A NEW LEAF
The koel arrived early in our neighbourhood this year, his pre-dawn call interrupting the deepest slumber. After the mildest of Sydney winters and a run of 20+˚C days, it’s little wonder that this harbinger of spring was out of the blocks early.
Resentful, initially, of being deprived of a precious hour of sleep, I’ve put the early call time to good use, thinking through the day ahead and creating a few to-do lists while I’m at it. Spring is a season for action after all. And I’m mentally prepared, if not quite springing out of bed just yet.
This issue of H&G was devised to help you set your next home and garden goals. First to renovating and the sorbet-sweet home former
The Block contestants Josh and Jenna Densten have fashioned for themselves and their new baby Freddie. We visited the new parents just prior to Freddie’s arrival and can report that order and calm prevailed – after all, these two have made it through a building deadline or two in their time! Their home, easily the smallest of the seven renovated homes featured this month, is beautifully detailed and demonstrates that good design is even more important when the footprint is small.
The remaining renos in the issue run from urban terraces to a generous Queenslander and a downsizer’s delight, each packed to the rafters with excellent ideas. To round out the reno theme we have Belinda Graham’s first-person account of her family’s renovation, including a detailed budget and her insightful list of personal do’s and dont’s.
Renovations complete, it’s time to address the garden and there are 30-odd pages devoted to gardens and outdoor living this month. With the New England ranges of my childhood as the backdrop, Carolyn Robinson’s lovely garden really struck a chord with me. We could have run twice the pages, really, such is the breadth of planting, the myriad long views and gorgeous palettes. Then there’s landscaper Michael Bates’ account of his own garden in the Blue Mountains, where salvaged plants, studyinspired landforms and a 30-year plan are transforming a plot established in 1915.
The last word belongs to Michael, whose lovely phrase “afternoon-tea gardening” has been lodged in my mind these past weeks… “The tantalising prospect of what to do next is a constant delight”.