Índex per Issue #16.5 2019 a Backyard and Outdoor Living

Morag Gamble’s passion for gardening came from her dad’s interest in permaculture. Her mother and grandfather also grew a range of edibles as well as native species for wildlife and there were always a few hand-raised chooks and fruit trees. Morag’s imagination was really fired, though, when a small group got together in the heart of Brisbane to start a community garden, which was to become the well-known and well-loved Northey Street City Farm (nscf.org.au). Now, with her partner, Evan Raymond, and their three children, Maia, Hugh and Monty, Morag tends an acre of subtropical heaven in the idyllic surrounds of Crystal Waters Permaculture Village, located near Conondale in Queensland’s Sunshine Coast hinterland. The main garden takes up a quarter-acre on a tricky 1:5 slope, so Morag and Evan built…

Built at the turn of the last century, this two-storey home in the Melbourne suburb of Camberwell doesn’t just brim with period charm, it’s of grander scale than most of its peers. Fortuitously, the home sits in grounds of equally impressive size, providing the owners with abundant space to unwind, entertain or simply relax and appreciate the beauty of the sensitively landscaped surrounds. The existing gardens had much to recommend them, including a host of well-established trees, but they didn’t really suit the lifestyle needs of the family, nor frame the home in the best way possible. Ian Barker Gardens accepted the near-sacred mission of forging an effortless connection between the old and the new, and giving the heritage property a modern, but wholly respectful, spin. “Given the size of…

The first challenge was how to take a small, somewhat triangular space and make it appear a bit bigger. The second involved turning an urban garden into a private oasis, and the third? That required the selection of plants that would look good year-round. Each of these challenges was met by designer Andrew Plymin, who says of the garden, “The style is loosely formal but with a strong structure created by the repeated use of buxus hedging throughout. The essence of the style is European/French but in many respects, because of the plant selection and finishing decorative touches, it’s also what I would describe as inner-city urban.” The crux of the design is the way in which an already small area has been divided into even smaller spaces. These function…

Thanks to the construction expertise, horticultural knowledge and eco-savvy of Graham Taylor, director of Distinctive Landscapes, one very happy family is able to enjoy all the benefits of a country-style market garden — replete with bee hive, chooks and a seedling hot house — in the heart of Sydney’s bustling northern beaches. “The garden has the potential to provide all the organic produce the family desires while still being a usable space to relax. The owners often enjoy a morning cup of tea out in the garden, listening to the buzzing of the native bees from the hive and the clucking of happy chickens,” explains Graham. From the outset, the aim was to create a new organic growing garden — and lifestyle environment — that would feel like it had…

Planting a garden is part preparation, part creativity. You need to get a handle on the basics — things like soil preparation and choosing the right plant for the right location (you wouldn’t put a shade-loving plant in a full-sun location) — otherwise your plants will struggle. If that happens, it won’t matter how clever the planting plan or inspired your mix of flower colours and foliage textures; a garden filled with ailing plants is not a pleasant one. There are books, websites, online tutorials and the experts at your local garden centre to help with the fundamentals. Once you’ve gained a command of the basics, you can don your designer’s hat and decide what look you want to create and devise a plan for what goes where. There’s much…

“When choosing your plant palette, consider the colour of the flowers and foliage,” says Glenice Buck of Glenice Buck Designs. “Just like in a beautiful painting, the colours in your landscape have to work in concert. The way you group these colours is a matter of taste, but there are some guidelines you can follow to create the mood you want. “Contrasting colours are those that are opposite each other on the colour wheel. These tend to have a bolder effect as each colour is competing for equal attention. A strong purple-flowering salvia planted next to red-flowering poppies will make an impact. Harmonising colours are those that are next to each other on the colour wheel and as they complement each other, they have a more relaxing effect. Yellow-flowering daisies…

“One of the first things you need to do is carefully choose the best location, taking into consideration everything that will surround the structure and how it will be connected to each space, namely the house, pool, and different parts of the garden,” says Justin Dibble of Fluid Design. “And you need to take into consideration how it will be used, how much space will be required to do what you want to do in comfort, and what the structure will look like, taking into account the style of your home and garden. “If the structure is for entertaining, for example, you need to think about the space allocation for, say, a barbecue, whether built-in or on wheels, a lounge and/or dining setting, and then the flow and views to…

