O’Connell Street
Essentially a planting design for a site which already had the landscape bones ready to go, the clients wanted something punchy to marry well with their completely renovated home. The property is immediately adjacent Sydney Harbour and so there was some thought given to salt and wind tolerant plants.
It seemed appropriate to nestle the new dark, bold façade amongst strong belts of foliage, and so the boundary alongside the street entry was planted with a native Waterhousia (Weeping Lillypilly) hedge and complimented with a planting design using green, grey and blue foliaged plants either side of the entry path. The lighting design aims to create a moody yet inviting atmosphere which guides visitors up the stairs to the front door.
The unusually shaped feature front garden bed lent itself to a non-formal, soft approach. A feature Japanese Maple was selected as the ‘wow’ factor tree in the centre of this space.
It displays fresh, green spring foliage in spring, changing to yellow and red in autumn, then in winter, it sheds its leaves to show off a bright red trunk and branches. This is lit up at night, presenting as a living sculpture, complementing the client’s own sandstone sculpture also residing in this garden. A mix of native and exotic species are dotted around the tree as a forest-like backdrop.
Out the back, the steep slope allows an almost vertical view of the garden from the rear windows of the house, so a planting design with a tapestry effect was employed, using foliage of contrasting texture, tone and colour. Feature Frangipani and Tuckeroo trees were included as seasonal highlights and a lush green privacy screen.
A design for the pots and plants to compliment the balconies and patios was also developed, to complete the landscape picture and completely connect the indoors with outside.
