The Clients contacted Val from London, where they were living at the time. All the initial correspondence was done via email and Dropbox. The property was tenanted during the design process. Once the Clients arrived home, that week the gardens were installed.

Their brief was very specific, they knew exactly what they wanted. The outdoor area had to be functional, they wanted to maximise the space, a high priority was placed on privacy from the complex overlooking the property, creating areas within the garden, lush planting, not tropical or English. A contemporary style, low maintenance, a tidy look rather than wild. With edibles and picking flowers.Storage was essential, entertainment area and lawn area.

The living area overlooks the rear garden, it needed to feel like an extention of the space. The main hallway in the house was the Design Guide, it sat central to the front garden and the rear gardens. Lines, views and plant positions were taken from the hallway to ensure the garden was seened at its best advantage. An outdoor fireplace may at some stage sit on seated area, so, as you walk into the house up the hallway, the focal point will be the fireplace. For now, it is the lovely aspect of the garden.

At the time, the lawn battered back to the boundary, it was arkward and unusable. The neighbouring complex definitely needed to be screened, we achevied that by using pleached Titokis along the eastern boundary, creating a frame for the new garden. A seating area was created within the garden, flanked by stricking Malus trees,the paved areasits low to the ground with the lawn butting up to it, allowing a smooth transitition from the hard surface to the lawn, it connected back to the house with pavers the width of the initial step. The existing shed was removed, that took up an enormous amount of room, we swung the smaller shed around so it was tucked perfectly away. An edible area was positioned along the sunny southern boundary. The deck had odd levels which also needed to be corrected.

Planters between the large bangalows along the northern boundary were built to soften the corridor and the house next door. Adding shade loving lush ferns, ligularias and chamedoras transformed the wasted space.

In the front garden the existing Karakas and tussock grass were removed, we reused the Titokisfrom the rear garden, reinforcing the look overall, following the shape of the existing garden, delicious gardenias, liriope, ligularias, hydrangea limelight, camellias, murraya hedging and buxus balls were introduced. Adding the Prunus on both sides of the front steps created an avenue, providing a strong striking entrance.

Val says, “these are the perfect Clients, we gelled immediately, I knew what they wanted, and they had complete faith in me from the outset. Once we completed the design process and planting plan, we set about preparing for installation. It all went very smoothly. They love their garden, they have someone maintain it on a regular basis. You can see that by the way it is performing.