Artistic Landscaping

Creating a Verge Garden:

Also known as a nature strip or footpath, the term “verge” refers to the strip between the footpath and the street. 

Benefits of a Verge Garden:

Visual appeal!
Can help cool down ambient temperatures of built up areas in summer. Especially inner city suburbs with a lot of concrete.
Provides habitat for plants and improve local diversity.
Fosters neighbourhood interactions- bringing people together through conversations.

This one designed in Burwood is simply Erigeron (seaside daisies), Bacopa and Liriopes. All low maintenance once established.
The secret is to use plants that are visually attractive and not overly rare or expensive. This deters them from being stolen.
This has rarely happened in any of my small gardens in a public area where there is a high foot traffic area.

 Note: Be sure not to use plants that grow too high in which case they can be a problem for neighbours reversing out of their driveway. Clear sight MUST be maintained on either side at all times.

Colour:

When designing a garden many factors come into play. Personally, my overall first impressions of a garden are it’s colours.

Is it to be an edible garden? How low maintenance does it need to be? Is it to be drought tolerant?

This grey themed walkway is populated by a lot of edible plants and herbs. Grey plants also tend to be more drought tolerant. This was indeed one of the briefs of the owner in this garden.

 As Simon and Garfunkel sang: Parsley, Sage, Rosemary and Thyme are present here amongst other things.

The taller purple bobbed plants are Chives flowering proudly in this photo. Wormwood (Artemisia absinthium) subtly planted amongst them deter mosquitoes in summer. Lambs ear (Stachys byzantine) are featured toward the near corner. It’s always a hit in nearly any garden setting.

Bird Bath Construction:

The construction of a large bird bath was the brief for this small front yard.

 A large resin shallow planter takes on the outer design, sitting atop a base cubic resin plinth. A smaller glazed shallow planter supports the water that is frequented by birds.

It has the graceful look of something timeless and ethereal.

The area covered in bark between the two planters is where we planted a variety of succulents that now run down the sides of the planter in a cascading array of sculptural tendrils and leaves.

Note: water in such vessels need to be changed every fortnight. Easily done with a bucket and hose as birds won’t bathe in stagnant water.

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The Creation of an Outdoor Room:

Outdoor rooms can literally add another room to your home.

This west facing lounge room window had no protection at all from the fierce summer afternoon heat. Once the sun hits the window they say, you’ve lost the battle to keep the heat out.

The solution was to construct and connect a pre-made metal Pergola and attach it securely to the home’s façade. Adjustable roof louvres assist in regulating how much light- or rain is allowed in.

It exists on a raised paved area too, so instead of a “sunken lounge” (so popular in the past), it’s a raised garden room for that afternoon tea or a relaxing Gin and tonic.

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Water Tank Camouflage:

All new medium density developments have a mandatory rule that a water tank must be installed somewhere on the property. This supplies water for both the gardening and the flushing of the toilets.

Often not the most attractive of landscape items, we’d suggest opting for the darker of the colours (as opposed to a cream) so that it visually pushes it further away into the background.

We camouflaged it more by planting an Acer “Heartbeat” Japanese Maple in a long rectangular planter box directly in front of the water tank. The luminosity of the Maple’s leaves, a bright red Spring growth that slowly turns to a shade of bronze in the summer and glowing red in Autumn, works well against the dark background.

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Entranceways and Garden Arbors:

Entrance ways or Garden Arbors really make a statement. Bringing a smaller detail of a home’s architectural element into it’s garden gives a sense of continuity to the property.

Contemporary or traditional, both play that role. These work equally effectively in a smaller garden also. The Arbor, although similar to an Entrance way is technically is a recessed area shaded by trees or shrubs that serve as a resting place.

Asymmetrical Entranceways:

Asymmetry to me adds curb appeal in many homes. This one with Ficus pumila (Creeping fig) scaling the front wall ads a splash of green before you even enter the property.

Then when you turn to the right to go up the stairs to the front door, you are met with an array of low evergreens. Arthtropodiums, ferns and succulents toward the front, catch the light and make for a perfectly blended garden.

The deciduous Magnolia tree in the middle allows light in over the winter months to support the lower layers

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