When Mia Marsay started enjoying working in her garden significantly more than her day job, she knew she had to make a change in her career. After completing a few landscape design courses, and increasing her gardening knowledge by poring over numerous books, Mia joined the South African Landscaping Institute as a member-in-training. After fulfilling all the necessary requirements she soon became a principal member fit for the public domain.
Her business started small, and as more of a hobby, in 1994, with Mia planting up topiary frames in various shapes and selling them at a local craft market. Over the Garden Wall has since grown into an award-winning landscaping business, over the years achieving silver and gold awards for garden design and in-house construction from the South African Landscapers Institute (SALI) at their prestigious annual Awards of Excellence. Many of Mia’s gardens have featured in some of South Africa’s top garden, landscaping and décor magazines, including Garden and Home, Visi, Vrouekeur, Landscape SA and Footprint Limited.
Mia’s success as a landscaper lies in her dedication to her clients and ability to uncover what they really want – she gets to know the clients’ likes and dislikes and finds out what they have in mind for the garden. She also visits the site and analyses the property with regards to sun, site position, type of soil, land levels, drainage restraints, municipal by-laws and estate rule and regulations. After this, the concept of the garden is designed, plans are drawn up and the garden is implemented. Mia’s specialty is creating a ‘complete’ garden, one that works harmoniously with nature rather than against it. She is acutely conscious of our fragile environment and the need to value precious resources like water, and ensures that insects, birds and butterflies are part of the mix of every garden she creates. She also puts a lot of emphasis on applying organic matter to improve the soil.