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230830897 Landscaping DLP, Cape Town (2026)

09/09/2025

Digging into the soil - 4 August 2025

The lecturer came in with an interesting presentation for our Growth Media Technology class.
SOIL SAMPLES.
She brought various types of soil from different habitats so that we can see that each soil type differs depending on the climate within each ecosystem.

Each of the soil samples showed different types of soil particles and textures, including variety sized spaces in-between each.
This visual representation gave us a better understanding of how soil types can vary between each climate and the weathering processes each area goes through that develop the types of soil that are present within those habitats.

The different weathering processes depend on the type of climate within the area and can affect the soil particles, spaces between the soil and their colour.

This is the nature of different soil types:

Sand - round or angular soil particles, hence it has a gritty texture. It can be seen with the naked eye but also has small spaces in-between which allow for movement of air and water between the soil. Any soil dominated by sand is prone to drought because of this reason.

Silt - these soil particles are not visible by the naked eye and have a smooth texture, like flour. These micro-sand particles have smaller pore sizes than sand, which enables it to have a higher water-holding capacity.

Clay - soil particles that are not visible by the naked eye, even smaller than 0.002mm!!! It has a very large surface-area-to-volume ratio, which gives the clay a higher chance of absorbing water and other substances on its surface. Having this large absorptive surface, allows the clay particles to be molded into various shapes when wet.

All this information was easily understood with the soil samples our lecturer presented and referred to throughout the lesson. It was definitely an innovative take on how to do a lecture.

08/09/2025

Steep dive into contour levels - 1 August 2025

Following our previous tutorial on contours and finding the X and Y coordinates of the site, we looked into the slope gradient of the site.
As stated before, the site consisted of steep slopes that caused a lot of drainage problems.

We've been given the view of the site before it received renovations to become the BMX trail it currently is.

In order to indicate the various slope gradients, we used the hatch feature within AutoCAD but before that, we learned a new part of the program:

▪️Boundaries - Creating enclosed spaces that can only be created when closing off an area with poly-lines.

This feature allowed us to represent how steep the slopes are, by offsetting the contour by specific values to overlap the following contour. Depending on the value we've offset the contour, it showed under which slope gradient that area was categorized.

This was an exciting process and when it came to full development, it represented a full slope gradient analysis which can be used in upcoming assignments. A greater understanding was given through the use of colour within the hatching and how it was depicted within the legend.

06/09/2025

Prep for Quiz 1 - 31 July 2025

Our second lecturer for Turfgrass Culture was taken on in quite a unique way: a quiz. We had to study the chapter for ourselves before being taught on the topic.

This presented a welcoming challenge into the subject as it opted for me to take the first step into learning more about the subject. I found that I understood things best whenever I used a few highlighters to point out "root words". A little bit of a joke for those who get it😉.

Within the subject notes, it's clear that from the beginning they want us to understand the difference between a turf and turfgrass.

As stated within the study notes, turfgrass is referring to the plant itself as it forms a more or less contiguous ground cover that persists under regular mowing and traffic. The above ground feature of this plant is the turfgrass.

However, the turf is the community in which the turfgrass and the soil are as one, along with any underground plant organs like the roots. In more accordance with the notes; "the turf is an interconnecting community of turfgrass and the soil adhering to their roots and other below ground organs, form a turf."

There are also various ways turf is maintained according to their use. Three different turf are within a category of their own:

- Utility turf
- Lawn turf
- Sports turf

Each type of turf also has certain qualities depending on their use, whether they are utility, ornamental(lawn) or sports turf. These are known as visual and functional qualities.

Along with how turf is required in various places and their functions and visual representation, they also need to be carefully maintained in order to keep those qualities. This is where "turfgrass management" comes in. We have been given 5 mistakes that could be made when maintaining turfgrass and by far this is the part I struggled with memorizing the most.

From what I've learned and taken in so far, I'd say I'm ready for the quiz. So bring it on!

06/09/2025

Collaboration - 30 July 2025

Our second Integrated Design Studio lecture was an overview of the site visit we had the previous week. With the in-person experience of the site, along with its context and site conditions, we had a better understanding when our lecturer referred to the site.

This semester's first project was to create a context and site analysis of Princess Vlei, which will be our study area for the rest of our design subjects. Along with this, we had to represent our design for an ablution block digitally and physically by building the contours of the site itself.

Our lecturer chose the members of each group and assigned us according to our strengths. I'm happy with the group members I've been placed with and we've already delegated responsibilities on each section of the work.

We've got 4 weeks to complete the work before the presentation. Each week has a milestone for every group to reach:

Week 1: Context Analysis
Week 2: Site Analysis
Week 3: Ablution block
Week 4: Contour model
Week 5: Presentation🎉

Now that the goals have been set out, it's time to start producing the work. We are group 5, remember the name.😎

06/09/2025

Understanding contours - 29 July 2025

After the lecture we had in the afternoon with Mr de Beer, I completed my drawings after gaining much more understanding on contours. Radnor Landfill was a big site to draw and it took time to indicate each dashed line as it represents existing contours.

During my crit session with the lecturer, he indicated that my section profiles are correct but they can be worked on more.
▪️The existing contours within the section profiles have been made solid, whereas they should be dashed lines, since they are existing and not proposed.
▪️Section profiles should be closed off at the bottom with a solid line so it can be indicated as a profile.
▪️And there was no need to show the spot heights in the Y-axis of the graph.

Upon this, I saw that there are many more ways I can improve on these drawings in future, so I'm aiming to bring a greater standard next time.

06/09/2025

Catching-on to contours - 29 July 2025

Our second lecture in Construction 2B was an introduction to cutting and filling, along with viewing progress on the previous week's assignment on the Radnor Landfill Rehabilitation site.

