Softly, softly sums up the transformation of this garden in Sydney’s east, by Adam Robinson of Adam Robinson Design. While retaining the hardscaping, he has elevated its feel through smart planting, in lush and surprising combos that bring energy and a verdant softness.
The streetscape under soaring eucalypts, which provide generous shade and a dramatic borrowed landscape. (Photography: Brigid Doherty)
Layered beds include butterfly bush (Gaura lindheimeri), adagio silver grass (Miscanthus sinensis ‘Adagio’), tussock grass (Poa labillardierei), iceberg rose (Rosa ‘Korbin’) and cotton lavender (Santolina chamaecyparissus). An existing Japanese maple (Acer palmatum) and dwarf date palms (Phoenix roebelenii) provide verticality, while ebbing’s silverberry (Elaeagnus x ebbingei) serves as boundary hedging and Japanese box (Buxus microphylla japonica) encloses the entertaining area. Two euphorbias, including candelabra spurge (Euphorbia ammak) and euphorbia ‘Cowboy’ (Euphorbia acrurensis) lend a sculptural element. Granite paving existing. ‘Trace’ table and ‘Jak’ chairs, Tait. Water feature by Ann Vrielinck, Parterre. (Photography: Brigid Doherty)
The owners bought the Victorian home in 2012, lured by its deep verandahs, high ceilings, northeast corner site and historical pedigree. But the garden was stiff and rigid, and needed to let its hair down, with hedging, hedging and more hedging being a prime culprit.
“With the house on one side, garage on another, raised beds and so many hedges, there were too many straight lines,” says the owner. “It was all too heavy.” And those hedges made the garden seem smaller. “I wanted to loosen it up and create movement, softness and texture, as well as moments of discovery,” says Adam.
“With the deep verandahs on the north and eastern sides, the garden had to feel pretty and romantic, but at the same time, include bold planting for contrast and visual impact.” And he aimed to optimise those generous beds by filling them with densely layered planting.
Spartan juniper (Juniperus chinensis ‘Spartan’), trimmed into clouds, makes a sculptural statement on the front porch, underplanted with hardy kalanchoes for contrast, including silver spoons (Kalanchoe hildebrandtii ‘Silver Spoons’) and felt plant (Kalanchoe beharensis). (Photography: Brigid Doherty)
The garden is in two main zones, the front to the north and the eastern side, which abuts the living areas via a deep, inviting verandah. For the former, to create “a sense of drama and fun”, he retained a frangipani to one side and some existing buxus hedging, but added species you wouldn’t expect to see in front of a Victorian verandah, including pencil pines, a whale’s tongue agave, kalanchoe ‘Silver Spoons’ and, on the boundary, Henkel’s yellowwood hedging, all of which, while hailing from different parts of the world, share hardy dispositions and sculptural forms.
Meanwhile, he repainted the front fence and door in Porter’s Paints Newport Blue, echoing the tessellated tiles on the verandah.
On the steps, elephant’s bush (Portulacaria afra ‘Cascade’) and iceberg rose (Rosa ‘Korbin’).. (Photography: Brigid Doherty)
“I wanted to loosen it up and create movement, softness and texture…”
ADAM ROBINSON, LANDSCAPE DESIGNER
Candelabra spurge (Euphorbia ammak) beside the porch, underplanted by butterfly bush (Gaura lindheimeri). (Photography: Brigid Doherty)
But the heart of the garden remains the area to the side, which has become an inviting outdoor room for the family. Adam already had great elements to start with, including mammoth granite pavers, rendered retaining walls, a lily pond and a water feature by a Belgian sculptor, sourced by the owner. And its natural setting.
“Its warm, light-filled microclimate was ideal for the plantings we chose,” says Adam. “One of its greatest strengths were five existing Japanese maples, which offered instant structure, seasonal interest and a sense of maturity.” And, while he retained some hedging, he pared it back.
Another notable existing feature was the large gum tree on the nature strip, which contributes to the broader streetscape and provides scale and welcome shade through much of the day.
A dwarf date palm (Phoenix roebelenii), Mexican sage (Salvia ‘Santa Barbara’), New Zealand flax lily (Arthropodium cirrhatum), candelabra spurge (Euphorbia ammak) and Japanese box (Buxus microphylla japonica) provide an alluring array of shapes and textures around the existing water feature. (Photography: Brigid Doherty)
As in the front, Adam included unexpected combinations and cheeky nods to a traditional formal English garden that this house would probably have seen in its early days – roses, in this case icebergs (a 20th-century cultivar) and box hedging.
