Tim Steyn Named Landscape Designer of the Year!

Photo Credit: Brahman Hills

The South African landscaper who turned a lockdown project into a world-first win for Africa has been named Landscape Designer of the Year!

KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa (09 October 2026) – Tim Steyn has been named Landscape Designer of the Year at the Condé Nast House & Garden South Africa Designers of the Year Awards 2026! The award recognises more than two decades of his work in South Africa and abroad.

Tim grew up in the KwaZulu-Natal Midlands with green fingers, and in 2004 he went on to establish Tim Steyn Landscaping. Since then, his work has stretched across Africa, Europe and the United States.

One of the projects that helped put him on the map began during the COVID-19 lockdown. Tim worked with the team at Brahman Hills to turn an open Midlands landscape into the Legacy Gardens, which features 26 distinct garden rooms connected by winding walkways, water, sculpture and layered planting.

He says each space was designed for ‘maximum visual interest’ while giving people the chance to ‘linger and stroll’. The focus on how people experience a garden, rather than the planting alone, has become part of what makes the gardens special.

The Legacy Gardens went on to be named the best overseas Royal Horticultural Society (RHS) Partner Garden in the world, a first for Africa!

Tim is now closely involved in creating the 22-hectare Serenity Garden, set within the Blue Crane Nature Reserve. It’s being designed as a contemporary take on a labyrinth, with about six kilometres of paths winding through waterfalls, streams, stone walls, woodland, seasonal planting and quiet spaces made for pause and contemplation.

Among its features are a Stone Labyrinth built from about 1200 square metres of stonework, an Olive Garden, a 6m waterfall, a Meditation Mound, an African Art Museum and a 300 square metre underground botanical wonderland. Hundreds of established trees are being worked into the landscape, along with tens of thousands of shrubs, grasses, aloes, succulents and seasonal plants. The garden will unfold and reveal itself slowly as people move through it.

“It’s part walking meditation, part contemplation and part strolling-style garden, with many different facets to unwind the mind and connect people to the present moment,” Tim says.

Serenity Garden is on track for completion towards the end of 2026.

Tim Steyn’s win is a proud moment for South African landscape design, and a lovely recognition for more than 20 years of work. Here’s to the gardens still to bloom and flourish.