hello again, at last!!

well then. it is now firmly eight years since my last bout of enthusiasm on this site and ten since the garden was started!! 

the garden had certainly moved on, as have we.  much work,  seasonal decision making  and more work, but the concept survives and evolves.  importantly, this garden has given  us ( and others) enormous pleasure and many rewards.  our daughter sophie was married in the garden in the spring of 2015, an event which allowed us to share the garden to many of her friends and new family.

so, this will be the beginning of a catchup and, hopefully, an ongoing diary of the 
 life of our garden.

working drawing 1

this diagram became the working drawing for the setting out of the base layout and the first garden beds.

layouts

the first objective was to find a pattern which could be laid over the landscape and which was harmonious with the existing forms, in particular the geometry of the house and the series of 18 grassed mounds. 

After experimenting with lines generated from the extending walls on the house plan, a series of interlocking ovoids were employed, resulting in an a pattern which was in effect independent of the existing geometries found in the landscape.

Here are some of the sketches  of this idea as it developed.

in the beginning

in the beginning there was a patch of ground left over from a tree clearing exercise undertaken by the former owners. this patch sits just below and to the  west of a house built on a secluded 20 acre parcel of land in the south west of australia. most of this parcel of land is bush. coastal heather and peppermint trees running into a national park which in turn abuts the indian ocean.

the existing setting is characterised by long and medium length views through the landscape and are marked by a number of key elements. a distant ridge, mature redgums, a rammed earth single level house.

a new garden, as an extension of the existing landscape, is to be created in this 'patch'. initially the first stage of this new garden is to be in contrast by being secret. it is intended, once inside the new garden, that views are contained and focussed on the business of the garden alone. plants and their groupings, changes in levels, hardscape such as sculpture and the like will be the focus of attention. a place to rest and contemplate.

the underlying structure for the setting out of the first stage garden comprises a series of interlocking, irregular ovoid shapes, variously disposed in superior/inferior juxtaposition. these ovoids, which form the discreet beds, in turn lay over a larger ovoid, the residual parts of which form the walking paths for the garden.

at this stage, only the upper section of approximately 30m x 20m has been laid out. the basic layouts was set out in mid 2008 and beds 1 & 2 were planted in spring 2008. a palette of largely australian indigenous plants have been selected, and where possible, a particular emphasis has been placed on species native to the local area.

a drip system of irrigation has been installed to assist in the early years until the plants can survive on their own. an electrified fence has been erected to protect the fledging plants from the predations of local kangaroos who daily move through the property.

bed 3, central in the layout, will be mulched with selected pebble stone to form a mounded base for the placement of sculptural pieces, either man-made or natural, such a grass trees or the like.

bed 4 will be planted with a row of hedging species to create a background screen about 3-4 metres high, screening out the adjacent peppermint woods, and continuing the enclosing theme. the foreground will be rock mulched also , but planted with selected flowering species to create a focus. a resting place may be incorporated at this point.


bed 5 has a productive Hass avocado tree which has been integrated into the planning. a number of ideas are floating around as to how to deal with the bed below the tree.

the lower portion of the garden is yet to be resolved, except that it will change in it’s underlying formal structure, perhaps to be more of a transitional space as the pathways lead into the natural bushland to the west.

from there it is intended to expand westwards into the bushland, by interposing formal structures and interjections. this will unfold as we go!

so, this diary will, hopefully, record in words and picture, our gardening journey.....