Inspired by the tropics, this verdant garden offers places for relaxation and play, ensuring every member of the family has a place they can use and enjoy.
Created for an active, outdoors-loving young family, the award-winning garden spaces that wrap around this outer-Brisbane home are a testament to the attention to detail and landscaping expertise of Brooke’s Blooms.
The owners’ brief was to create an organic landscape in which plants would be used to soften the hard lines of the home’s exterior, the sides of the driveway and the front entry to the residence. “This approach has resulted in an harmonious integration of the garden with its surroundings, creating a natural and inviting atmosphere,” says Brooke Goodwin, director of Brooke’s Blooms.
The paved elements were to inject some warmth and texture. This can be seen in the stone crazy paving used for the pool surrounds in the rear garden and as steppers in the front. Also the large-set bluestone paving of the outdoor entertaining areas and the round concrete steppers that wend their way across the lawn in the side garden.
“The use of different materials, including the stone crazy paving and feature entry slabs, adds visual interest while the crisp, clean installation gives each space a polished look that is aesthetically pleasing,” says Brooke.
The garden was designed by LARC Landscape Architecture in collaboration with the homeowners. “I would describe the garden’s design elements as fresh and contemporary,” continues Brooke. “The owners loved LARC’s West Village Arcadia site, which is a popular inner-city Brisbane apartment complex built by a Japanese developer. It has dense, overplanted gardens, features large-leafed foliage and includes a very tranquil pool space. The overall look of Arcadia is lush-tropical with a modern Japanese take — this was the inspiration when landscaping this project.”
To convey the luxuriant, tropical look the owners wanted, Brooke’s team planted native gardenia, lobster-claws, ginger, philodendron, cordyline, giant taro, Gymea lily, bird of paradise, jade plant, native violet and walking iris. For screening, the team used lilly pilly, Indian hawthorn and water gum with climbers and creepers such as Madagascar jasmine, creeping fig and prostrate rosemary used to soften surfaces and edges.
The rear and side gardens needed to be fun and cater to the needs of young, active kids with lawn spaces included to encourage play. In the rear garden there is a pool, designed and built by Metricon, a gazebo and a basketball half-court, all of which is overlooked by the covered alfresco entertaining area at the back of the home.
“The rear-garden design includes a curved seating wall connected to the pool gazebo structure, creating a visually appealing and integrated space,” says Brooke. “The continuation of the curve on the ground plane outside the pool entry gate, linking with the garden and turf areas, enhances the overall connectivity of different elements in the outdoor space, creating a cohesive design.
“The shape of the basketball half-court did present a challenge, but the completed garden accommodates it effectively,” she adds. “This was achieved by the innovative use of space, making the project stand out in terms of problem-solving and creativity.”
In the 2023 Landscape Queensland Construction Excellence Awards, this stunning family-friendly project won the Residential $175,001-$250,000 category. The judges were fulsome in their praise, saying: “Impeccable attention to detail shines through in the precision of the crazy pave steppers and the expert installation of plants and edging. Excellent soil preparation is evident from the remarkable growth of the plants. The project is a deserving winner due to its exceptional construction quality and superb workmanship, resulting in an astounding landscape transformation.”
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