Building connections
By prioritising their garden refurbishment before their home renovation, these Sydneysiders have transformed both their dwelling and its relationship with its surroundings.
Even before they purchased their home, Sydney couple Fenella and Phillip were dreaming about the potential of the garden. “It’s a lovely big block with a north-east facing back garden and we were coming from a home with a much smaller backyard ,” says Fenella. “We were really excited about all that space.” The other major drawcard was the gracious, 1907 Federationstyle home at the centre of the block. Built on a sloping site, it is single storey at the front and two storeys at the back. The 1980s rear extension was in need of internal updating – but that was not the priority for Fenella.
The couple bought the home, located in the northern suburbs, and moved in with their three children Oliver, now 19, Audrey, 17, and Patrick, 14. They were happy to live in the home as it was (it would be a couple of years before they embarked on the internal renovation) but when it came to the garden, they couldn’t wait. “We wanted to focus on the garden first,” says Fenella. “It needed some structure, and the whole block was sloping lawn with no easy-to-use spaces. It didn’t feel expansive.”
They called on landscape architect Hugh Burnett to reconfigure the spaces and add structure. In the front garden, they wanted to create a softer, more layered entry that would lead people to the front door and frame the house better. For the back garden they sought a multifaceted layout with level areas of lawn, a pool, space for young sportsman Patrick to swing his cricket bat, and a redesign of the back steps.
The 20x11m front garden was originally just a sloped path and lawn, with little planting apart from some old palm trees near the front entrance. “The palm trees made the house feel dark and closed in,” says Fenella. Hugh’s response was to add terracing and good drainage. The palm trees were transplanted to the rear garden, with new plantings at the front arranged into two asymmetrical zones. One side is a square of level lawn framed by low Japanese box hedging. The other side is a deep garden bed with a textural mix of sedums, salvia, euphorbia and bulbs (snowdrops, daffodils and jonquils). “The deep garden bed helps to settle the house into its position,” says Hugh.
The transformation of the 26x19m back garden is just as impressive. Fenella and Phillip wanted the garden to feel more connected to the home, and to improve its useability. “The dated rear extension featured small windows and heavy brickwork with limited views to outside, making the house feel cut off from the garden,” says Hugh. His scope of works included installing lovely large windows and doors, replacing the brick balustrade with a custom steel balustrade, and redesigning the stairs to enhance the flow between house and garden.
“Opening up the back of the house was key to the brief. From there, we worked to create a garden that creates curiosity and interest,” says Hugh. Careful to retain two lovely old jacaranda trees, he created three distinct levels extending out from the back steps. The first of these is a large 52m2 paved terrace (Chalford limestone from Eco Outdoor) that wraps around the pool to form a deck. Stepping down from this paved terrace are two level areas of lawn – an upper, rectilinear shaped space and a lower, ovoid one. “These neat sections of lawn create the effect of different ‘rooms’, each with its own purpose,” says Hugh.
The upper lawn is perfect for young sportsman Patrick to go through his paces, while the sunken circular lawn is a quieter, private sitting space. Dividing these spaces are sandstone dry stack retaining walls hand-built by Ballast Landscape. “The sandstone matches the foundations of the original home and brings a warmth and texture to the garden,” says Hugh.
The 8.3x4m pool is located on the southern boundary wall, on the same level as the rear paved terrace. It is connected to the back of the house and functions as a lower-level family room. It also means the pool is elevated from the first lawn terrace; Hugh has cleverly softened its exterior wall by covering it in Boston ivy and framing it with a low hedge of Japanese box ( Buxus microphylla ‘ Japonica’).
Every member of the family has something to enjoy in this garden. The teenagers love the pool and entertaining spaces. Fenella – who takes pride in mowing the lawn – adores weekend pottering and Phillip values having the ‘great outdoors’ at their doorstep, an antidote to long weekdays in the office.
With its terraces, textured plantings and pockets of surprise, the garden now complements and connects with the home in all the ways Fenella envisoned. “The garden is structured but it has character too,” she says. “I love its soft edges and interesting plants. It’s beautiful and inviting.”
Silver-hued Dichondra ‘Silver Falls’ spills over a wall below a hedge of Rhaphiolepis ‘Oriental Pearl’ while Boston ivy climbs the balustrades.
OPPOSITE Clockwise from top left The oval-shaped lawn is framed by silvery Plectranthus argentatus and palms trees transplanted from the front. The paved terrace flows seamlessly into the garden. The pool, built by Outside Signatures, sits on the same level as the paved terrace. Pretty spires of Acanthus mollis. The pool’s exterior wall is covered in Boston ivy, framed by Japanese box. Creamy-white flowers of Hydrangea macrophylla.