Eckersley Garden Architecture, Canterbury

2016:  21 Rochester Road, Canterbury

 

Note: This garden was opened in 2016

A garden for the whole family.

The garden of this Federation home blends period style and botanical plantings with an organic, contemporary twist.  It is a garden designed to meet the growing needs of a young family, providing seasonality, productivity, entertainment, repose and play.

Prior to our involvement, this sloping site had the remnant bones of a leafy garden. Some lovely old trees around the perimeter gave the garden an immediate sense of establishment. Not much of the garden was useable though, with little in the way of terracing or functional outdoor surfacing.

Our approach to the front garden was to extend the gentle parkland feel with some broad sweeping gardens and the addition of advanced specimen trees.  Planting choices were simple and reminiscent of the era of the house giving a botanical garden feel.  Look out for the epiphytic orchids nestled into the tree branches.

The rear garden takes on a more structured, contemporary look but still has a relaxed, easy feel to it.  A generous entertainment space paved with ‘Endicott’ crazy paving begins to break away into stepping-stones with ground covers of Kidney weed to soften the space.   Retaining walls terrace the rear garden into a series of useable spaces.  The terraces which are closer to the house are more about entertainment and functionality whist the upper areas provide recreation for the kids and pathways through generous garden plantings that lend themselves to journey and discovery.  At the request of the client, the traditionally facilitated garden features a turmeric coloured retaining wall – a tribute to the client’s Sri Lankan heritage.

The creation of this garden was as much about our response to the client’s brief as our design response.  The result of which is a beautiful yet fully functional garden that the client can enjoy for years to come.