Henk's Garden

This quirky attention to detail reveals something of Henk’s dual identity — he is both the skilled horticulturalist who understands the lay of the land, and the artist who treats the garden as his canvas. His work has earned recognition beyond the borders of South Africa: he is internationally acclaimed as a garden designer and visual artist.

What sets Henk’s garden apart is the way he marries botanical knowledge with a playful sense of surprise. The structures and gates are adorned with shells, the walls are painted with bold colours, and the planting is arranged to draw the visitor’s eye from formal hedges to unexpected ornaments, then to sculptural plant forms. As one commentator put it, “The attention to detail and true whimsy that Henk makes his garden from is truly unique to him and the South African sensibility.”

Stepping into Henk’s garden is akin to entering an artist’s studio, where each bed, each wall, each sculptural piece is composed with intention. The visitor is encouraged to wander, to pause, to discover hidden corners: a shell-shower niche, a fish-tank garden that invites a closer look, a vibrant blue wall making the succulents pop. For anyone looking to appreciate what a garden can become when an artist and horticulturalist collaborate within one individual, Henk Scholtz’s garden in Franschhoek is a remarkable example. It invites the visitor to see plants as material, space as art, and a garden as a living work of craft and imagination.