Small wonder

Clever design used in a tiny inner-city backyard creates a welcoming garden

For many city dwellers, private outdoor space is a precious asset. In Alexandria, an inner-city suburb of Sydney, Stuart and Monique Cormack have a covetable 40m2 backyard – about the size of a long garage. They leased their home for a while to work in London, and returned to find that their garden had suffered. A crumbling deck led to a weed-infested garden dominated by an ageing lemon tree.

Monique, a passionate cook and food blogger, was keen to start growing her own ingredients, so a herb garden was high on her wish list for a revitalised garden. Stuart craved a private place to entertain friends and family, so a deck, barbecue and outdoor setting were essential. The couple also wanted a quiet space for reading and relaxing. It seemed only a magician could conjure a solution to fit their tiny space.

Enter landscape designer Barbara Landsberg, who wasn’t at all fazed by the challenge. “Gardens come in every shape and size,” she says. “Being a small space, it had to be very, very clear and simple.”

the magic touch

Barbara employed several design illusions to ensure Stuart and Monique could tick every box on their list. First, she introduced level changes. A new composite-timber

deck steps down to a built-in barbecue and dining area. From there, the garden drops again to a curved day bed and planter, plus a herb garden. The level changes have the effect of delineating each area and, purely by the power of suggestion, make the space feel much bigger.

Next, Barbara tackled the stark white walls that hemmed in the garden. Painting them a dark grey has made the boundary visually recede, with the bonus of emphasising the greenery. A bespoke planter made from weathering steel forms the main garden bed. Its thin profile takes up very little lateral space, compared with materials such as sleepers or brick, and maximises the area available for planting.

Finally, Barbara has mixed ornamental plants and culinary herbs throughout the garden, so it looks good all year round for Stuart’s entertaining, and allows Monique to pursue her food passions. The magical result is a garden that brings nature’s calm to the couple’s busy city lives.

photography BRENT WILSON

CLOCKWISE FROM MAIN e receding palette, the play on di erent levels, and the softening of edges with plants such as Dichondra ‘Silver Falls’ make this compact garden in Sydney’s Alexandria seem much larger; lush plantings of Philodendron ‘Xanadu’, Crassula ‘Blue Bird’ and Brazilian walking iris (Neomarica gracilis) create an oasis of green in the inner city; the custom-built day bed was constructed on site from composite decking material.

ABOVE, AND LEFT Bi-fold doors increase the sense of space, merging the indoor and outdoor living areas seamlessly; landscape designer Barbara Landsberg met the brief with a combination of culinary herbs and ornamental plants, including the popular fiddle-leaf fig.

CLOCKWISE FROM TOP LEFT Warm touches include this vintage sign and macrame hanger; the strappy leaves of Brazilian walking iris provide textural contrast among succulents and broad-leafed plants; Philodendron ‘Xanadu’ is dotted throughout; owners Stuart and Monique Cormack show Dream Gardens host Michael McCoy (right) their garden.