John Patrick, Merricks North

This garden is a work in progress.  Purchased as a retirement project 7 years ago we started by removing 28 over mature pines and cypresses that covered most of the garden, and metal fences that divided the site to form llama compounds.  Previous builders had dumped rubbish at the furthest location on site and there were disused car engines and a predominantly asbestos outhouse.  Clearing up took time and still goes on though now it is to remove shrubs though progressively, we don’t want to lose habitat for our Blue Wrens, Wattlebirds and Crimson Rosellas.

A Masterplan for the site took a half hour to sketch up and this directs our work though at the construction of each part of the garden more detailed design has been instigated.  We are proposing to create a garden with Australian native plants but since we only have water we collect ourselves, no irrigation is proposed except for the fruit and vegetable gardens that we have not yet built.

The mud brick house has been extended with an extension designed by Sally Draper Architects and built by Laidlaw Building and mud brick external walls tie the house, extension and garage together allowing for the creation of diverse gardens within courtyards, the first based on a colour theme of pinks, mauves and silver, the second on a Japanese garden by Mirei Shigemori and a third, yet to be built, on Snow Gums and white flowers.

Beyond the mud brick wall to the front of the house a native grass garden has been inspired by Alexander Calder and will set the scene for ribbons of native forbs and lead to the entry garden, a circular lawn enclosed by a hedge of Plum Pine and with an indigenous woodland planting outside it.

We have learned so much in creating this garden so far and we will happily share our experiences noting that our major issue has been rabbits!.

Not everything was negative when we arrived.  Our house is wonderful and our addition which we love gives the assemblage of buildings something of the character of a Dordogne hamlet, a place where I worked 50 years ago and which we love.  Beyond the house our predecessors removed a standard blue tiled rectangular swimming pool and replaced it with a large “natural” swimming pool by Waterscapes Australia; no chlorine, no chemicals, just fish, frogs, birds, algae, damsel flies, bats and as a result, no mosquitoes.  It is wonderful!

Most of the work in the garden is done by Bridget and our son Will is the key to construction, Trevor Scholtz is a mighty garden help, Rob, Marcus, Helene, Lewis, Charlie and Anna assisted planting grasses and Mark Rauter is a star with CAD!  Thanks to their efforts we progress slowly but it has been great fun.