A case of tricky landscape design

The design challenge lay in the fact that neither the pool nor the palm tree, both of which the clients wanted to keep, lined up correctly with the house, giving the garden a skewed look. Owner Marc and his wife were looking to introduce some formality and structure to the garden; they wanted some space for the kids to play, an area near the pool for sunbaking and so on, and an attractive outdoor entertaining area.

"We really wanted to make the whole garden look as though it was always meant to be designed that way," says Marc. 

Scott showed the couple three different plans for the space, each with a different result and a different budget to match. Marc and his wife opted for the most expensive plan because it was the one that seemed most likely to render the results they were looking for. 

This plan involved removing the camphor laurel tree but keeping the palm and the pool, and included a new pergola, concrete paving around the pool, a gently sloping lawn area and a terraced garden off to one side, along with some clever design tricks to draw attention away from the off-centre pool and palm.

One of these 'tricks' involved placing a beautiful custom-made curved urn water feature right in the centre of the yard, where it would act as a focal point. Other techniques linked elements of the garden to the house itself, with bricks in the wall beside the pool and in other key locations matching the bricks of the house. Scott also planted a drought-tolerant garden, cleverly mixing modern plants such as agaves with more traditional ones such as ornamental pears, abelias and lilly pillies.

Marc and his wife are well pleased with the results and the fact that they now have a beautiful garden to their taste, which also matches the house perfectly. And Scott?

"I was just pleased to have been able to overcome the significant design challenges and come up with a solution which pleased the clients," he says. 

Scott Brown

Scott Brown Landscape Design

What made this project particularly challenging?

There was pool and a large palm tree already in the yard but not lined up properly with the house. The trick was to utilise design techniques to make it look like they were meant to be there, and to bring a sense of structure and formality to the space without imposing symmetry.

How did you go about doing that?

It was a matter of de-emphasising the lawn and garden off to the side and linking the elements in the yard to the house. We placed a curved urn water feature in the middle as a focal point to draw the eye away from the off-centre elements and chose designs and plants to complement the house.

What design elements in the yard are there to link the space to the house?

The house is quite square, so much of the garden is square and formal, but there are some curves as well to soften the overall feel. Bricks in the wall near the pool and in trimmings match the bricks in the house, and the pergola-covered entertaining area links the internal spaces with the garden.

Why did you terrace the garden?

The property was sloping and the pool was at the top of the slope and I thought it would be more attractive to have a series of sub-rooms which combine to form one big room. It makes the space more interesting and makes the yard look larger, and makes for a more dynamic interaction with the space.

Are you satisfied with the completed work from a design perspective?

The clients wanted something smart and structured that reflected well on the property and the value of the house and looked like it was always meant to be there. It was pleasing to bring all the elements together successfully and make the space work satisfactorily for them and their family.

Marc

What did your backyard look like before you engaged Scott Brown?

There was nothing there except for some laid turf, an ugly pergola, a pool with a rotting deck around it and two big trees, including a palm at the back. It was quite bare and barren and we wanted to have an entertaining space, some space for the kids to play and an area around the pool to use.

Why did you choose to use Scott?

We'd been keeping our eye out for a landscape designer or landscape architect, and looking through pool and garden magazines, Scott's name kept coming up associated with elements that we liked. We met up with him and he drew up three different sets of plans, each with a different budget.

Which plan did you choose?

Unfortunately the most expensive one! But that was the plan that seemed most likely to make the garden complement the house the way we wanted and to tick all the other boxes that were important. We really wanted to make the whole garden look as though it was always meant to be designed that way.

Did you have specific requirements or desires regarding the aesthetics of the space?

We wanted a nice pergola to improve the look of the garden and the back of the house, and we wanted a neat and structured garden. I've got quite strong views on what I like and don't like, but I wouldn't have been able to say, "Put this here and that there" in design terms. That was Scott's job.

And would you recommend Scott to other people?

Yes. It wasn't a cheap process, but we believe the money was well spent. The garden looks great; it really complements the house and therefore adds value to the property. Scott listened to our wishes, he was very knowledgeable and clever with his design and the whole process was pretty painless.