Clive’s Neglected (on purpose) South African Victorian Garden

Clive’s Neglected (on purpose) South African Victorian Garden

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Nothing makes me happier than seeing a true expression of someone in something that they create.  Whether it’s art, clothes, architecture, or a garden, the realization of an individual vision is what makes being a designer fun.  So even though you might look at this garden and not see the designer beauty, I assure you that it is there.  It is the vision of what I call a Forest Temple. 

A dimly lit porch featuring a neglected hanging chandelier with red and white patterns. In the background, lush green foliage of a Victorian garden is visible through an ornate metal gate flanked by large pillars. A bench and wicker furniture are situated on the porch area.

Forest Temple is a garden style I named in my 2014 book – Cultivating Garden Style. This is how I described it:

Please, don’t assume that I expect you to have or want to plant a forest or build a temple.  Rather, I propose you think of the forest temple as a design reference for those of us tree people, fairy lovers, and wood nymphs re-incarnated.  It is for those who love to be under a canopy rather than out in the open and who find solace and peace in being surrounded by trees and greenery.  

Forest temples are divine answers to vacant or over-grown urban lots, courtyards, greenhouse gardens, tiny green patches – wherever you can fit one – and, of course, gardens that naturally incorporate the woods.  I’ve even experienced one once on the roof of a department store in Central London. 

A forest temple just barely gives the sense of being cultivated and it often has haphazard planting.  Don’t create a forest temple if you want cut flowers. This is a garden where, instead, you will be able to enjoy the fleeting beauty of an ephemeral or a single stem here and there.  They can be created from scratch (as is the garden of Clive Rundle) or they can be managed to enhance something that already exists.  Wherever it is, they are all-encompassing with warmth and patina borrowed from nature.  Woodland plants, textural trees, green walls, dangling vines, mossy pots, the smell of earth, and the sound of barely trickling water create the mood and fill the senses in this garden.

Clive Rundels, a person with glasses and a beard, stands in the middle of a lush, green garden filled with various trees and plants. They are wearing a dark jacket, jeans, and red shoes. An archway made of branches and a birdbath grace this seemingly neglected Victorian garden in the background.

Clive Rundle’s Neglected Victorian Garden

Clive Rundle is a fashion designer whose reputation for fantastic runway shows makes him the star of Johannesburg Fashion Week in South Africa.  His garden, 15 years in the perfecting, is a cultivated and refined study in rambling neglect. 

A statute of a meditative figure with long hair and intricate adornments sits surrounded by lush green foliage in a neglected Victorian garden. The serene statue appears to be made of bronze and is partially covered by natural growth, creating a peaceful, nature-integrated scene.
A weathered stone statue partially obscured by lush green foliage stands in what once might have been a grand Victorian garden. The statue, seemingly a person with a distressed expression and signs of wear, exudes an ancient and mythical air. The surrounding plants create a neglected, secret garden atmosphere.

Layering Woodland Plants in a Forest Garden

For this planting style to work, it is important to think in layers. 

First, have a leafy canopy in place. This provides the shade and the sense of protection and enclosure that defines this type of garden.  If you don’t have full-grown trees, then maybe woody vines such as grapes or roses can be trained over a pergola to create the canopy.  

It is also possible that the canopy is the overhang of an upper-level deck or balcony, the roof of a greenhouse, or, if small enough, the dappled shade provided by a container-planted tree.  

Once the canopy is in place, add texture with hanging plants and medium-sized trees.  Dwarf conifers and mid-sized shrubs like blueberries can fill out the lower middle layer. 

A lush green garden with wet red brick steps leading upward. The steps are adorned with potted plants and bordered by dense vegetation, evoking a neglected Victorian garden charm. A garden hose is coiled on the right, and an open gate is visible at the top, framed by more greenery.

Fill the floor of the garden with woodland plants, ferns, vines, and moss.  Moonflowers, roses, epimedium, and vining plants will tie the layers together as they snake through and climb or ramble.

Trillium, astilbe, and a healthy selection of lower-ground plants (roots and tubers) that give seasonal ephemeral beauty provide little fleeting sparkles of color. 

