H&S Digital Edition April_May 2021_

H&S GARDEN

Pro
Landscaper
Graham Williams

BIOGRAPGHY

Graham Williams is an accomplished, self- "I had no training what's so ever in this field, but I
taught Landscape designer, who has been learned as I went along and I used garden design
transforming outdoor spaces for over two books and magazines to help educate and inform
decades. Born in 1953 in what is now me. If I didn't have a particular skill I would find
Zimbabwe, he was schooled in Bulawayo and someone who did and then learn from watching
later started the first large graphic design them. Because of my graphic design background
consultancy in the country. This grew into a and an ability to think creatively and see things
successfully multi-faceted design house through a three-dimensional lens, the whole
operating throughout the SADAC region aspect of transforming a "garden space" became
specializing in expo design, retail and instinctive to me."
corporate interior design, print graphics,
corporate branding, package design and so on. "This ability allowed me to express myself by
combining both hard and soft landscape
Whilst doing a corporate interior project for elements into one cohesive design. So instead of
a large mining company in the late 1990's he just using plant material in a scape, I could add
was asked by the client to do the landscape many other elements into it, such as ponds,
work around the office area as well. That fountains, streams, pergolas, entertainment
experience ignited a passion for this new areas, terraces, decorative walls and screens, and
design medium and over time landscaping so on. This versatility enabled me to offer clients
became his sole interest. a more dynamic interactive garden experience."

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H&S GARDEN

When asked about garden trends Graham "plants. So these require a different approach to
responded that there is a very noticeable move how you dress and water these scapes. We are
towards creating more natural and indigenous tending to use drip irrigation a lot more and
scapes, that use less water and don't require putting Vermiculite in the soil to retain
pesticides, fertilizers, or loads of topsoil. He moisture more effectively.
noted that this trend would challenge
landscapers from a creative perspective as We also use mulches, ground covers, gravel,
they moved away from traditional garden and rock shale to keep moisture in the soil
design. longer. So we are learning to adapt and be more
inventive as we deal with less water and more
" We are definitely using more drought- environmentally conscious society."
resistant grasses and perennials in our work
and creating semi-arid scapes with Agaves,
Aloes, cacti and succulents as the dominant

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H&S GARDEN FEATURE

LAVISH HOMES & STYLES MAGAZINE| 55
TROPICAL
GARDEN IN
THE HEART OF
BORROWDALE

A tour through Sharon & Ed Hook

mature garden in Borrowdale was quite
refreshing and breathtaking. The couple
built their house 33 years ago and began
developing the garden one step at a time
inspired by their love for plants and
environment. They worked as a team,
Sharon loved design and Ed had the
knowledge of plants so together created
their own paradise home for their family.
Ever since they have never stopped
creating and changing the space where
they live and enjoy life.

The well designed landscape has created a
serene ambiance and a very relaxing
environment. The typical tropical garden
has evolved from season-to-season and
year-to-year with 100 different species .
The main feature plants on the garden
include Palms, Bromeliads, Cycads,
Philodendrons.

Beautiful outdoor seating areas and other
significant features such as the swimming
pool are close to the house and create a
relaxing environment together with the
succulents plants. The backyard retreat
with dinning and entertaining areas are
stunning with outdoor wooden and steal
furniture creating dining areas in different
areas of the yard.

H&S GARDEN FEATURE

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The garden design includes combine plants with
complementary colours which have created such a
visual balance and landscape definition. Many
exterior elements such as house exterior wall,
texture, colour, furniture and artefacts are tied
together very well.

To maintain their garden space and greenery,
regular mowing of grass and watering of plants, leaf
ground cover , keeping the pests and diseases away,
and tender loving care are the order of the day.

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H&S OUTDOOR

How To Maintain Good Water
Chemistry

BY VINCENT MUNYEZA

Everyone who gets into a pool benefits from the First of all, why do we need or want to pee
water being as clean as possible. The irritating, while swimming? The need and want to pee in
“chlorine-like smell” (chloramines) comes from the pool is actually physiological. There is
contaminants in the water reacting with the even a term for it: immersion diuresis.
chlorine disinfectant in the water. How can
people help to keep the water clean? We go to the pool for two reasons: pressure
and temperature. When we immerse ourselves
People should take a shower using soap and in the pool, we become buoyant. When we
warm water before entering the po become buoyant, the blood retreats from the
Everyone should always take a “pee break” limbs back to the torso. The body interprets
before getting into the pool. this like too much fluid so it signals the
No one should get into the pool if they are, or kidneys to get rid of any excess fluid we may
have recently been, suffering with diarrhea. have. The temperature of the water affects our
bodies the same way: the cooler the water, the
Facility managers can help by assuring patrons more the blood retreats from the limbs to the
have a clean bathroom and hot water for a warm torso.
shower.
Why peeing in the pool a bad thing? Although
Since last summer’s games, there has been quite sterile until it reaches the urethra, urine has
a debate about competition swimmers peeing in high levels of ammonia, organic compounds,
the pool during workouts as pool pros, we all crystallized salts and, generally, has a low pH2
know full well this practice occurs regardless of
age, gender and swimming ability.

