PRIVATE OASIS
This peaceful yard isn’t just a garden: it’s a livable extensione of the home. Find out how this Melbourne family created a fun and functional outdoor zone
A clever raised deck and pool area have given a family the flexible single-level garden of their dreams
Nestled in Melbourne’s Ivanhoe is a sleek garden providing the stage for a play called ‘modern family living’. Visit the Silluzio family on a sunny afternoon and you’ll likely find Jamin, Tessa and their two daughters spending the day in their garden. They swim, play, relax and eat, passing some of their best family time together by the pool, on the swing and in the hammock.
The garden surrounds the home on a 600-square-metre steep block that looks across parklands to the Yarra River. Getting the layout right was top of the list for Tessa and Jamin. The family’s previous house felt detached from the garden: this time, they wanted to be able to open sliding doors from the living area and kitchen and step outdoors. “We knew that we wanted a connection between the garden and the indoors, and for it to be all on one level around the house,” says Tessa. “We wanted clean lines.”
Tessa and Jamin worked with Ben Scott of Ben Scott Landscape Design, builder Brendan Gonzales who constructed the garden and architect Michael Larionoff to create their ultimate outdoor space. Free-flowing connections between both indoors and out, and between the garden areas, create a space that belies its size. Visually, it’s calm and attractive. Practically, it’s fun: the girls often run around the outside of the house while playing with friends. The level garden encourages play, negating the originally sloping site. The design cleverly positions the garden at the same level as the living area incorporating the single entrance and garage at street level, the block’s low point, beneath the deck above.
The colour palette is all about neutrals and greens in the pool and terrace area. “The materials in natural tones take their cue from the off-form concrete awnings of the house, textured to resemble timber,” says Ben. Bluestone provides paving, pool and spa coping, and the decking and fencing is hardwood, weathering to grey.
Hard elements are softened by the greenery. Prostrate rosemary creeps over the paving and poolside to temper the straight edges. It’s perfect for the shallow garden bed - only 250mm deep due to the basement below - and will cope with heat from the paving. Shades of green continue with boundary plantings of Hill’s fig,
“Paint paling fences deep charcoal or black so they recess – you won’t notice them when greenery grows in front” BEN SCOTT, LANDSCAPE ARCHITECT
bamboo and star jasmine offering privacy and lush greenery when viewed from the back rooms. Hill’s fifig is a superb screening plant, providing dense cover with bright green leaves. “We love how the screening makes it feel like an enclosed garden, but also links with the trees across the street in the parklands,” says Tessa.
Carrying on the periphery planting is pennisetum grass and a maple tree in the planter edging the pool deck. The maple disguises the street’s power pole and is lit up at night. Here, foliage tones become warmer, and carry through to the street-level plantings at the front, where Boston ivy scales the driveway wall.
Working with architectually designed hardwood batten fencing, Ben used a textural collection of plants that soften the adjacent hard surfaces. Purple-leafed smoke bush, a tulip tree (that will grow to hide another power pole) and softly textured plants – such as oakleaf hydrangea, raphiolepis and giant liriope – grace the raised planter bed, a remnant from the previous garden, modifified to suit the driveway. The combination of textures, colours and the gentle rise from front to back neutralises the abruptness of the tall fence behind. “We love the front garden,” says Tessa. “It flflows and has a lovely natural beauty.”
On the nature strip, they kept the existing ash tree and a tall Liquidambar Styraciflua in the yard, which is the family’s favourite tree. Underfoot here, and to the rear where the girls do cartwheels and handstands, is synthetic lawn, chosen for its practicality. “The only entry points to the garden are through the house - impractical for mowing lawns,” says Ben. “This solution deals with that nicely.”
Weekday life for the family is hectic, so downtime together is treasured. Their garden provides the perfect space for that: weekend swimming, yoga, shooting hoops, naps and alfresco meals. To find out more about Ben’s work, go to benscott.com.au. See more of Brendan’s work at bcgcon.com.au and check out Michael’s work at onoff.com.au.