VILLA TOSCANA
HIGGOVALE, CAPE TOWN
Glamorous Gardens!
‘David Bowie came to interview me for Modern Painters magazine and described the grounds as having “sexy gardens”. They are not clipped and ordered, in fact, they’re a bit dishevelled.’ At the foot of the stone steps, magnificent orange strelitzia’s bloom prolifically inbetween guerrilla vegetable planting of cabbage and fennel, and the meandering path takes you past beehives, blossoming cherries and plums to the new eco pool, a 14m-long oasis lined with a Tree of Life mosaic. The view across the deck and through the trees, skims over rooftops to the deep-blue sea beyond Cape Town harbour. ‘The Bowie Dancer, one of a limited edition of three cast in bronze, was based on a flamingo from Churchhaven. I sent one to Bowie and when he asked the edition number, I told him it was one of three. He said “done!”. It was sold. Today, that Bowie Dancer, with a cast of my own head and my wife’s hands, is looking into Iman’s sitting room! My Yves Klein Blue artist-proof Bowie Dancer remains by the pool,’ grins Beezy.
