130 Australian House & Garden
TOP The upper billabong is edged by a number of aquatic plants, including
Juncus australis, Juncus gregiflorus, Triglochin striatum, Eleocharis
sphacelata and Ranunculus glabrifolius. BOTTOM Phillip worked with gravity
to pipe the waterfalls, so that when it rains, nature fills the billabong and
the waterfall flows. OPPOSITE clockwise from top le Dichondra repens
and Viola hederacea creeping around the rock steps. The greens here are
intense, the shades varying depending on the light. The tips of a Dicksonia
antarctica frond. New growth unfurls. Persicaria decipiens grows at the
edge of the billabong.H&G GARDENS
< You can jump off a 2.5m waterfall ledge into the pool – and it just
brings back that sense of being a child. Even my father, on his 70th
birthday, has jumped off it! But what I really love is swimming up to
the base of the waterfalls and letting the water cascade over my body.
It’s one of the most cleansing and energising experiences. I also built
a small pebble path, which provides you with a reflexology experience
prior to entering the body of water.
A beautifully constructed curved boardwalk separates the shallow
beach area for children’s play from the deep waterhole section. It’s an
interesting architectural form that slices through the natural pool.
The timber ladder leans up against the boardwalk to allow ease of
access. I’ve also built a spa, my Australian version of a hot spring,
inspired by the Japanese onsen.
We live in a cool-temperate wet-sclerophyll rainforest. The upper
storey is Eucalyptus regnans and the understorey is Dicksonia
antarctica and Cyathea australis – tree ferns. I’ve planted many tree
ferns here but I also worked around a lot of existing ones as part of
the build process. Some are more than 200 years old. And I’ve
enjoyed watching how they naturally propagate themselves if you
have the right damp environment.
As you come down through the spiral staircase that is surrounded
by large tree ferns, you reach the outdoor hot shower. This has been
handcrafted from an Acacia dealbata (silver wattle) off the property,
and the handle has been creatively sculpted from a piece of mistletoe.
When I first built this landscape I was going through a difficult
phase in my life, and building it helped me through that phase. I call
the lower billabong the healing pond. Putting your energy into
creating something beautiful can help you get through grief.
Olinda was the inspiration for our Best in Show-winning garden at
the Chelsea Flower Show in 2013 and I hope that in some way it
helped change the way people view Australian native gardens.
What really motivated me to build this garden was wanting to
create a beautiful environment in which to bring up a family. I was
brought up to love being in the garden. Now my sons, William and
Angus, are learning the same thing. I can see how much they love it
and that’s what creating these landscapes is all about.” #Competition closes at 11.59pm on 4 January 2015. Open to all residents of Australia.
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