Sunnyside swimming pool precinct

Sunnyside swimming pool precinct

A Sunnyside arboretum: a coral tree in flower at left, bronze foliage of the white syringa in the middle, and the splash of pink of the Tabebuia impetiginosa, a Brazilian beauty.

Secondly, they decided to give a tree that had fallen into disuse for about 30 years another chance: the witsering, or white syringa (Kirkia acuminata), and it has proven to be a great success - delicately verdant in summer, strikingly bronze in autumn, and allowing sun through in winter. Küsel tells me that since their success with the witsering at the Sunnyside swimming pool, the municipality’s tree section has started using it widely for street planting. (Although, Making the most of indigenous trees warns against its planting near swimming pools because of its aggressive root system which, when cut, is also a source of fresh water.)

And thirdly: many of the large aloes on site were rescued by Flora RSA nursery from platinum mining activity in the Northwest Province.

Sunnyside is primarily flatlands - blocks of apartments - and after school and on weekends the play area is filled with energetic children. It fulfills other, perhaps not quite intended, functions too.

Sunnyside’s demography has changed dramatically over the past 20 years (euphemism for: it’s not lily white anymore; in fact, it’s the opposite), and people are often surprised when they hear that's where I live. But the great thing about not living in suburbia, where every house theoretically has a garden and a swimming pool, is benefiting from urban developments like the Sunnyside swimming pool precinct that draw on the talent and vigour of young landscape architects.