JaWith his fingers covered in soil, Koos Smit gently speaks to his seedlings, willing them to bloom spectacularly in his fairytale garden.

For the past three years, the 73-year-old has been toiling the ground outside his Rynpark unit, creating a space filled with colour and child-like wonder.

As the first to be nominated in the retirement village’s second annual garden competition, Koos says his efforts are not for accolades but purely to bring beauty to his neighours’ lives.

The former resident of Railway Avenue, Western Extension, becomes nostalgic as he remembers long summer days tending to his vegetable garden and delicately selecting a bouquet of red and white roses for his late-wife, Carolina.

“Side-by-side we worked in the garden, planting, pruning and picking.

“We would spend hours talking as we worked. Gardening was a passion we shared. While working in my patch of ground it feels as if she is still with me.”

Pointing to a pair of budding rose bushes, Koos recalls how he had dug a heart-shaped bed at his home of more than 40 years.

“I filled the bed with countless rose bushes so that my dear wife would always wake up to her favourite flowers,” he said, gently stroking his fingers over the leaves.

“These two bushes are dedicated to her and the memories we shared.”

Refilling a bird bath, Koos says that gardening is his escape.

“The retirement village offers tons of activities for residents, but I am neither a singer nor a showman, but here in my garden I am a capable artist who uses God’s paintbrush, bringing nature’s beauty for all to see,” he said.

“I am blessed with good health and an able body, which allows me to express my imagination while cultivating budding blooms.”

Although his hair has greyed, his gardening abilities have not diminished.

“It may take a little longer than before, but the act of gardening fills me with vigour.

“Perhaps it is the physical labour, the nutrients in the soil or gentleness of planting seedlings, but I always feel energised and rejuvenated.

“Life can become incredibly long if you sit on the sidelines, watching as time ticks by. When you completely emerge yourself in something you love, life becomes sweeter and less tiring.”

With the unrelenting rain, Koos was forced to exchange his gardening cap for a “brollie” and was confined to his unit as the weather thrashed against the windows.

Armed with a paintbrush and steady hand, Koos fashioned a temporary craft nook, where he tried his hand at rock painting.

“I never considered myself an artistic person, but I soon graduated from painting ladybugs to flowers and even transformed a dried squash into a penguin,” he said with a laugh.

“My wife would have taken great pleasure in seeing my concentration.”

According to Maritza Pieterse, Rynpark’s social media strategist, the gardening competition is aimed at encouraging residents to beautifying their spaces and form a connection with nature.

“Residents then have the opportunity to nominate and vote for their favourite gardens,” she said.

“Winners receive vouchers from local nurseries.”

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