Designer courtyards and gardens are visible from every window of this home, surrounding beautiful poolside landscaping.
Darren and Katrina Mountain of D.J. & K.J. Mountain Pty. Ltd. and Sean Dowling of Bayon Gardens Pty Ltd collaborated together in the design of this project, with Bayon Gardens undertaking the project construction as well. The brief was to create the feeling of being surrounded by the formal garden and for the garden to be visible from every aspect of the home’s interior.
There were certain challenges in achieving this idyllic setting at the beginning, however. Drainage on the site was poor due to the heavy clay soil. “Prior to construction of the home, we excavated all future garden areas to a depth of 800mm,” says Darren. “We installed drainage and replaced the soil with quality soil more suitable to a garden. This completely solved all drainage issues and has given the plants great conditions in which to maximise their potential.”
With the drainage issues under control, travertine paving from Pave World in Campbellfield was used for the flooring to give a natural, light feeling to the gardens and pool area. Travertine was also selected because it is very tolerant to swimming pool salt. Standard timber paling fences with exposed posts were used to frame the outdoor area with merbau top sections for contrast. With such a lovely pool area and plantings, an outdoor room was a must. Originally built to be a pool house or general entertaining area, the poolside cabana landed up becoming a bedroom with a full ensuite, “and why wouldn’t you!” says Sean. Enjoying the pool views and garden at night in the comfort of a queen-sized bed is usually something you have to travel overseas to a five-star resort for. These owners, however, can enjoy the creature comforts and elegant outdoor setting right at home.
“The room was also fitted out with coil heating beneath the floor slab,” says Sean. “The main control unit allows you to control the temperature of any room in or out of the house.”
The garden surrounds were an important factor for the owners who wanted the lush green gardens to be visible from every aspect of the home — inside and out. A clever selection of plants was selected to provide shade in summer and allow light into the home in winter. The garden was also specifically designed to be easy to maintain and is equipped with fully automated irrigation.
Pyrus ‘Capital’ ornamental pears were used as feature trees in the front yard and rear garden due to their deciduous nature. They are also compact and great looking medium-sized trees. The pathways were boarded with English box hedge to give a definition along the walkways, with Manchurian pear used as a feature tree in the large rear courtyard. The deciduous tree is of a larger variety of pear and fills out the available space nicely.
Japanese maples were selected for the kitchen courtyard and small rear courtyard with crab apples used for the feature gardens around the pool for contrast. Weeping lilly pillies can be seen at the boundary adjacent to the pool and provided screening. Star jasmine was used for the rest of the fence line to provide screening and, as with the Weeping lilly pillies, can be trimmed as desired. Elegant white camellias were planted in front of the rear deck and outside the rear bedroom.
Underplantings included hellebores, Clivia, Liriope and gardenias.
A minimal approach was taken with the garden lighting as the house projects an abundance of ambient light over the gardens. Copper cylinder uprights were used to light the pathways and copper uplights highlighted the feature trees all through the garden.
Bayon Gardens is a reputable and modern landscape company that is dedicated to creating beautiful, tranquil, and functional outdoor solutions for everyday living. It was extremely happy to deliver the pictured outdoor living area and room together with Mountain Homes.
Landscape design and construction by
Bayon Gardens and Mountain Homes Bonbeach, VIC
Phone 0448 877 051
Website: www.bayongardens.com.au
Photography: Patrick Redmond
Originally titled “Formal fancy” from Outdoor Rooms magazine, Volume 17