This Victorian house, in the Botanic Gardens precinct, is located facing onto a shared laneway that addresses warehouse apartments behind. As such, the role of the landscape was as much to provide garden outlook and embrace for this home, as to enhance the experience for all entering the property.
Using compact garden spaces at front and rear, the design leaps over the boundary fence to create borrowed view inwards and outwards, with planting extending the tree canopy from garden to laneway planting. Ornamental trees are placed to provide window outlook and subtle privacy screening, while enhancing the linear garden bed along the laneway.
The front garden provides outlook and screening from a restful lounge room while the back garden is visible throughout the long rear living and kitchen space, providing backdrop to the serene and peaceful materials palette. Flagstone paving moves from solid form into a dissipated layout allowing ground cover greenery to come closer to the internal spaces and maximising garden cover in these tight spaces.
Jacaranda, Silver Birch and Japanese Maples provide canopy cover that connects inside and out. Mounded shrubs and lower plants are exercises in contrast of form, texture and colour. A planter at the upper bedroom window acts as railing, while allowing plants to drape into view of this restful space and connect with the tree canopy in the view beyond.