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Crystallized salts tend to cloudy up the water while
ammonia and organiccompounds will build up
chloramines. So if enough people pee in the pool, you
can end up with a cloudy pool that is low in pH, high in
uric acid,chloramines and higher TDS levels.

Obviously none of this is good for our pools.

Now that we know why we pee in the pool, and why the
practice is bad, what can we do to start changing the
habits of the patrons of our pools?

We have to recognize that while we may have dozens of
programs going on in our pools, we actually have only
two kinds of patrons: the pros and everyone else. The
pros are the swim team members and lap swimmers. The
wish to get their work out completed in the shortest
time frame possible. Getting out of the pool to use the
restroom prolongs the workout and interrupts the
“zone” that allows swimmers to autonomously swim for
thousands of yards at a time.

Changing the habit of the swim team starts with
changing the mindset of the coach. Swim coaches want
to keep the work out going and get it completed.
Interrupting a workout to let everyone take a break
would interfere with most coach’s plans.

Changing the habits of lap swimmers is equally tricky
because, like most people, lap swimmers may not take
too kindly to the suggestion that they need to be
reminded to go to the bathroom.

Most, if not all, aquatics facilities already have a rule on
hand that is normally enforced: no one in the pool unless
lifeguards are on duty. What if the facility made it a rule
that no life guards would be on duty from the top of
every hour to 10minutes after?

Closing the pool for 10minutes every hour work like a
dream at day-care centers and many small fitness clubs.
But a huge natatorium? A radical idea indeed.

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H&S OUTDOOR

Understandably, this would not go down very well
with the pros that normally swim for 2-2.5 hours
straight.

For coaches teaching those aged 10 and under
stopping a workout and ordering everyone out of
the pool to go potty is pretty straightforward and
fairly easy.

It starts getting tricky when the swimmers enter
the “tween” years. Tween and teens start saying,
“Wait a minute, I am not a young child and
shouldn’t be ordered to the bathroom like one. ”I
know when I need to go potty and I don’t need
anyone to tell me that”. The idea
is not to “order” anyone to the restroom but to
close the pool for 10minutes every hour so there
isn’t much else to do but go to the restroom.

Obviously, if we want swimmers to use the
restroom as opposed to the pool, coaches will need
to work with facility managers to maximize their
workout time in the most efficient manner possible.
A team that normally has a two-hour workout
might need to look at expanding to 2,5
hours to accommodate restroom breaks. This would
be tough, not just for the coach but for the
swimmers, and families of the swimmers would
have to adjust their schedules to fit the swimmers.
The facility would then need to look to move
around the other programs that also utilize the
pool.

To make this happen, strong leadership and
cooperation between aquatics directors, coaches,
and instructors of the various programs is needed.
As for everyone else that uses the pool, this
shouldn’t be an issue as most programs last 50
minutes or less anyway.

Article Done and Prepared by:
Dr V.R Munyeza(DHL) (C.P.O® & C.P.I ™. –USA)
MANAGING DIRECTOR
C.P.O® – Certified Pool Operator
C.P.I ™ – Certified Pool Instructor

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H&S FOOD

With so much of our lives spent indoors, if Couple this with the appeal of computer
you can be outdoors to eat it can be very games and social media at home and you can
beneficial for your concentration, stress see how important it is to offer your family
levels, creativity, and more. as many opportunities to be outdoors during
the day as possible.
There is a lot of research that highlights
the benefits of spending time outdoors; Spending time outdoors boosts vitamin D
reducing heart rate, blood pressure, levels (an important hormone that helps to
lowering stress hormones, and easing protect against a range of diseases such as
muscle tension. osteoporosis, depression, heart attacks, and
stroke). It is shown in studies that many of us
It can even boost your mood. do not get enough of this important vitamin,
Improvements in attention, memory, and so more time outside is key to help address
concentration have also been shown. this deficiency.
How then does this impact on adults and
children? Well, being indoors for most of Check out some recipes we have put
the day is linked to increased anxiety and together for you to try out for your outdoor.
depression.

