LANDSCAPE OF THE YEAR AWARDS ENTRANT NSW
This flourishing garden makes the most of the enviable ocean vista
Capturing breathtaking views of Terrigal Beach on NSW’s Central Coast, this garden is a stunner. “The brief was to design a garden that would draw a young family out of the house and beyond the swimming pool, enticing them to venture further into the steep site,” explains Colin Marchant, Director of Costata Landscape Design.
“Following a major home renovation and the construction of a new pool, an empty, ambiguous sloping space was left in the lower third of the site. Excavated clay from the house and pool construction had been battered by the builder into three distinct terraces prior to Costata being engaged. As a consequence, the landform needed to be reshaped to suit our new design.”
The site presented quite a number of challenges, one being the steep slope yet, despite this, the design called for retaining walls to be kept at an absolute minimum — this was to enable the garden to flow.
Additionally, there was no existing natural vegetation on-site and the property, which has a north-north east aspect looking out over the Tasman Sea, is buffeted by salt-laden winds. The property does sit just below a ridge, offering some protection from southerly winds, but solar exposure is high.
“On the upside, the elevated site offered spectacular ocean views, even at the lower point of the property, so we needed to create not just a reason for the family to make the trek down there, but a reason, preferably several reasons, for them to stay and soak
up the tranquil vista,” says Colin.
“A fire pit area and a swing set were settled upon as features that would attract adults and children alike, with the swing set designed and built so it could be easily adapted to use as a hammock.”
Sufficient level space for the fire pit zone was created by carving into the slope. The stone bench doubles as a retaining wall, allowing the garden to wrap around the fire pit area, drawing it further into the landscape. The bench is oriented north-east to take full advantage of the views. A timber deck is part of the swing set construction and provides valuable extra leisure space during larger gatherings.
“The plants were selected to provide rich foliage contrast, cope with the coastal hilltop exposure, and offer various flowering highlights. At the request of the owners, they were also chosen to be relatively low maintenance,” says Colin.
“Frangipanis, bird of paradise and spear lilies share the garden amiably with coast-loving European olive trees, Chinese juniper, Indian hawthorn, tuckeroo and hardy succulents. The thoughtfully arranged drift plantings and carefully orchestrated tapestry of foliage colour and texture creates a calming effect — it also perfectly frames the enviable ocean vista.”
Contact Details
Landscape Design: Costata Landscape Design
Mobile: 0417 685 541
Email: colin@costata.com.au