In the front entry, silver spoons (Kalanchoe hildebrandtii ‘Silver Spoons’), Henkel’s yellowwood (Podocarpus henkelii) and blue star ferns (Phlebodium aureum ‘Blue Star’) provide striking foliage contrasts. ‘Jak’ armchair, Tait. Existing granite paving. (Photography: Brigid Doherty)
In the entertaining area, European fan (Chamaerops humilis) and dwarf date palms (Phoenix roebelenii) temper the fence line. Ebbing’s silverberry (Elaeagnus x ebbingei) and low-slung Japanese box (Buxus microphylla japonica) are both trimmed for hedging. The buxus was existing, but Adam pared it back. Table and chairs, Tait. (Photography: Brigid Doherty)
Adam teamed palms, succulents, strappy-leafed plants and perennials for their verdant variety, but also their hardiness in a sunny site with dappled shade, thanks to that towering gum on the street. An existing bay tree was woven into the scheme, while dwarf date palms (Phoenix roebelenii) and European fan palms (Chamaerops humilis) rub fronds with Spartan junipers (Juniperus chinensis ‘Spartan’), butterfly bush (Gaura lindheimeri) and, most dramatically, two candelabra spurges (Euphorbia ammak) on and beside the verandah.
This potpourri of species is underplanted with an amazing array of succulents, grasses and flowering plants, taking advantage of those deep beds and offering seasonal colour, mostly purples and lilacs. These include Mexican sage (Salvia ‘Santa Barbara’), Mona lavender (Plectranthus ‘Mona lavender’), silver spurflower (Plectranthus argentatus), silver spoons (Kalanchoe hildebrandtii ‘Silver Spoons’) and panda plant (Kalanchoe tomentosa) for colour and form, and adagio silver grass (Miscanthus sinensis ‘Adagio’) and tussock grass (Poa labillardierei) and New Zealand flax lily (Arthropodium cirratum) for their movement.
“The composition feels more fluid and responsive to light and the seasons,” says Adam. “It balances elegance with a relaxed, naturalistic feel.”
Butterfly bush (Gaura lindheimeri), giant Russian olive (Elaeagnus macrophylla) ball and smaller Japanese box (Buxus microphylla japonica) balls. Water feature, Parterre. (Photography: Brigid Doherty)
Unlike before, nothing is predictable and cookie-cutter. “We love the different zones, created by the inspired planting, including ferns near the garage, trimmed conifers behind the fountain and sculpture, the palms, the butterfly gaura and billowing grasses. Before we didn’t have visible movement. In a good northeasterly, the palms and grasses sway in the breeze.” And it’s hard not to be mesmerised by it all.
Iceberg roses (Rosa ‘Korbin’). (Photography: Brigid Doherty)
The side garden features paper plant (Fatsia japonica) in the raised area, while a Russian olive (Elaeagnus macrophylla) ball and smaller Japanese box (Buxus microphylla japonica) balls feature in the foreground. A Mexican giant cactus (Pachycereus pringlei) in a pot provides drama beside armchairs and side table, all Tait. Existing paving. (Photography: Brigid Doherty)
FEATURE PLANTS
Trees
Dwarf date palm (Phoenix roebelenii)
European fan palm (Chamaerops humilis)
Japanese maple (Acer palmatum)
Spartan juniper (Juniperus chinensis ‘Spartan’)
Shrubs
Butterfly bush (Gaura lindheimeri)
Henkel’s yellowwood (Podocarpus henkelii)
Japanese box (Buxus microphylla japonica)
Succulents
Candelabra spurge (Euphorbia ammak)
Panda plant (Kalanchoe tomentosa)
Silver spoons (Kalanchoe hildebrandtii ‘Silver Spoons’)
Whale’s tongue agave (Agave ovatifolia)
Grasses and strappy leafed plants
Adagio silver grass (Miscanthus sinensis ‘Adagio’)
Blue star ferns (Phlebodium aureum)
New Zealand flax lily (Arthropodium cirratum)
Tussock grass (Poa labillardierei)
Perennials
Mona lavender (Plectranthus ‘Mona lavender’)
Iceberg roses (Rosa ‘Korbin’)
Mexican sage (Salvia ‘Santa Barbara’)
Silver spurflower (Plectranthus argentatus)
Trailing plants
Maidenhair vine (Muehlenbeckia complexa)
On the porch, Euphorbia ‘Cowboy’ (Euphorbia acrurensis) and a Japanese box ball (Buxus microphylla japonica) adorn terracotta pots. In the garden, butterfly bush (Gaura lindheimeri), adagio silver grass (Miscanthus sinensis ‘Adagio’), tussock grass (Poa labillardierei) and an iceberg rose (Rosa ‘Korbin’) add layering and soften the heritage architecture. Royal Botania ‘Ninix’ sofa and mirrors, Parterre. (Photography: Brigid Doherty)
The Designer
Adam Robinson Design: adamrobinsondesign.com
Writer
Chris Pearson
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