Dressed to impress

It has been said that doctors can bury their mistakes, but architects can only advise clients to plant vines. Mistakes aside, however, there's no doubt that clever planting can conceal unsightly features, or, as is the case with this project, disguise an awkwardly shaped site.

Landscape designer Matt Cantwell of Secret Gardens says the traditional Federation-style house sits at an angle on a triangular-shaped block, which created a challenge for the design team.

"We needed to square up the site with the planting, particularly at the rear of the house," he says. "We also wanted to bring a little more structure to the garden. Although the house has always had a charm of its own, the garden was considerably overgrown."

Formalising the front garden not only enhanced the home's street appeal it also created a more dramatic entrance. Low hedging of Japanese box either side of the entry borders a row of gardenias interspersed with Iceberg roses and small topiaried lilly pilly trees. The subtle white-on-green colour palette is enlivened in spring by the lush lilac of a wisteria vine.

"We also retained a large expanse of lawn," says Cantwell. "It provides an open space where the children can play."

At one side, however, the lawn gives way to a new paved courtyard behind a large, painted wooden fence and gate.

"This area can be used for off-street parking, or as an outdoor seating area," says Cantwell. "Its west-facing aspect makes it particularly attractive in winter. To avoid having a large amount of grey paving, we used concrete pavers surrounded by small granite cobbles."

At the rear, a new plunge pool was added, and planting introduced to screen off the neighbouring properties and to hide the awkward shape of the site. Tall, fast-growing lilly pilly trees and red-flowering camellias line one boundary, while evergreen ash trees provide brighter foliage on the opposite side. The layered planting also adds depth to the garden.

A large Viburnum odoratissimum fills out the triangular point behind the pool.

"This is a very vigorous hedging plant that can be trimmed to create a small tree," Cantwell says. "Its fast growth means it needs to be frequently clipped, so the lush, bright colour of the new foliage is always showing. This provides a lively contrast to the darker green of the lilly pilly trees."

Edging plants of dwarf mondo grass and Japanese box hedging also balance light and dark-green shades.

"Colour was a key consideration," says Cantwell. "The owners wanted a garden that would look good all year round."

Story by: Colleen Hawkes