We hear so much about organic gardening, biodynamics and permaculture as forms of sustainable gardening and farming practices, but what does it all mean and how can the everyday gardener apply these practices to the average backyard or hobby farm? In the next couple of issues I’ll look at biodynamics and do a bit of myth busting to find out what it’s really about. Where did it all start? How can you use it as an everyday practice in your gardening space? HISTORY OF BIODYNAMICS Early in the 20th century, when farming started to evolve from the traditional organic practices it had followed since humans began to cultivate crops, to switching over to larger, broad-acre, monoculture farming and the use of chemical fertilisers, European farmers were becoming concerned over the…

WATER THE GARDEN In recent years, Adelaide Botanic Gardens (ABG) has implemented a range of landscape architectural projects. A 2.6ha wetland project was created in conjunction with landscape architecture practice, Taylor Cullity Lethlean. Adelaide Botanic Garden Wetland improves flooding, purifies polluted stormwater run-off, provides a habitat for animals and insects, provides aquifer storage and recovery to supply the ABG irrigation, and is an immersive educational and recreational resource. In a time of changing climates, the wetland forms an important addition to ABG and to the City of Adelaide. environment.sa.gov.au/botanicgardens/home HOT SCULPTURE Europeans have been setting trends since the beginning of time and the backyard is no exception. Check out this cool invention. Kara is a barbecue, enigmatic sculpture and garden light in one. Imagine having one of these babies in…

A backyard swimming pool is every Aussie’s dream, but when your backyard is set amid such spectacular bushland surrounds — and offers a water view, albeit a distant one — well, it calls for a pool that is just as extraordinary. Nestled in the outer Melbourne suburb of Warrandyte, the site presented both a raft of opportunities and a host of challenges, so the owners turned to Apex Pools & Spas to design and construct a pool that would harmonise with the house and the natural bush setting. The 1950s house was designed and built by Alistair Knox who, during the post-war period, became well known for his use of mud brick, timber and locally sourced natural materials. One of the design team’s highest priorities was to reflect the materials…

Making the most of the vertical planes is one of the keys to smart small-space garden design. Introducing levels and employing built-in elements are two more. All of these tricks of the trade have been taken to new heights of innovation in this Perth courtyard, designed by Linda Green of Hidcote Landscapes. “The first thing I had to take into account was that it was the main outdoor area for the property and therefore needed to be a multifunctional space incorporating outdoor dining, a barbecue and garden areas to invite interaction with nature,” says Linda. “In addition, the courtyard is viewed from almost every downstairs room in the house, so it had to look good from all angles and provide interest day and night throughout the year.” The back of…

Plants make a garden. They’re what draw us out and make us want to linger. This exquisite garden by Jane Jones Landscapes is a stunning case in point. A garden of loose informal design, it features lush mass plantings of contrasting foliage and texture. Moreover, it provides seasonality in flower and autumnal colour to create year-round interest. “The primary goal was to realise a design that would enhance the then newly renovated Victorian home while complementing the owner’s lifestyle needs and artistic aesthetic,” explains designer Jane Jones. “The owner is an artist and desired a garden with pockets of varying interest constructed through layers of foliage and contrasting textural qualities.” At the rear, the house opens onto a large deck that extends the living space into the outdoors and provides…

“Ornamental grasses are dynamic plants that can lend themselves to a variety of garden styles. In a modern-style garden they could be grouped together en masse to give a strong structural impact. In a cottage-style garden they can be intermingled with flowering perennials,” says Glenice Buck of Glenice Buck Designs. “You could also incorporate ornamental grasses into a meadow-like or naturalistic-style design to create a casual look and a relaxed feel. “Ornamental grasses have a lot to contribute to a garden, including colour, texture, form and scale. Foliage colour varies, taking in all shades of green as well as blues, greys and yellows, and there are also variegated species. The flowers come in a range of forms and colours such as burgundy, pink, silver, white, brown and yellow. “The leaves…

Perennials, defined as non-woody plants which last three years or more, come in many forms. Herbaceous perennials tend to be flowering types that die back in winter when they become dormant, only to re-shoot in spring. Then there are the evergreen perennials and a variety of bulbs. Herbaceous perennials are most closely associated with traditional English gardens, where they were once widely planted in a border on their own. Formal herbaceous borders tended to be labour-intensive, requiring annual staking, cutting back and dividing up of plants. It is also difficult to achieve year-round interest in this type of border as many perennials have a very short flowering season. And many grow too tall for smaller gardens. Today herbaceous perennials, in particular the various dwarf forms, are often grown more informally…

