After undergoing an extensive home renovation in Hawthorn, which left the garden worse for wear, our clients wanted to create a landscape that complemented the home’s heritage exterior while incorporating a modern flare.
The front garden is a contemporary take on a traditional style. Our clients wanted the garden structure to hark back to when the property was initially established. A series of sweeping curves create a paved space that allows transportation through the garden, reminiscent of the original garden design. The herringbone bluestone used in the rear was replicated in the front to achieve a lovely balance between the present and the past. As you move down the east side of the property, a series of large bluestone steppers signify a break from the traditional style into a more relaxed space. You’ll find a quiet seating area next to a beautiful Victorian fountain, perfect for a morning coffee or reading a book.
Moving into the rear, our team designed the garden to accommodate the lifestyle of an active older couple with visiting grandchildren. It includes an expansive lawn area, a bluestone-paved outdoor entertaining area, and a garden space dominated by informal winding paths through dense plantings. The garden is open with a sizeable serpentine-edged lawn, surrounded by wide garden beds full of mixed planting (including Dichondra repens and Digiplexis ‘Illumination Flame’) that touches on the client’s love of gardening and the era of the house, garden and neighbouring homes. The plant selection reflects the client’s appreciation for plants, particularly flowering and various foliage colours. Our design team leveraged the borrowed landscape from a neighbouring park that the property backed onto. The key focus was to maintain views into the adjacent park and maximise them. We enhanced the park view through the careful selection and positioning of plants. A prerequisite for the rear was to keep planting low in height to allow views of the park and to assist in making our client’s garden feel larger.
Due to the property’s age, welcomed existing elements had to be incorporated into the design, including established trees and a heritage-listed shed. We were lucky to have beautiful Elm, Jacaranda and Cedrus trees to work with.
While a beautiful design and complimentary plant selection were significant factors in the success of this garden, so was the impeccable landscape construction by Greener Visions Landscapes. The team did a fantastic job with the herringbone paving, a key feature requiring a keen eye for detail and craftsmanship. Our clients are thrilled with the final product and appreciate the seamless collaboration between garden design and construction.
