Text: Natalie Boruvka. Photographs: Christoph Hoffmann and Suplied. Article from the May 2013 issue of Garden and Home Magazine.
A roaring fire is a pleasure that needn’t only be enjoyed indoors, which is why bomas have become a fashionable addition to large and small gardens alike
The Night Lights
This stylish boma by Blok Designs was sunk below ground level to subtly integrate it into the terraced design of this Jo’burg garden. The Garapa decking which will weather to a pleasing driftwood grey, gives it a contemporary feel, while the LED rope lighting tracing the edge of the built-in seating cleverly ‘lifts’ the boma from its recess to highlight it at night. It’s surrounded by low plantings of agapanthus and Liriope ‘Evergreen Giant’ groundcover which provide a good textural contrast to the wood without obscuring the view. Colour-changing LED lights from Ora Outdoor Boutique and bright cushions by Stephen Falcke Interior Design (in outdoor fabrics from St Leger & Viney’s Hawaii Bells Beach and Halogen International’s Duralee collections) complete the look.
There’s no doubt that integrating a boma or firepit into your garden will improve your lifestyle. Not only does a boma provide an extra living and entertaining space that’ll encourage you to spend more quality time with your family and friends, but it’ll also help you to de-stress as you reconnect with nature; you just have to step outside with the basics – wood, matches, blankets, a bottle of red wine and some marshmallows for the kids. “A boma immediately transports you away from the hustle and bustle of city life,” says garden designer Jan Blok of Blok Designs. “It has all the charm of escaping to the bush, without the stress of packing and travelling.”
Location, Location, Location
- Ideally a boma should be tucked away in a quiet part of the garden out of the wind and away from the noise of traffic. A firepit located away from the house at the edge of a property or in a far corner will allow you to feel as if you’re in the bush.
- Place your firepit a safe distance from other structures, trees and boundary walls.
- As you can position them on your patio or in the garden, free-standing fire baskets are a flexible option. “They’re a more convenient, practical solution for compact spaces, especially if you’re working on a budget,” says Jan. You can also take them with you when you move.
5 Great Firepits
Choose one of these stylish buys as the focal point for your boma 1. Firepit, Fatboy Fires. 2. Single biofuel burner in Balau pedestal, (burner only), Beauty Fires. 3. Outdoor boma, Megamaster. 4. Mosaic boma fire bowl, Keith Hamilton Pottery. 5. Double biofuel burner in coffee table, (burner only), Beauty Fires.
Design Matters
Bomas are not restricted to indigenous gardens or bush lodges and make a great addition to both modern and classic gardens. “It’s important that both the look and scale of your boma is in keeping with the rest of your garden and home,” advises Neville Orsmond of Create a Landscape. “Aim to have an equal ratio of negative and positive spaces in your garden’s design; the areas of planted garden and the boma itself should be balanced by a similar amount of free-flowing spaces like pathways and lawn.”
To create a more intimate feel, Jan suggests taking a built-in amphitheatre approach and sinking the boma area below ground level. “Alternatively you can plant densely around it to give that enclosed feeling,” he says, “but you want the focus to be on the fire itself more so than on the surrounding elements.”
Helpful Tips
Keep the space as natural looking as possible by using raw materials such as wood, stone, paving, ornamental gravel or a stucco finish.- Don’t lawn up to the boma. Allow for a boundary of hard landscaping materials to give the area emphasis.
- Incorporate built-in storage for firewood into the design.
- Light the area with subtle uplighters illuminating the seat walls or LED strip lighting beneath the rim of the seating.
- Use the character of the site to direct your plant selection. The most attractive gardens are the ones that have textural depth and look better as they age. Make well-established trees a feature by encircling them with plants such as asparagus ferns.
Curves Ahead
White stinkwoods provide a leafy backdrop to this unusual boma designed by Neville Orsmond of Create a Landscape. The organic, rounded shapes of the raised firepit and built-in seating were made possible with Cemplaster, a product by Cemcrete, which is durable and ages pleasingly over time. The surrounding indigenous plantings were carefully chosen to ensure there would be an interesting mix of colours, textures and heights and include Juncuseffusus, red-hot pokers, strelitzias, divias, Aloe cooperi, Mackaya bella and limonium. The hurricane lamps, basket and mohair throws are from Coricraft and the scatters from Mr Price Home.
Out of Africa
Neville Orsmond of Create a Landscape fulfilled his clients’ wish for a traditional African bush-style boma by using unfinished concrete and roughly hewn gumpoles to create a semicircular seating area. To provide additional lighting and ambience, Neville positioned a few of his signature garden candlesticks in amongst the plantings of Crocosmia aurea which have been interspersed with Anthericum saundersiae, a feathery white-flowering groundcover, and bridal bush, Pavetta lanceolata. The blue Indo cushions are from Amatuli and the bamboo lanterns and throws from Mr Price Home. The mango wood tray from La Grange Interiors is set with a Bodum chocolatier and Carrol Boyes ceramics available from @home.
Pit Practicalities
The fire itself should be safely contained in either a metal fire basket or a raised pit that’s anything from 150mm above ground level to 350mm, which will make the edge the ideal height to rest your feet on.- Include a built-in drain to prevent rain water from collecting in the firepit and so you can easily wash the ash away.
- If the brickwork is exposed, use a fireproof grout to avoid the aggregate in the concrete from overheating and igniting.
- Don’t paint the surrounds. “Paint tends to peel,” says Neville. “Rather opt for a finish such as Cemplaster from Cemcrete which is extremely durable and ages naturally with the garden.”
Sources
@home home.co.za Amatuli 011 440 5065 Beauty Fires beautyfires.com Blok Designs 031 764 6421 or janblok.co.za Coricraft 0861 114 779 Create a Landscape 082 319 6033 or createalandscape.co.za Cemcrete cemcrete.co.za Fatboy Fires 083 677 0042 or fatboyfires.co.za Halogen International 011 448 2060 or halogen.co.za Keith Hamilton Pottery 011 465 8740 La Grange Interiors 011 444 5379 or lagrangeinteriors.co.za Megamaster megamaster.co.za Mr Price Home 0800 21 25 35 Ora Outdoor Boutique 011 023 8098 or oraoutdoor.com Stephen Falcke Interior Design 011 327 5368 St Leger & Viney 011 444 6722 or stleger.co.za
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