• Frame a view: A pergola can be used to frame a view, create a cool walkway or provide a space for outdoor entertaining. • Indoor-outdoor flow: When attached to the house, a pergola helps to smooth the transition between inside and outside spaces. • Use climbers: Climbing plants (vines, wisteria, star jasmine, mandevilla) can be grown up the posts and along the crossbeams. • Match materials: The closer the pergola is to the house, the more refined the construction materials and finishes should be. • Style cohesion: Ensure the style and colour of the pergola complement the architecture of your house and garden design.…

Crepe myrtle — your garden just isn’t complete without it One of the best all-rounder trees available in Australia is the stunning crepe myrtle. This gorgeous variety offers something for just about everyone. Crepe myrtle comes in all shapes and sizes, from bushes to small, medium and large trees. It also produces huge panicles of summer flowers in almost all colours. The crepe myrtle (Lagerstroemia) is one of the most versatile and hardy plant varieties around. It has been long loved across Australia and does extremely well in cooler temperate zones as well as hotter and humid regions. A premier production nursery, Fleming’s Nurseries, is considered Australia’s number-one tree expert and has been a fan of the crepe myrtle for decades. “They are so hardy, so beautiful and so versatile…

I’ve just been standing with a neighbour, Naomi, looking at the remains of her passionfruit vine. It’s a sad sight. What’s left is the unproductive, weedy understock. The productive vine succumbed to a cold snap, but the cold- and disease-tolerant understock, Passiflora caerulea, can’t be halted. She has tried tearing it down and digging it out. The latest weapon is the family’s pet lamb, currently feeding around where the passionfruit understock is growing. Before the passionfruit died back, it produced buckets of passionfruit, so Naomi is keen to plant another vine, but she says it won’t be a grafted vine. GRAFTED VS OWN ROOTS Passionfruit are usually sold as grafted plants. Grafting makes the vine more tolerant of poor soil and climate conditions but, as Naomi discovered, the graft can…

MADE IN THE SHADE Is there anything more appealing on a summer’s day than relaxing in the garden under the cool canopy of a shade tree? This chill-out zone, designed and built by Harrisons Landscaping, is nestled beneath a large tree that provides protection from the sun and creates a cosy spot to unwind. A built-in planter wraps around the base of the tree and teems with Dianella caerulea ‘Little Jess’, the rich green of the leaves offsetting the dark colour of the low rendered walls. The planter morphs into a built-in “floating” bench seat. By building a cantilevered seat, the impression of greater space is created and makes the area seem airier than it would have with a boxed-in style of seating. For a “beachy” look, the hardwood seating…

Sometimes, what you see really is what you get. The Farmer’s Place is a good example of the old phrase, “truth in advertising”. It’s a small working farm, cafe and farmers’ market in Freshwater Creek in Victoria, 15 minutes south-west of Geelong and the Great Ocean Road. A family business owned and operated by Robert Pascoe, his wife Fiona, and children Amelia, Louis and Charlie, The Farmer’s Place comprises about two acres of raised garden beds, orchards and planted mounds. By autumn 2016, with the preparation of new gardens, the acreage under cultivation was expected to double. “My grandparents always had vegetable gardens,” says Robert, a lifelong gardener, “so there’s a long family history and a passion for sustainable food.” No surprise, then, that he has another farm in nearby…

Thanks to the design and construction expertise of Fifth Season Landscapes, the owners of this Sydney property have a garden that exceeds expectations — an enticing, easy-to-use entertainer’s garden that seamlessly blends classic stone and timber with contemporary polished concrete and curved glass. “The client brief was to update an existing outdoor space by providing an adaptable weatherproof area that would allow for winter sun and natural light. We were also asked to provide adequate space for outdoor dining along with a built-in cooking area,” says Phil Antcliff, a director of Fifth Season Landscapes. Of equal importance was ensuring the new space forged a flawless connection with the existing garden areas, which included a swimming pool. “To this aim, the pivotal point in the garden is the spotted gum decking.…

Of grand scale, this multi-levelled garden is an entertainer’s delight. The garden was designed in two stages: the first by The Garden Company, which created a large pond as well as greenery and gardens around the house. The second stage, which included the outdoor room, water feature, arbour and casual conversation nooks, was designed by Roger Brown of Focal Point Garden Design. The second stage was developed across a sloping block that sat behind the existing property and was acquired by the owners several years after the original garden was completed. There were a few existing trees Roger felt were worth retaining, but other than that he had a clean slate. “The owners asked that a garden with lots of colour and interest be created on the new block, so…

