HGGARDENS
126 | AUSTRALIAN HOUSE & GARDEN
W
alking through the garden of landscape
designer Sam Cox and his partner Lisa Hatfield
is a bit like exploring a precious pocket of a
nature reserve. The air crackles with sounds
of the bush and the thrum of insects. The paths
are padded with leaf litter and the whole place seems to pulse
and breathe, radiating health and the heavy scent of eucalyptus.
“We’ve tried to distil the key elements of nature into a garden
setting,” says Sam. “It’s about trying to emulate the atmosphere
you get when you walk through a national park. We wanted to
make a very calm space. It’s very understated and peaceful.”
Sam bought the 6.5ha property in Eltham, 20km north-east
of Melbourne, in 1997, with the proceeds of an inheritance. Back
then, it was a cleared paddock without a single tree on it. “It was
pasture with weeds everywhere,” says Sam. He was only 24 but
determined to make the most of his windfall. His mission: to
carve out a special bush retreat half an hour from the CBD. He
built a mud-brick home then turned his focus to converting
0.8ha immediately surrounding the dwelling into a bush garden.Inspired by the work and philosophy of his employer and
revered mentor, the late landscape designer Gordon Ford, Sam
designed his garden adhering to the “principles of naturalism”,
using earth shaping and the careful placement of boulders to
replicate the natural environment.
Over the years he has imported 170 tonnes of basalt
boulders, using them as retaining walls as well as rocky outcrops.
“Using boulders is the key to a naturalistic garden,” he says.
“It allows us to create a transition in levels in a way that’s soft
to the eye,” he says.
After contouring the site into “rolling shapes”, Sam’s next
priority was to create a canopy, which he did using a selection
of angophoras and eucalyptus including Sydney red gum
(Angophora costata), lemon-scented gum (Corymbiacitriodora)
red ironbark (Eucalyptussideroxylon) as well as local indigenous
species such as red box (Eucalyptuspolyanthemos), yellow box
(Eucalyptusmelliodora) and yellow gum (Eucalyptusleucoxylon).
Next came the middle storey, consisting of eight types of
acacia, plus a vast array of tall shrubs such as sweet bursaria>ABOVESam designed the pond and waterfall when he was excavating for the house. “I wanted to bring nature right up to the back door,” he says.
“The deep excavation allowed me to create a 3m-high waterfall. It also means the house is protected from south-westerly winds.” A silver-trunked Sydney
red gum (Angophora costata).OPPOSITE, CLOCKWISE FROM TOP LEFTThe trunk of a lemon-scented gum. Lisa and Sam with their Staffordshire
bull terriers, Dot and Dash. White blossom of slender honey myrtle (Melaleuca gibbosa). Purple-flowering oval-leaved mint bush (Prostanthera ovalifolia).
An installation of retired garden tools, set among poas and local gums. Swan River pea. The waterfall, made from basalt, creates a soothing soundscape.