Mr Chris de Beer, our lecturer, explained how we first have to understand the site and the gradient of the slopes before we can start cutting or filling on site. That included drawing multiple sections of the site in order to see what level of steepness we're working with.

What I learned from this lecture:

- You have to understand the site from a plan view and which contours are existing.
- Differentiating between existing and proposed contours: Existing contours are dashed lines, while proposed contours are solid lines
- Even in sectioned drawings when representing contour profiles, the existing contours should be dashed.

A constant reminder from our lecturer, is that our drawings should be neat, clear and legible so that people will be able to read what we've drawn on our layouts. No matter what size the layout may be.

06/09/2025

Insight on Topography - 25 July 2025

Our first lecture in Construction Drawing 2B gave us a look at how site surveys are done and how contours are identified within a site.

Upon the explanation of how important contours are within the landscape, we were given the site topography of the design site for this semester. It was Princess Vlei, contours from the site we visited two days ago.

Our first step within the tutorial was to import the topography into AutoCAD and import a Google satellite view to represent the site conditions before it was shaped into a BMX bike trail. This helped us to understand the site before it was changed and what we would be working with for the rest of the semester in our other design subjects.

The main task was finding the X and Y coordinates for all nine trees within the 100×100 metre area of the site and presenting in on a legend. This was done using the properties panel within AutoCAD and it was a feature of revision for what we learned in the first semester.

It was great learning about site topography as well as having a bit of revision on what we previously learned, in order to keep us updated on the program.

04/09/2025

Long time no blogs😅
How about a little catching up?

Back to the 24th of July👀
We got our first lecture in Turfgrass Culture and received our first assignment to boot.🤓
These notes are as thick as a textbook📙😲 so it'll be a great semester filled with learning about turfgrass management.🤩

Our first assignment requires us to be in groups of 4 and visit sports venues of which each of the groups are required to examine one sports turf each. My group was tasked with looking into bowling greens and we have a few venues set out to visit any day soon.

We've got our due dates set out and the plans are set in motion.

Now the interviews and consultations begin‼️

12/08/2025

Way back Wednesday🍃 - A look at the 28th of July 2025

It was our second lecture in Growth Media Technology🌱 and after learning about how soil is formed✨, here we were taught about the transitional processes of minerals between the different soil horizons as well as the Master horizons and their layers.

Each soil is characterized by a sequence of horizons which are vertically exposed in the images below.👇🏼 They are known as soil profiles.

Within the soil profile, there are 5 Master horizons: O, A, E, B, C and R

🍂O-Horizon⬛: formed above the mineral soil, is formed from organic matter that comes from dead plants and animals☠️. O-Horizons usually occur in forested areas due to the abundance of leaves that fall🍃 from the trees, while it is generally absent from grassland regions.

🦴A-Horizons🟫: the top most mineral horizon. They contain enough decomposed organic matter to darken the soil more than that of the lower horizons. They are often more course in texture, losing some finer material to the lower horizons. The A-Horizon is also known as the topsoil.🪏

🔬E-Horizons🟧: found underneath the A-Horizon, it is the zone of eluviation, which means to wash out, of clay, iron and aluminium oxides within this horizon to transition to the upper horizons as resistant minerals like quartz🪨 in the form of find sand and silt. It is generally lighter in colour in comparison to the A-Horizon.

⛏️B-Horizons: the horizon of accumulation of materials by illuviation takes place. Illuviation means to wash in, which in simpler terms refers to how various materials such as iron, aluminum oxide and silicate clay form within this region of the soil as it is impacted by the type of humidity. This horizon is also referred to as the subsoil.🥔

🪨C-Horizons: it is not as active as the horizons above it, as it is generally deeper and little affected by weathering processes that occur above. Some of its upper layers may form part of the solum, that being the A&B horizons, as erosion occurs over time.

💎R-Horizons: this section is deep underground and known as bedrock, more formally known as consolidated rock with little evidence of weathering processes.

Later on, we learned about the Regolith, above the C-Horizon and above the R-Horizon, where the exchange of minerals occurs. The upper layers, 1 to 2 meters, are affected by the activities of living organisms within the soil. Topsoil and subsoil is the combination of Regolith and we learned this as we dove deeper into the lesson.👀

We also got our first assignment brief where we have to form groups of 5 and create our own soil profile within a jar and label the different horizons, but this is just the first part of the assignment. The second and final part requires us to dig a hole🪏 and find the horizons present within the soil as we expose the soil layers.🕳️

Keep up on what comes next🧑🏻‍💻

29/07/2025

On Tuesday, 22 July 2025, we had our first Construction 2B class for the semester!🎉📐

We were given a brief list of what we would cover this semester🤓 and how we would advance to each topic📈. Our first topic was about topography.🧗

Topography is an arrangement of the natural and artificially-made features of an area, such as slopes.🗻

We took a look into contours and how they are drawn on planning, whether they are existing or proposed. What I found interesting was the fact that existing contours are dashed lines💬, while proposed contours are solid lines➖. One would think they would be the opposite.😅

Along with learning this, there were many other rules such as:

Contours do not cross over one another❌
Contours do not touch❌

Interesting facts as well:
Inward slopes are known as concave slopes✅
Outward slopes are known as convex slopes✅

By the end of the lecture, we got our first assignment.🤩 It is an existing site with contour spacing present on the plan and it is called the Radnor Landfill Rehabilitation site.
Within the document we've received, we were given information on the spot heights📍 and existing features🗿 surrounding the site.
This will all contribute to how our first three section drawings of the site will come out.

I'll be seeing you in the next post.🙋🏻

230830897 Landscaping DLP

09/09/2025

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29/07/2025

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