From the beginning, homeowners Natasha and Vince were “feel-good” people who spoke of a spiritual connection to living and how they wished to extend that into the garden. This is one of the things that drew landscape designer Michael Webber of Michael Webber Architecture to the project. Michael was asked to take the smallish suburban backyard and turn it into a Zen garden — how that was to be interpreted was largely up to him. “Although the yard looked relatively flat, it actually fell away to one corner by 850mm. I decided to make use of this fall by including a garden wall, steps and, at the lower level, a pond and lawn in the shape of the symbols for yin and yang. From then on, the design flowed with…

Well-established trees help a garden convey a sense of place. They also contribute height and form and are a vital component of a well-balanced garden design. Trees can be called upon to function as focal points, provide seasonal interest, ensure privacy, dampen the sound of passing traffic, protect other plants from wind, contribute shade and give an outdoor space a sense of enclosure. Trees need to be selected and placed with great care. Make sure you know how tall and wide they’ll grow and just how invasive the root system is before planting. If using for shade, proper placement is even more critical. Many of the most popular exotic trees (birch, beech, liquidambar) are deciduous, with the advantage of allowing winter sun and providing summer shade. Many also have the…

For most of us, our outdoor spaces are places of retreat — somewhere we can go when we want to relax and unwind. But outdoors is also where we head when we want to entertain. At the heart of most alfresco living spaces will be a structure of some kind … maybe a vine-clad pergola, Japanese-style gazebo or modern poolside pavilion “Done well, outdoor entertaining structures provide good value to any residence. It’s something that people look for in a home and is a worthwhile investment for lifestyle and added property value. I feel every home would benefit from having some kind of outdoor structure, be it shade by the pool or an area the family can use to enjoy an outdoor meal in the summer months,” says Justin Dibble…

“At the heart of most alfresco living spaces will be a structure of some kind … maybe a vine-clad pergola, Japanese-style gazebo or modern poolside pavilion” Small garden structures may be considered exempt development by some councils, meaning they won’t require council approval, but larger ones probably will. This is especially so if you want to build near a boundary or the structure will be seen from the street. And if you live in a fire-prone area or a heritage zone, there will be strict building codes. So always check with council, or hire a builder or landscaper who will project manage the job for you and ensure all approvals are gained and building codes adhered to. Also, always check property titles to ensure yours is not encumbered with covenants,…

Pure H2O. For farmers, it’s like liquid gold. For the city hobby farmer or backyard gardener, turn on a tap and it’s there in abundance. However, that does not make this natural resource any less valuable. Healthy gardens need water. It’s arguably the single most important factor for plant survival. There are ways you can make the most of this finite natural resource so you can have a thriving organic garden, while still making every precious drop count. So how much water do plants need? That, of course, depends on the plant, where the plants are positioned in relation to the sun and wind, and the soil type. Soil has three types of particles — sand, silt and clay — and the combinations of these determine the soil type. If…

“Radishes are quick to harvest, with some varieties ready to pull just 25 days from sowing. They are generally eaten raw in salads” Radishes are fast and easy to grow, with colourful roots and a crisp, firm texture that brings crunch and a peppery zing to fresh salads and side dishes. Research different radish varieties and you’ll be surprised by the sheer range you can grow. If you’re after a standard, round, red radish with crisp, white flesh, ‘Early Scarlet Globe’ is a pretty, fast-growing choice. Or for something extra bright in the salad bowl, try ‘Champion’, with cherry-coloured skin and a mild flavour. For an extra-big crop of radishes, try ‘Giant of Sicily’ with large red globes that can be harvested 45–55 days after sowing. Then there are decorative…

When your hens start looking scruffy, you can bet that ectoparasites are giving them a hard time. And warmer weather usually means these little pests multiply faster and cause birds and owners extra grief. It’s easy to discount the problem as just a few lice or mites. In fact, there’s a variety of pests that infest poultry or their environment and the presence of any one of them needs to be taken seriously. Ectoparasites (parasites that live on or in the skin rather than in the body) can irritate and debilitate birds, leading to reduced egg output or poor growth. They can be vectors for disease transmission, and the blood-sucking mites may cause anaemia or even death. Chickens and growing stock are more adversely affected than full-size birds but, if…

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