Our client’s brief for our Kew Sunset project was simple: an undercover outdoor area for the family to enjoy throughout the seasons, a pool, lawn area and privacy from neighbouring properties. Our landscape design team responded with a classical approach and contemporary elements incorporated throughout the landscape design.
The undercover area in the garden is perfect for outdoor entertaining. It has enough space for a large dining table and a portable barbeque while allowing our clients to move freely from the home and into the garden. To soften the space, we added an open pergola that acted as a divider between the house and garden, providing protection from the sun and a direct path between the street and garden – one of our client’s main access routes to the house. We planted Wisteria sinesis ‘Alba’ to climb across the pergola, providing a beautiful element of green throughout the warmer months.
Around the pool area, we planted a pleached Carpinus betulus ‘Fastigiata’ hedge to screen the garden from neighbouring properties looking down. On the retaining wall behind the hedge, we planted Ficus pumila to cover the concrete surface and soften it. We were lucky enough to have established Trachelospermum jasminoides – Star Jasmine existing on the property and transplanted to screen off the carport located at the end of the pool area and beneath the glass pool fence, contrasting with the red brick retaining wall and providing a beautiful fragrance throughout Spring. Japanese Maples were introduced to the pool area to provide contrast in foliage colour against the pleached hedge.
Zelkova serrata ‘Golden Flame’ trees were planted in the lawn area and at the entrance to the garden to protect the back of the home from hot westerly suns and create interest in the landscape, providing a focal point to draw the eye to as you enter the garden. We transplanted existing espaliered Crabapple trees along the boundary fence and underplanted them with Iris germanica and Helleborus ‘Ice Breaker Max’.
