Natural Wonder An unabashedly wild, naturalistic bush garden in inner-city Melbourne.

The request was for a naturalistic garden. Designer Sam Cox has created a slice of inner-city bushland that thrums with life.

When the owners of this property decided they wanted a natural-looking, native garden for their Melbourne home, they knew who to call. Garden designer Sam Cox is a specialist in the genre, known for his designs that replicate pockets of Australian bush. “We push the boundary between a conventional garden and things that are a little bit wild,” says Sam. “It’s about bringing a bit of the bush to the urban landscape.”

Renovations were well underway on the gracious Federation house, home to a family of five, when the owners asked Sam to design their front and rear gardens. Their home had retained its heritage features at the front while undergoing a contemporary rebuild at the rear, so Sam’s job was to devise a planting palette that would connect with both architectural styles.

At the front, he went for a “soft and understated approach” to tie in with the home’s period facade. Taking his cues from an existing olive tree – not native but deemed worthy of retaining – he focused on a palette of grey-greens, using species including spiny saltbush ( Rhagodia spinescens), spindly grevillea ( Grevillea endlicheriana) and masses of tussock grass ( Poa labillardieri). The pathways throughout are paved in Castlemaine slate, a favourite hardscaping material of Sam’s: “It’s a timeless paving material that works with the period home but it also has a naturalistic feel.”

One of Sam’s key design principles is ‘non-defined boundaries’, the idea being that camouflaged borders enhance the sense of space.It’snotalwayseasytoachieveintightsuburbanenvironments, but he has created an effective green screen here using correa and hop bush ( Dodonaea) along the side path.

In the rear garden, the homeowners were keen to keep some old fruit trees and a smokebush, which Sam incorporated into his scheme. “We’re not purists,” he says. “Our job is to make sure all the plants come together in an understated way, with no clash of foliage or flowers.” There are layers of plantings including low shrubs Correa ‘Dusty Bells’ and creeping boobialla ( Myoporum parvifolium), mid-level shrubs and grasses (grevilleas and Poa), as well as an all-important canopy level of gum trees, including Eucalyptus scoparia. “They’re amazing trees,” says

Sam. “They’re fast-growing – achieving a canopy in three years – and they’re safe in an urban space.” A self-seeded drooping she-oak has added to this canopy, and the homeowners are happy with that development.

Sam has blurred the indoor/outdoor divide by inserting this bushland setting just a few steps from the dining table. “We also have foliage butting right up against the window,” he says. “It’s important to visually connect the landscape to the living spaces.”

It’s all unabashedly wild and a little unkempt – and that’s exactly how the owners like it. “They’re happy to embrace the wild elements of the Australian bush right on their doorstep,” says Sam.

“They’re happy to embrace the wild elements of the Australian bush.” Sam Cox

“I love adding eucalypts to the urban landscape. They add to the canopy of the city and create a refuge for people and for wildlife.” Sam Cox, landscape designer

Designer Sam Cox planted gum trees to create a canopy in this inner-city garden, with species including snow gum ( Eucalyptus pauciflora) and Wallangarra white gum ( Eucalyptus scoparia). A self-seeded drooping she-oak ( Allocasuarina verticillata) has also joined these trees. Lower-level shrubs include morning iris ( Orthrosanthus multiflorus), Correa ‘Dusky Bells’ and one-sided bottlebrush ( Calothamnus quadrifidus).

At the homeowners’ request, Sam retained an existing smokebush ( Cotinus coggygria), incorporating it into the understated bushland palette. Tussock grass ( Poa labillardieri) forms the lower level planting. The random paving is Castlemaine slate. OPPOSITE Clockwise from top The front pathway is edged with softly arching Poa labillardieri. Trees and foliage grow right up to the window, ensuring a strong indooroutdoor connection. The grass-like tufts of morning iris ( Orthrosanthus multiflorus). A detail of a tea tree ( Leptospermum ‘Pink Cascade’).

The gum trees give scale to the garden and camouflage the fact that the house is located just a block away from an inner-city commercial strip. “The canopy layer is critical to creating a sense of being immersed in the landscape,” Sam says. The two trees seen here are Wallangarra white gum ( Eucalptus scoparia). Around them is a mass of self-reliant natives including Correa ‘Dusky Bells’, one-sided bottlebrush ( Calothamnus quadrifidus), tea tree ( Leptospermum ‘Pink Cascade’) and woolly wattle ( Acacia lanigera). Framing the view are branches of old lemon and fig trees. #