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H&S FOOD

SWEET HONEY LIME MINT WATERMELON
BERRY FRUIT SALAD

RECIPE
Honey Lime Mint Watermelon Berry Fruit Salad – This vibrant berry watermelon fruit salad is the ultimate crowd-
pleaser. Packed with berries, fresh mint, and juicy watermelon this healthy watermelon salad is super easy to
make and bursting with sweet flavors. It is totally foolproof, the “hardest” part is chopping up the watermelon!
Vegetarian and gluten-free this watermelon fruit salad is perfect to serve at a picnic, barbecue, or meal prep.
Enjoy!

Ingredients 2 tablespoons honey

3 cups watermelon, diced Juice of 1 lime (at least 2

1 cup blueberries tablespoons)

1 cup strawberries, halved 1/2 cup fresh mint leaves,

or quartered roughly chopped into small

ribbons

Method

1. to make the watermelon salad: In a large bowl, combine diced

watermelon, blueberries, and strawberries.

2. In a separate small bowl, whisk together honey, lime juice, and

mint.

3. Pour the honey, lime, and mint mixture onto fruit and toss well.

Garnish the honey-lime mint watermelon salad with more fresh

mint, if desired. Enjoy immediately or chilled in the refrigerator.

TIPS FOR THE SUMMER BERRY WATERMELON SALAD
RECIPE

The easiest way to thinly slice mint is to bunch up your
mint leaves into a log and then slice to create thin
ribbons.
You can add more or fewer types of berries if you like,
such as raspberries, blackberries, or cherries.
You can easily scale up the ingredients to make more of
the watermelon salad.

HONEY CHICKEN KABOBS

RECIPE
Honey chicken kabobs with veggies. You can marinate
overnight and make these kabobs for an outdoor barbecue as a
tasty alternative to the usual barbecue fare! Fresh mushrooms
and cherry tomatoes can also be used

Ingredients 2 cloves garlic
¼ cup vegetable oil 5 small onions, cut into 2
⅓ cup honey inch pieces
⅓ cup soy sauce 2 red bell peppers, cut into
¼ teaspoon ground black pepper 2 inch pieces
8 skinless, boneless chicken breast skewers
halves - cut into 1 inch cubes

Directions

1.In a large bowl, whisk together oil, honey, soy sauce, and pepper.

Before adding chicken, reserve a small amount of marinade to brush

onto kabobs while cooking. Place the chicken, garlic, onions and

peppers in the bowl, and marinate in the refrigerator at least 2 hours

(the longer the better).

2.Preheat the grill for high heat.

3.Drain marinade from the chicken and vegetables, and discard

marinade. Thread chicken and vegetables alternately onto the skewers.

4.Lightly oil the grill grate. Place the skewers on the grill. Cook for 12 to 15

minutes, until chicken juices run clear. Turn and brush with reserved

marinade frequently.

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H&S TRAVEL

EXPLORING
BINGA

CATCH SOME WAVES ON THE BEACH

Binga is a rural district in Zimbabwe‘s Matabeleland North province. Binga is home to the Tonga people and it
was established when residents of this community (which is to the south of Kariba) were relocated to make way
for the construction of the Kariba Dam. It is popular as a fishing destination and as a tourist destination because
of its cultural uniqueness. Binga lies close to the Zambezi Escarpment, a very hot area with temperatures as
high as 30 degrees Celsius.

Binga is accessible via road, and there is an airstrip as well for small aircraft. There is a shorter more direct road
that is currently under construction, the Karoi-Binga Road Accommodation is mostly small privately-owned
places and many of them offer self-catering facilities. There are some campsites in the area such as rest camps,
lodges as well as houseboats for hire. The Chete Safari area and Chizarira National Park are outside Binga but
are interesting places to visit.
The places of interest in Binga

BaTonga Community Museum; it was opened to inform the world about the ways of the Tonga People.
The exhibits at the Museum look at the history of the Tonga. How they lived before they were resettled, this
is shown through a number of historical artifacts. The other pieces are a reminder of the big role played by
the Zambezi River in their day-to-day lives. It depicts how the people adapted to their environment, for
example, their unique architecture. There are several artifacts showing the culture of the Tonga, for
example, the unique musical instruments used in Tonga Bira’s (Rainmaking ceremonies). Some of the
instruments were crafted to emit a sound similar to the sound of the waves. So the exhibits show the power
of the water. The museum also has several pieces showing how the Nyaminyami is a big part of their history
and belief system; something depicted in many other art forms in their community, through pottery, jewelry,
etc.
The Chibwatatata Hot Springs, A natural phenomenon that is not large but is a place of geographical
interest.
The Binga Crocodile Farm
Binga craft market – A great place for visitors to browse for locally made artifacts, jewelry and basketry.

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