A sustainable garden design with natural beauty

A natural garden landscape provides a link between this home and its bush surroundings. Here, a sustainable landscaping designer and a developer join forces to create a natural-looking garden for a stylish contemporary dwelling.

Nick Fewster has a background in environmental management, and as a landscape designer he specialises in sustainable landscapes. That means Nick Fewster Sustainable Landscapes creates drought-tolerant, low-maintenance gardens specifically designed for Australian landscapes.

Drew is a property developer who builds what he calls "uniquely Australian contemporary houses". Many of these houses are in rural or bushland settings. When Drew met Nick at a young people's networking course, the two immediately saw the potential in a business relationship in landscaping design.

"The style of sustainable landscaping design that Nick does really suits the homes that we build," says Drew. "Nick's worked on projects for me for about five years now. There's a bit of a fusion there that seems to have worked over time, so we continue working together."

After Drew's company built a house in the Adelaide Hills, Drew asked Nick to look after the landscape. The building process had been more expensive than planned, so Nick was given quite a limited budget. The brief was to create a natural-looking garden landscape at the front and side of the house that reflected the straight lines of the home's structure.

"The idea was to create a link between the house and the natural environment, and to create a sense that the house belonged there," says Nick.

He built a series of steps from the house down to the road, using recycled jarrah and gravel aggregate. These materials are used elsewhere in the garden and in the house, to create a sense of continuity and repetition.

Nick placed some large boulders on the slope at the front of the house, which help stabilise the earth and also provide a pleasant natural look to the garden area. Then he planted a series of native Australian plants that bind the soil and bring a sense of structure to the garden. Plants such as Austral grass trees, Albany Woolly Bush and ground-covering Myoporum look natural and gorgeous all at once.

The overall effect is of minimalist beauty; a natural garden that suits its setting perfectly.

Once again, Nick's landscaping design skills have added an extra dimension to a dwelling built by Drew's construction firm.

"What Nick does totally enhances what I do," says Drew. "His knowledge and skills are a great resource to have."

Nick Fewster, from Nick Fewster Sustainable Landscapes

What was the design and construction brief the client gave you on this project?

The house is a modern, architect-designed dwelling built in the Adelaide Hills, and it's in a very natural bushland setting. Drew wanted sustainable landscaping with a natural, drought tolerant garden that was low maintenance and incorporated native plants at the front and side of the house.

How did you approach the design process?

Between us we agreed that the most important thing was to create a landscape that complemented the architecture of the house. So we needed something that looked natural while also containing some structure to match the straight lines of the building. The idea was to create a link between the house and the natural environment, and to create a sense that the house belonged there.

How did you choose the plants?

We chose the groundcover Myoporum because it was important to provide stability in the slope to protect it from erosion. These plants will spread and help stabilise the whole area. All the plants are native Australian, and give that natural look while also adding a sense of structure to the landscape.

Did you do much hard landscaping in this project?

We designed and built the steps that lead from the end of the bridge at the house down to the roadway, and we built a low retaining border at the base of the slope. We also installed some large boulders to add stability to the slope and to provide that natural effect.

Looking back on this project, what are you most pleased with?

I'm pleased that it was quite a straightforward job and everything went quite smoothly. And I'm happy that the landscape complements the house while also providing a link between it and the natural setting. It doesn't alienate either the house or the environment - it brings the two together and uses the natural beauty of plant forms.

Drew, the homeowner

Why did you choose Nick Fewster Sustainable Landscapes for this project?

I met Nick through the Youth Entrepreneur Scheme, which is a networking scheme for young businesspeople. I have a building and development company and the style of building that I do is uniquely Australian. Nick's sustainable landscaping style really suits our buildings; there's a fusion there that works well, so we continue working together.

What was your brief to him on this project?

The building process was more expensive than I'd anticipated, so the landscaping design job was very budget driven. It's a very difficult site and most of it is left natural, but I wanted a very structured garden at the front.

Were you specific about the types of plants you wanted?

I particularly wanted a native hedge along the front of the house, which is quite difficult because natives generally don't form hedges all that well. But we'd used the Albany Woolly Bush in other developments and it had worked well, so we went for that. Otherwise, I just wanted the garden to be very drought tolerant and high impact all year round.

Did you have any input into the design of the steps?

We needed some way of getting from the end of the bridge to road level, which is over half a metre, so it was significant. Nick came up with the design for those offset stairs, which are really nice. They drain well and complement the design because the materials are replicated elsewhere in the garden and in the house.

Would you recommend Nick and Urban Sustainable Landscapes to others?

Absolutely. A lot of people say they do native gardens, but Nick's like a niche within that niche. He is really very specific in his knowledge of native plants as they relate to particular soils. What he does totally enhances what I do. His knowledge and skills are a great resource to have, so I would certainly recommend him.

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