The clients, a retired professional couple, recently sold a large Edwardian home with extensive gardens, and commissioned a contemporary home on a smaller block.

Working with the architects’ preference, a modern minimalist garden was designed for the streetscape and front courtyards of the home. Through more extensive planting, and “softer” built landscape material, the entry “corridor” and courtyard becomes a transitional space to the exuberantly planted perennial garden at rear. Close collaboration with the client in the plant selection process now allows the client to indulge in her love of horticultural in this traditional “flower picking” garden. The deep home site cut meant that courtyard trees required extensive subsurface drainage to be fitted prior to planting.

Paving is a matrix of selected pebble black oxide exposed aggregate concrete, with random edging of multi-sized black pavers. A custom precast triangular seat positioned to view the rear garden complements this.