Orara Valley Garden

Despite it’s location, this is not a country style garden. The client’s brief was for a structured, minimalist look. Concrete in it’s many forms features strongly in this garden. Concrete blocks, a by-product of concrete production, were sourced for the substantial retaining walls. And, steel U-Piles, usually used in civil projects, made the perfect material for another, very narrow retaining wall where space was at a premium. Water from the custom made concrete channel spills into the Corten steel water feature. The plants shapes had to be strong enough to hold up against the strong geometric lines and at the same time soften and support the structures. The main shapes are provided by pruned Box and Casuarina balls, heavily pruned grey Helichrysum and the softer, free flowing shapes of grasses. Trees give height, Acer Senkaki and Magnolia denudata are the main feature trees.