The brief for our Parkville Terrace project was clear: revitalise an existing garden to create a space that felt more like home for our clients. The key priorities were to enhance the street view of the front garden to complement the beautiful terrace home, and to transform the back garden into an inviting yet functional space with more greenery.
The front garden featured a checkerboard paved entry path, a ground-floor verandah, Bluestone steppers, and a few pre-existing trees. To improve this area, we rearranged the steppers to maximise space and added a new feature water bowl to introduce intrigue.
To complement the existing Lagerstroemia indica in the front garden, we surrounded the steppers with Ajuga ‘Chocolate Chip’ and filled the rest of the space with Stachys byzantina, Tulbaghia ‘Fairy Star’, and Hydrangea quercifolia ‘Pee Wee’. These plants not only enhance the aesthetic but also add texture and colour throughout the year.
The internal courtyard at Parkville Terrace was another area of focus, especially given its prominent view from the kitchen and dining areas. Surrounded by brick, we balanced the space with pavers and incorporated plants such as Ficus pumila and Cercis ‘Forest Pansy’, creating a more inviting atmosphere that seamlessly connects the indoors with the outdoors.
The back garden is long and includes a decked entertaining area, a pool and spa, a large adjacent garden bed, and a carport at the far end. Minor adjustments were made to the deck, where we repositioned a tree to optimise space and align with the existing red brick bench seat, built-in bench, and pergola. We added Liriope ‘Royal Purple’ and Nyssa sylvatica to bring in more greenery and further enhance the space.
In the middle section of the garden, the existing spa, pool, and paving remained mostly untouched, but we introduced plantings like Poa labillardierei ‘Eskdale Blue’, Ficus pumila, and Parthenocissus tricuspidata to create a closer connection to nature.
Running adjacent to the pool fence, we installed a pathway of Bluestone steppers to make it easier to navigate from one end of the garden to the other. This winding path is planted with Ophiopogon japonicus ‘Nana’ to fill any gaps and create a lush green underfoot.
Between the steppers and the garden fence, we planted a beautiful perennial garden with Tulbaghia violacea, Stachys byzantina, and Trachelospermum jasminoides, complementing both the existing and newly planted Betula pendula trees.
The garden has been growing for a year now, and we hope that as it continues to evolve, our clients will continue to feel at home and at ease when spending time in this space. It has been a joy to bring more greenery into this project, creating a garden that not only looks beautiful but also offers a sense of tranquillity and connection to nature.
