Note: This garden was opened in 2022
“A lifestyle garden with a horticultural overlay”. That was the owners brief in a nutshell.
To elaborate a little more, the owners were just completing an comprehensive renovation to their existing house with a key feature of the renovation being numerous large windows providing extensive garden viewing from every room in the house on the ground floor, either via two courtyards or directly into the front and rear gardens. So indoor / outdoor living was a key theme of the brief, as well as extensive and interesting plantings and incorporation of various sporting interests such as tennis, swimming as well as relaxation pursuits such as outdoor chess and soaking in the spa.
Prior to entering the front garden there is formal bluestone pathway bordered with low Murraya hedges. Upon passing through the front gate the pathway either takes you to the front door with this pathway surrounded by extensive plantings of Gardenias, hedged Star Jasmine and Dutch Box hedges. The other pathway takes you to the giant CHESS BOARD ( 5m by 5m with large plastic chess pieces). The Chess board is surround by a pleasant mix of Evergreen Magnolia, Japanese Box hedges and Gardenias.
Travelling along the side path bordered by a low Viburnum hedge, the first of the two courtyards emerge. A spectacular water feature surrounded by Japanese Box hedges and a feature Frangipani tree. From this courtyard it is possible to view the second courtyard right through the house. The second courtyard has a Japanese Maple as a centrepiece and with an underplanting of Clivias and a Ficus hedge as a backdrop.
Upon entering the back garden, the extensive panorama of this area becomes apparent. A large grassed area surrounded by pleached Ficus, a central open pavilion with a tennis court on one side and a pool and spa area on the other side. The pool area is surrounded by large white architectural concrete pavers whilst the spa has a triple stainless steel water spouts. The pool has a raised backdrop of evergreen Magnolia with a low Lilly Pilly hedge bordering the pool. An avenue of ornamental Pears separates the pool and grassed areas.
The resulting garden produced as a collaboration between Justine Carlile as the landscape designer and an enthusiastic owner has produced a landscape that brings the outdoors inside the house as well as providing great plant diversity and a fantastic sport and relaxation space.