Garden

Light up plants

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The back of the yard is a more secluded area. Slate chips keep weeds down, but they’re also a design detail, being the same color as the paved areas but introducing more texture.

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Lightening - Spotlights pick out the trees; pendant lights define the seating area; mushroom spike lights illuminate the path and lower foliage; an adjustable downlight highlights the shorter tree fern from above; and existing bulkhead-style wall lights flanking the patio doors bathe the whole space in a gentle glow.

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The new trees consist of two Tasmanian tree ferns (Dicksonia antarctica, USDA zones 9 to 10; find your zone) — one on the front left and the other at the back right; a tall windmill palm (Trachycarpus fortunei, zones 7 to 11) and a pineapple guava (Acca sellowiana, zones 8 to 10) in front of the shed. The huge olive tree was already there. The four new trees and the olive, as well as most of the smaller plants, are all evergreen, ensuring the yard doesn’t look bleak in the winter months. Other evergreen plants include the sago palm (Cycas revoluta, zones 9 to 11) between the path and pergola; several male ferns (Dryopteris filix-mas, zones 4 to 8); Japanese mock orange (Pittosporum tobira ‘Nanum’, zones 9 to 10), to the right of the pergola and also in the tall planters (see later photos), and rock polypody (Polypodium vulgare, zones 3 to 8) in the foreground.

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The large floating concrete steps Bejanaru designed proved an excellent way to create distinct pockets and add interest by mimicking different levels. “

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Pond and decking

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Basic but good

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Little bits of colour and the idea of jasmine behind the seating.

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Pond, low maintenance plants (ie little watering required) and overall colour scheme (warm and lush)

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Large leafed plants

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Mind your own business (Soleriolia soleirolii) planted between the decking and the path

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de·bacle

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