2019-12-01_Australian_House_Garden

theguidanceofAdelaidelandscapedesignerVirginia

Kennett.VirginiadesignedtheBrowns’gardenattheir

previoushomeinthecity,butthispropertywasa fardifferent

beast,requiringseriouscommitmenttodesignand

maintain.Phoeberosetothechallenge,obtaininga Diploma

of LandscapeDesign.“IttookfouryearsorsobutI loved

it,”shesays.“Itgavemetheconfidencetohavea go.”

Fieldstoneunearthedfromtheoriginalgardenwasused

tocreatenewborders,stepsandretainingwalls,while

locallyquarriedBasketRangesandstonefeaturesinthe

boundarywallsthathighlightthecontoursoftheland.

“Beingonthishillisa challenge;it’seitherreallyhot

anddry,orcoldandwindy,andwealsogetheavyrainat

times,sowehadtodigaggregatedrainsdownallofthe

differentlevelstopreventthewaterfromwashing

everythingaway,”saysPhoebe.“Wealsogetfrosts,soI

wonderedhowonearththeplantsweregoingtosurvive;

wecoveredeverythinginpeastrawforthefirst 12 months.”

Thestrategyworkedandtoday,tightlyclippedtopiary

cloudsofcoastalrosemary(Westringiafruticosa), English

box(Buxussempervirens),Teucrium, lavender(Lavandula

angustifolia) andabeliaclingtotheslopes.Salvias,geraniums

andmultiplevarietiesofdaisiesbreakuptheformality,

interspersed with soft ornamental grasses,Daphne‘Eternal

Fragrance’andold-fashionedfavouritessuchasagavesand

sedums.“I’velearnedthatsimplicityisthekey– repeating

twoorthreeplantsina bedlooksfantastic.I lovecombining

evergreens,strappyplantsandsome soft coloured perennials

tocreatetexture,”saysPhoebe.

Nativesarefavouredoverexotics,whichstrugglewith

theconditionshere.“Somepeoplearescaredofnatives

buttheylookgreatif usedwell.Westringiafruticosalooks

stunningclippedintoclusteredballs,andnativemyrtleor

creepingboobialla(Myoporumparvifolium) planteden

massecoverlargebankswithverylittlefuss,”saysPhoebe.

Creepingprostraterosemary(Rosmarinusofficinalis

‘Prostratus’),Algerianoaksandfast-growingpencilpines

givethegardena Mediterraneanfeel.Hedgesofolive,

Viburnum, JapaneseboxandPittosporumtenuifolium

‘GreenPillar’or‘GolfBall’highlightvariousoutdoorrooms.

Furtherafield,drought-tolerantconifersandSpartan

junipers(Juniperuschinensis‘Spartan’)framethepaddocks

andequestrianarena,Photiniascreensthewater tanks,

anda bayhedgeisslowlycoveringtheshed.

Theelmsandcrabapplesarealsostartingtomature,and

Phoebehasplantedshade-lovinghydrangeasbeneaththeir

canopies.Morerecently,shehasbeenexperimentingwith

standardolivesandespalieredfruittrees,withanespaliered

quinceandapplewalkamongthestandouts.The next

projectislandscapingaroundthenewstables.

“Alloftheplantingsaregoingtobeverytoughand

predominantlyevergreen,”saysPhoebe.“This time,I want

to make it really low-maintenance.” #

Thisisaneditedextract

fromAustralianHouse

&Garden’s latestbook,

GreatAustralianGardens

Volume 2 , $59.99,from

bauerbooks.com.auand

all good bookstores.