Remember that once the leaves are gone from the trees, the entire garden will be entirely different.  Rather than walls of green, you will find you have architecturally interesting branches and stems and the option to grow plants that will enjoy the little bit of sun available before the leaves set on in the spring.

Try colchicums, bloodroot, and snowdrops to create interest in the earliest of spring. 

A table and chairs sit quietly in a neglected Victorian garden, surrounded by overgrown foliage.
Timeworn and timeless: The remnants of a fashion designer’s Victorian garden in South Africa.

How to Create the Forest Temple Planting Style:

Because the joy in this type of garden comes from the natural rambling it is ok to let it look a little haphazard.  You will save yourself some backbreaking maintenance labor if you accept that this type of garden will have a strong will of it’s own and that at least a few weeds should be welcomed.

Remember that once the leaves are gone from the trees, the entire garden will be entirely different.  Rather than walls of green you will find you have architecturally interesting branches and stems, and the option to grow very early season plants that will enjoy the little bit of sun that is available before the leaves set on in the spring.

Don’t try to keep plants separated.  Encourage them to not only ramble, but get right up in each others business.  Roses or other vines growing through nearby trees or shrubs, and over other features should be encouraged as it adds to the natural tapestry. 

A large, decorative ceramic planter filled with water and floating lily pads sits on a brick patio, evoking the charm of a neglected Victorian garden. A metal chair with a woven backrest is positioned next to it, surrounded by dense green foliage and leafy vines in the background.

Think of this as an abandoned Victorian garden with a new owner who is attempting to introduce a Japanese aesthetic.

– Clive Rundle

A stone lion statue sits on a pedestal, surrounded by lush, green foliage and plants. To the left, there is an ornate metal bench. The scene evokes a serene and overgrown garden atmosphere reminiscent of a neglected Victorian garden once tended by Clive Rundels.
Rusty Victorian-style garden furniture helps to give the garden a sense of time.
A garden scene reminiscent of a Clive Rundels painting, featuring a stone lion statue on a pedestal surrounded by lush green foliage, ferns, and a white ornate metal chair—a touch of the neglected Victorian garden. Another stone object is partially visible in the foreground to the right.
A serene garden with a small stone pond reflecting raindrops in the foreground. The pathway, bordered by lush greenery, leads to a set of brick steps and a rustic wooden gate in the background. The setting is tranquil and filled with dense foliage, reminiscent of a neglected Victorian garden.
This imaginative water feature makes me think it is the remnants of an old-fashioned water filtration system from the Victorian era. But in fact, it is a newly designed water garden made purely to make us wonder.
A quaint garden pathway made of stone bricks leads up to a small brick staircase in what was once a grand Victorian garden. The path is bordered by raised stone planters filled with lush greenery and flowers. Despite signs of neglect, the dense foliage creates a serene and secluded atmosphere.
Elegance in decay: A fashion designer’s touch is to create decay in order to make it appear to be an overgrown Victorian haven.
A serene poolside garden featuring a clear swimming pool, surrounded by vibrant greenery and lush plants. A large metal flower sculpture stands prominently, and white Victorian-style garden furniture, including chairs and a table, adds a touch of elegance to the setting.
A metal sculpture resembling multiple abstract plant blooms stands amidst lush, green foliage and smaller yellow-leaved plants. Created by Clive Rundels, the sculpture features dark, curved petals and stems, evoking an artistic contrast reminiscent of a neglected Victorian garden.
A swimming pool with raindrops on the water surface, bordered by a brick patio area. Several metal lounge chairs and a table set are arranged on the patio. Green trees and climbing plants surround the area, reminiscent of a neglected Victorian garden, creating a lush atmosphere.
Nature reclaims this fashion designer’s pool. In Clive Rundel’s Victorian dream garden, fabricated history, style, art, and nature entwine in an unexpected way.

Nothing is pruned (except roses), and what some would call messiness is purely by design.  It is a haven of untouched splendor – just what the designer wanted.

Read more at Visi and in the Gallery.

More Inspiration for Woodland Gardens

All images provided by Clive Rundel



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