appealed to him.

The dibber was made by Tobias Beyers, Meta’s brother and Keith bought it at the family’s art exhibition in Pretoria.

The Dibber from Pretoria

It is quite poetic how the creativity of friends adds to and influences the creativity in one’s own environment that will in turn influence others that interacts with that environment.

The gifts are practical works of art that will contribute to the art produced in our kitchen and garden.

As long as we have hands we should use it to create beauty

*Hildagonda Duckitt, South Africa’s first lady of food born and raised at Groote Post about 150 odd years ago.

The Beauty of Detail

When we walk into a room, why do we find it beautiful? Is it the texture of a wall, the exquisite wood and design of the furniture, the patterns in carpets and upholstery or the understated floors and ceilings?

18th Century Teak Furniture with Murano Glass

For me the beauty of the rooms at Towerwater is a culmination of handmade detail. The furniture, carpets, lamps, floor tiles, ceilings and even the plaster on the walls are handmade which all rest easy on the eye. One is never conscious of the separate detail in a room but more the harmony of the sum of it.

Murano Glass Detail
 

The need to understand and the pursuit of beauty are as old as the human race itself. In 1753 William Hogarth published his book The Analysis of Beauty in which he describes his theories of visual beauty and grace in a way that was accessible to the common man of his day.

18th Century Corner Chair Detail

Hogarth had six principles, which independently affect beauty. Apart from an academic discussion of what beauty is there is the understanding of what is beautiful to each individual.

Burano Lace Detail

At Towerwater we follow the rules of simple and classic design when we add to the layers of a room. Quality workmanship and products will always enhance the beauty of a space.

Linn Ware Detail

I like simple lines and functional beauty and will always fill my life with it. When I walk into a room one item can spoil the complete effect but when the sum of a room comes together to form a harmonious space true beauty has been achieved.

Stained Glass Detail

The detail that we introduce to Towerwater is what makes it special and some of it has been collected over years and when it came together at Towerwater it was as if an intricate puzzle fell into place.

Hand Painted Ceramic Detail

Beauty is more than visual it is a sense of space that comes from inside and when it is in harmony with the universe it cannot be anything but perfect.

Linn Ware Detail