The Greenery Garden

In the world of shrinking garden spaces, this exhibit seeks to highlight the value of green, living plants to provide year-round form and structure in the garden design. It aims to explore the importance and tradition of utilising clipped plants for definition and form as well as highlighting plants for texture such as foliage shapes and bark, the beauty of green on green, the form of espalier as a wall feature and trimmed ‘cloud’ as a living sculptural element. The garden features a double hedge to create not only a backdrop for the main garden but a secret, enticing vista where you can imagine becoming lost in the greenery - it’s almost maze-like, a little garden ‘folly’ with a surprise piece to delight. 

This gardens illustrates the value of combining the hard scape with integrated structural plantings, creating the ‘bones’ of the garden. This serves to make your garden a bit more forgiving if you don't garden as often as you might like, while providing that consistent backdrop and structure for the more seasonal elements. The softness of the flowers of favourites such as Hydrangeas, Heucheras, Salvias and Gardenias are highlighted by the consistent ‘canvas’ the clipped, green plants provide the year round. Highlights of foliage colour have been chosen to tone in with the both the bricks and the bluestone in the hardscape. Eaglemont Splits from the PGH Bricks Estate range were used for this project.

The integration between the hedge blocks and the water feature is key, almost as if the hedges are protruding into the water feature; it is a purposeful reference to the link between built and living garden elements.The sunken garden paved element creates invitation encouraging you to stop and rest; the elegance of slimline brick paving chosen specifically for warmth, texture and to create the illusion of increased space, especially when contrasted with the generous slabs of classic Australian bluestone. The paving ‘folds’ up the wall to further the sense of immersion and integration.The inlay of living green plants in the paving balances the hard surfaces and further strengthens the virtue of the built and living landscape being unified. Further to this, the living inlay wraps up the wall to create a more seamless relationship between ‘hard’ and ‘soft’ landscaping. The slimline bricks are used in the vertical plane in the garden retaining walls also for a cohesive approach, just as the Bluestone paving is used as stepping stones, steps and random paving throughout the design. 

The fins of the pergola subtly transition from black to white as the viewer moves through the space - echoing the planting theme being more shaded at one end, sunnier at the other; like emerging from darkness into light. On that theme, the bluestone seat in the shadows invites quiet intimacy, contemplation and personal rejuvenation in the garden space, contrasting with a generous table to share the garden and table with friends and family at other times. 

This is a classic garden, it is about refinement, enjoyment, style, and the importance and value of having a lovely garden in your life every day. Featuring plants selected for form, beauty, texture, colour, fragrance and taste, this garden nourishes the senses. The plantings highlight the softness of flowers, juxtaposed with the the form and delights of different shades of clipped green, providing texture as well as the practical importance of the privacy screening. It is also about discovering the pleasurable and mindful recreational activity of gardening and the relaxing pleasure of being enfolded in, and enjoying the space that has been created.

Architect: Vivid Design