This extremely desirable, plant-filled front garden has an abundance of street appeal
Whether you’re gazing out from the windows of the lounge room or strolling by on the footpath, the centrepiece of this front garden, designed and built by Desired Effect Landscape Design and Construction, is unmistakable ‑ a flourishing 25-year-old weeping cherry tree.
Rescued from another site, where it was destined for destruction, the cherry tree was carefully dug out, transported to the garden on the back of a truck and temporarily planted on-site until it was ready to be lifted into its final position. Once placed in its centrally located circular garden bed, it was under-planted with a groundcover of trailing lasiandra.
The serpentine garden beds, which border the front wall of the house and the front fence, boast a mixed planting of Phormium ‘Black Magic’, Liriope ‘Joy Mist’ and Abelia grandiflora ‘Nana’. In the bed in front of the house, the feature planting consists of two weeping Acacia cognata ‘Mini Cog’ and three Lophomyrtus ‘Black Stallion‘. In the bed along the fence, a trio of feature Ficus microcarpa hillii ‘Flash’ trees, under-planted with Escallonia ‘Pink Pixie’, draw focus.
Another focal point of the garden is a built-in bench seat set against the side fence. Here, the garden has a semi-formal feel thanks to the square planters and the clipped Syzygium australe and Buxus sempervirens used to create a two-tiered hedge. This seat provides a place for the owners to sit, relax and enjoy their newly landscaped front garden.
A path of 1000mm x 500mm sawn bluestone steppers leads past the weeping cherry tree to the garden seat. Picking up on the garden path, the planters feature 40mm bluestone wall capping and the garden edging has been built using recycled bluestone pitchers (hand-split blocks) that Desired Effect salvaged from a previous project that involved pulling up an old laneway.
And, because the owners wanted the garden to be as easy to care for as possible, no lawn was included. In its place, there are well-mulched garden beds and a “sea” of decorative pebbles and gravel.
Lighting provides the final touch. This includes uplighting that bathes the canopy of the weeping cherry tree and acacias in a warm glow and the backlighting that has turned the wall-mounted Outdeco screen, set above the timber bench seat, into a light box.
Desired Effect is a Melbourne-based full-service landscape design, construction and maintenance company. No matter what the size of the project, Brett Blundell and his team pride themselves on the high quality of their work and their commitment to providing excellent service, each and every time.
Project details
Landscape design and construction by Desired Effect Landscape Design and Construction PO box 1269, Mountain Gate Vic 3156 Mobile 0402 829 344 Email brett@desiredeffect.net.au Website www.desiredeffect.net.au
