Australian House & Garden – September 2019

FA BFOL I AGE

“Thisgardenis allaboutthemix

ofstrappy,structuralandbold

foliage,”saysFiona.Oneofher

favouriteplantsis thisEchium

candicans(PrideofMadeira).It’s

knownforitsstunningflower

spikes,butFionalovesit forits

boldfoliageandbigbunshape.

Totheleftis cardboardpalm

(Zamiafurfuracea) andsilvery

Westringia‘Smokey’.

FIONA ERICSSON & JULIA LEVITT

Co-founders, Sticks & Stones

Landscape Design

The brief

A lovely front garden can play a special

role in the life of a home. In addition to

softening the architecture and providing

a leafy outlook, it’s the first word of

welcome to visitors. The entry courtyard

at left was previously an uninspiring patch

of formal low hedging. The owners of the

Federation-era Sydney home wanted to

enliven the all-important 12x7m space

and enlisted Sticks & Stones Landscape

Design to help. Their brief: to create

a more inviting entrance and a place

to sit and enjoy the greenery.

The solution

The duo at Sticks & Stones transformed the

courtyard into a multi-faceted space with

layered plantings, curvilinear shapes,

leaf-fringed paths, a circular seating area

and pond. Taking cues from the home’s

architecture, they used a materials

palette of sandstone and brick and a

plant palette Fiona (pictured above, left)

describes as “contemporary cottage”,

a style that mixes foliage plants with

flowering species, and strappy plants in

clipped forms. “It’s softer than a formal

cottage garden,” says Fiona. “And

sweeping paths and flowing lines help

create a journey to the front door.”

Designer statement

“Being in this garden is so calming. The

water sounds are lovely and there’s

movement in the foliage.” >

MODERN COTTAGE

The plant palette includes

looser strappy plants alongside

mounded species. Here, a white

crepe myrtle (Lagerstroemia

indica ‘Natchez’) is underplanted

with walking iris (Neomarica

gracilis) and clipped balls of

Pittosporum ‘Golf Ball’.

SCREEN TIME
This camellia hedge (Camellia
sasanqua), the only plant
retained from the old garden,
forms a privacy screen. Three
ornamental pear trees (Pyrus
calleryana ‘Capital’) have
been planted (left) to add
height to the screening.

GARDENS HG