The success of any garden lies in the gardener’s ability to work with the inherent strengths and idiosyncrasies of the site. Lyndall sheds light on her approach:

Choose plants that will thrive in their locations, bearing in mind that conditions can vary within a garden. In this case, one side of the garden is shady while the other enjoys full sun. Accentuate key design elements with plants. Here, we selected round-leaved Carissa grandiflora ‘Desert Star’ and Crassula ovata because they echo the circular lawn. Other plants are clipped into ball shapes for the same reason.

Work with the existing elements. We played up the silvery-grey tones of the timber deck in the plant palette – lots of greens with silver-foliage highlights.

A D B C CA Stepping stones among the Japanese clumping grass ( Zoysia tenuifolia). B A variously sized group of pots containing (from left) century plant ( Agave geminiflora), foxtail fern ( Asparagus densiflorus ‘Myersii’) and a yellow frangipani ( Plumeria acutifolia) underplanted with Dichondra ‘Silver Falls’. C The perfect perch from which to view the circular garden. D Magnificent Bougainvillea ‘Scarlett O’Hara’ in all its dark-pink glory.LEFT An aerial view of the garden showing the circle of lawn and textural planting. The beautiful crown of a kentia palm ( Howea forsteriana) can be seen on the top edge of the circular lawn. #