THIS STRIKING HOME ON SYDNEY’S NORTH SHORE NEEDED A GARDEN FILLED WITH FEATURE PLANTS TO MATCH ITS UNIQUE HERITAGE CHARACTERWORDS FIONA JOY PHOTOGRAPHY JASON BUSCH

ofAGE ELEGANCE

In the front garden, frangipani trees look down on New Zealand flax and Mexican lily. Delicate feature plants have been chosen to soften the hard surfaces: Dichondra ‘Silver Falls’ cascades down the sandstone wall; mini mondo grass is woven into the path; and seaside daisy sits at the path’s edge.

Inside Out / 161

OUT gardens

Inside Out / 161

In the right conditions, rosemary can grow into a large evergreen hedge, as it does here in the back garden (opposite, top left). Rosemary is tolerant of salt spray so it’s good for beachside locations and, planted along a path, it sends out a soothing scent. Betula nigra birch trees sit above Mexican lily (opposite, top right) and Santolina. The furry leaves of strobilanthes gossypinus (opposite, centre left) bring contrasting texture. Crepe myrtles (Lagerstroemia indica) line the pathway (this page, right) leading from the street entrance down to the house, offering dappled shade and an elegant first impression. Variegated bougainvillea (this page, left) brings a delicate touch. Unlike some other trailing species, Dichondra ‘Silver Falls’ (this page, bottom right) copes well in full sun.S

tep back in time, if you will, to 1930s Australia. The glamour of the cruise liner has reached fever pitch and the spirit of these elegant ships is reflected in the development of a unique architectural design. Named after the cruise ship company, the P&O style translates a ship’s facade into the form of a building – think curved facades, flat roofs, porthole-shaped windows, and sometimes a chimney as

a nautical nod to the liner’s funnel. The gardens of these majestic abodes are inspired by Hollywood with pools, palm trees and grand terraces falling from the house down to the water’s edge. Clifton Gardens on Sydney’s Lower North Shore is the perfect spot for such grand flamboyance, facing north with glorious views overlooking Chowder Bay towards the Heads.

The owners of this particular house, a couple with three children, were undertaking an extensive renovation to the interior and wanted a landscape designer to address the issues faced in the gone-wild garden and make it a beautiful addition to their unique house. That’s where garden designer Peter Fudge came in.

The gardens, which included a large pool, lay mainly to the front of the house, hidden from public view by the front wall and accessed through a secluded gateway from the street.

“When I first laid eyes on the garden, it was non-existent,” says Peter. “There was just a main front wall and the ‘garden’ was a wilderness covering an intimidating slope. It had no structure or connection to the house and there was no clear entrance.”

The first thing Peter and his team had to do was nut out the logistics of where the driveway should go and where the pedestrian path to the front should be located so people felt welcomed, despite it being quite a long journey from the street to the front door. “We wanted to create an inviting and clear entrance to the home,” says Peter, “and to link the garden with the house.”

The creative process was lengthy and detail-oriented but largely straightforward. Bringing to life Peter’s vision of split sandstone flagging pathways, walls of sandstone blocks to match the house, sandstone planters, a bench with built-in water feature, and a stone spiral staircase bringing visitors down from street level, was not quite so easy.

“A major problem was the access for the hard landscaping stage,” says Peter. Street access was limited on the steep corner block and local protocol was to be mindful of neighbours’ peace

Inside Out / 163

OUT gardens

In this expansive front garden, the bespoke sandstone planters were built on site, giving the garden structure. Evergreen feather grass (Miscanthus transmorrisonensis) grows silvery plumes in autumn. Towards the front are clumps of curry plant, which produce yellow flowers in summer. At ground level, Metrosideros is set behind Sedums ‘Gold Mound’ and ‘Autumn Joy’ and a small Teucrium fruticans hedge sits in front of Mexican lily.

“ WE WANTED TO CREATE AN INVITING AND CLEAR ENTRANCE AND TO LINK THE GARDEN WITH THE HOUSE” PETER FUDGE, LANDSCAPE DESIGNER

OUT gardens

Inside Out / 165

“ I ENJOY THE WAY THE FINAL THIRD OF THE GARDEN NEAREST THE HOUSE IS MORE FORMAL” PETER FUDGE, LANDSCAPE DESIGNER

The view from the home looks out to Chowder Bay. Frangipani trees and date palms arch over with their shapely foliage.

166 / Inside Out

OUT gardens

and quiet when undertaking work. As a result, all materials had to be brought onto the site by hand, which meant the flagging and stone block work took longer than first anticipated.

One of the garden’s main existing focal points was the large in-ground pool that Peter wanted to better incorporate into the garden design, rather than leave as a standalone feature. The pool was resurfaced in jade-toned New Zealand pebblecrete and the surround finished in sandstone pavers with bullnose edges – to complement the rest of the landscaping – and frameless glass fencing, giving the area an overall sense of luxury.

In terms of planting, the brief was hardy and low maintenance to ensure survival. Peter also needed to factor in the existing large frangipani (Plumeria acutifolia) and magnolias, and the salt-laden winds that come off the harbour in summer.

Tough evergreens such as Agave attenuata, Cordyline ‘Negra’, Carissa ‘Emerald Star’ and rosemary (Rosmarinus officianalis) provided the backdrop for more flamboyant Bird of Paradise (Strelitzia reginae), white baby bougainvillea and white Rosa ‘Meidiland’. Formal, upright hedging Chinese juniper (Juniperus chinensis ‘Keteleeri’) sits side by side with more romantic and rambling wall-coverings such as climbing fig (Ficus pumila) and Boston ivy (Parthenocissus tricuspidata).

Peter feels that the garden’s biggest success is the way different moods have been created within the one space. “I don’t feel one element is more successful than another, but I enjoy the way the final third of the garden nearest the house is more formal, so there’s no question as to where the front door is,” he says. “I also love the two majestic Phoenix canariensis palms located near the house; they were craned in to give the house and garden an exotic flavour.”

With its majestic feature plants, the luxury of a large pool and an incredible picturesque view out to sea, this garden is just what the P&O ordered. For more on Peter’s work, visit peterfudgegardens.com.au.

An attractive, easy-to-care, spreading succulent, Blue Chalk Sticks (Senecio serpens) brings a distinctive form to this rich tapestry of planting. Bird of Paradise (Strelitzia reginae) bring an exotic, tropical element to this front garden.

OUT gardens

168 / Inside Out