Room of the Week: Featureless Backyard to Tropical Retreat
A plain backyard is transformed into a retreat-style sanctuary for a father and his sons
Georgia Madden
12 August 2019
In a Q&A format, we talk to the designers – and examine the creative thinking – behind some of Houzz’s most loveable spaces.
Images by Caco Photography
Answers by Connor Brannelly, managing director at Brannelly Outdoor
Who lives here: A father and his two teenage sons
Location: Kelvin Grove, Queensland
Garden size: Approximately 90 square metres (excluding the deck and pool)
Answers by Connor Brannelly, managing director at Brannelly Outdoor
Who lives here: A father and his two teenage sons
Location: Kelvin Grove, Queensland
Garden size: Approximately 90 square metres (excluding the deck and pool)
Little touches make this garden design stand out, such as planting Liriope under the bench, so the seat appears to float on a sea of green
Brief
The client wanted me to create a low-maintenance garden with a relaxed, retreat feel. He wanted everyone in the family to be able to spend time out here, relax and recharge.
What were the client’s must-haves?
Brief
The client wanted me to create a low-maintenance garden with a relaxed, retreat feel. He wanted everyone in the family to be able to spend time out here, relax and recharge.
What were the client’s must-haves?
- A mature tree
- Seating
- A lawn.
The Pandanus tree, shown here, grows near the beaches of Queensland and the north coast of New South Wales. Its thick roots help it anchor itself in the loose sand.
What was the budget?
Approximately $20,000.
Where did most of the budget go?
On the mature Pandanus tree, which cost around $4,000. These trees have an amazing, leafy canopy that acts like a huge shade umbrella. Plus, its dramatic root structure makes for a striking garden feature.
Find a landscape contractor or gardener on Houzz to update your garden for spring
What was the budget?
Approximately $20,000.
Where did most of the budget go?
On the mature Pandanus tree, which cost around $4,000. These trees have an amazing, leafy canopy that acts like a huge shade umbrella. Plus, its dramatic root structure makes for a striking garden feature.
Find a landscape contractor or gardener on Houzz to update your garden for spring
What was the garden like originally?
It was just weeds and turf. Apart from the pool and deck, there was nothing here. The back fence was old and falling apart, making the whole garden look tired.
What challenges did you face?
The only access to the site was via a neighbouring property. We had to crane in all the materials to site prior to commencing, including the large Pandanus tree.
The garden was very small and we didn’t want it to look overcrowded or busy. So, we decided to make the main feature of the design the different foliage of the plants.
So Your Garden Style Is: Natural
It was just weeds and turf. Apart from the pool and deck, there was nothing here. The back fence was old and falling apart, making the whole garden look tired.
What challenges did you face?
The only access to the site was via a neighbouring property. We had to crane in all the materials to site prior to commencing, including the large Pandanus tree.
The garden was very small and we didn’t want it to look overcrowded or busy. So, we decided to make the main feature of the design the different foliage of the plants.
So Your Garden Style Is: Natural
The concept drawing for the garden
What exactly did you do?
We created a low-maintenance, tropical garden, with curved walls that maximise the sense of space and draw the user towards the secluded daybed/bench seat. Lighting was added to create ambience at night.
For the planting, we chose a mix of succulents, grasses and tropical plants, all with different foliage colours and shapes. The garden is layered and planted in clumps to create different punches of colour and texture all year round.
We also painted the fence in a darker shade of grey to create a more dramatic backdrop for the plants.
What exactly did you do?
We created a low-maintenance, tropical garden, with curved walls that maximise the sense of space and draw the user towards the secluded daybed/bench seat. Lighting was added to create ambience at night.
For the planting, we chose a mix of succulents, grasses and tropical plants, all with different foliage colours and shapes. The garden is layered and planted in clumps to create different punches of colour and texture all year round.
We also painted the fence in a darker shade of grey to create a more dramatic backdrop for the plants.
Mixing timber, pebbles and concrete adds textural contrast and punch to the scheme
Why do you think this garden works?
It’s enticing, relaxing and low-maintenance. It ticks all the client’s boxes.
How to Choose the Right Garden Edging for Your Outdoor Space
Why do you think this garden works?
It’s enticing, relaxing and low-maintenance. It ticks all the client’s boxes.
How to Choose the Right Garden Edging for Your Outdoor Space
Plant list
Your turn
What do you like best about this garden makeover? Tell us in the Comments, like this story, save the images and join the conversation.
More
Did you see last week’s Room of the Week? Enjoy some interior inspiration with this Room of the Week: A Tiny Heritage Ensuite Made Modern
- Pandanus
- Heliconia – assorted
- Senecio serpens
- Frangipani
- Cordyline – assorted
- Zoysia tenuifolia – assorted
- Bromeliads – assorted
- Philodendron xanadu
- Liriope Evergreen Giant
- Dietes grandiflora
- Kangaroo paw
- Sir Walter buffalo grass.
Your turn
What do you like best about this garden makeover? Tell us in the Comments, like this story, save the images and join the conversation.
More
Did you see last week’s Room of the Week? Enjoy some interior inspiration with this Room of the Week: A Tiny Heritage Ensuite Made Modern
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Well, that nicely contained space makes for an effective impact - and that has been delivered. Love the plant selection. Nothing like a small and manageable plush lawn plot to add a touch of luxury. You don't say how old the garden is - but everything looks nice and lush. Two factors: time of year; and the use of mature plants that along with the Pandanus would have pushed up the cost. Not too much tube stock there! Nicely developed frangipani, and its leaves suggest the photo was taken early in summer, before the blossoms appear and then the frangipani rust sets in (I live in the next door suburb.) Unless the form selected is the non-deciduous, stark-white flowered version.
I am a big fan of Zoysia grasses. That lush planting of the clumping variety (Tenuifolia) is quite mature - either an expensive purchase or a very well maintained planting of the usually available small pots. Keep up the fertiliser under that demanding pandanus! The lawn seems to be Zoysia Empire/Platinum (Japonica) - which is a fabulous grass, but again, this example seems very fresh and the performance over winter may be a little less impressive. Mine is currently struggling in August after a windy blast from the west, but in summer it really performs, even with a covering of partial shade.
An intelligently constrained and practical design - but every garden needs at least some maintenance to keep that fresh look. Hope there is some access for the necessities.
Nice garden but those $4k plants are pretty pricey, how hardy are they?
mon_wil, a pandanus like that would be and ideal home for Bromeliads. They don't need a lot of soil or water and those pockets created by the spiraling root system would be ideal to push in a few smaller ones, think Neoregelias. I have a large palm tree and where the old branches have been pruned I have shoved in broms with a bit of sphagnum moss around the roots just as an anchoring system.