The brief was to re-imagine the gardens at Cambridge Cottage Kew to create a multifunctional events space with year-round interest.

Cambridge Cottage has a long history of drawing a diverse range of people into its core and has evolved over time from
a private residence to an event space that hosts weddings, funerals and private events. Importantly, the site brings
people together to learn, to celebrate, to remember and to reflect. It is these connections that form the concept for this
garden.

I used a series of interlinking curves, circles, and paths to represent the diversity of people who come to the site and
how, once here, they form connections to each other. The layout of the garden also echos a key part of the architecture
of the building.

There are three main spaces in the garden:

1. Intimate Lawn area – surrounded by a romantic mix of perennial and evergreen plantings perfect for social gatherings
or intimate ceremonies. A compacted gravel path in earthy tones wraps around the outer edge of the border inviting
exploration through a series of disconnected hedges designed to create a sense of gentle enclosure. Secret seating for
visitors can be found here – a quiet space.

2. Series of three interconnected spheres – the Lawn Sphere which is a generous lawn area that can accomodate seating
for large events. The Reflective Pool Sphere, an introspective area, designed for quiet reflection and pause. The
Immersive Meadow Sphere that provides contrast to the connecting lawn and reflective pool spheres by injecting height,
colour and textural contrast – perfect for photography.

3. Celebration/Wedding terrace positioned to take advantage of the views to St Anne’s Church beyond and the wider
Northerly views over to Kew Gardens. This space can accommodate seating for larger weddings or receptions.

The design provides diverse and flexible areas to accomodate private and public events. Repetition of plants and
colours unify and create rhythm through the spaces. The use of bulbs, perennials and ornamental grasses amidst
evergreen planting and deciduous trees will provide year round-interest.

To design an urban courtyard, enclosed on all sides and shared by apartments owned by two friends who are also
colleagues. The clients run a successful whiskey blog.

A favourite whiskey glass and the location of the property to Merri Creek, determined my approach to this design. I used
the shapes and angles found in the glass to create a contemporary layout for the garden. I then infused key areas with
the essence of whiskey, namely water, fire, smoke, copper and river pebbles.

The “Highland Park” water pavilion incorporates water, local bluestone and copper in the design. Custom cut bluestone
steps appear to float above the water and river pebbles below, and fine lines of copper are inlaid into the acid etched
concrete base of the pavilion. At the opposite end of the courtyard is the “Talisker Room”, introducing elements of fire,
smoke and warmth. Using the angles in the glass, I designed contemporary off-form seating around the fireplace. Two
bluestone paved terraces flow from each apartment’s meals area with free standing walls and hedges used to create
privacy. The central water feature, a raised copper trough with a basalt slab over which water slips gently, acts to diffuse
voices in the courtyard and provides a further screening element between the facing apartments. Gravel paths add
textural contrast to the hard landscaping. The planting includes hedges for structure and screening while multi-stemmed
trees, swaying grasses and perennials soften the bold lines of the garden.

Located at the edge of the Royal Botanic Gardens Melbourne, the clients recently purchased this mid-century home and
would like to incorporate the RBG views into their new moody Melbourne garden. High on the wish list is a seamless
indoor/outdoor living experience, a pool, a fire pit and/or fireplace, lawn area for the dogs, a large garage for three
vehicles, a permeable driveway and a large entertainer’s deck.

Referencing the architecture of the residence, I took a modernist approach to this garden, playing with vertical and
horizontal planes in an asymmetric rectilinear layout. My intention was to have thin, hard surfaces that appeared to float
wherever possible, and that those hard surfaces be softened by textural green planting with occasional pops of colour.
The end result is a modernist inspired garden imbued with clean, simple lines, and an openness reminiscent of “The Mid-Century Modern Garden”. Functional spaces are designed to take advantage of the orientation, sloping block and
layered views to the Royal Botanic Gardens and city skyline beyond. The material palette reflects the architecture of the
residence and materials are sourced locally where possible.

Planting is predominantly textural with limited tree species and planting to create calm, balanced and beautifully liveable
spaces. To create interest, I have introduced pleached and fastigiate trees throughout the property to create a strong
vertical element that juxtaposes the low horizontal planes created by the home and structural hedging. In addition, they
provide shelter from the strong summer sun, attract wildlife to the functional areas of the property and provide fabulous
seasonal change throughout the year.

Toward the rear boundary, the green areas gradually become more wild marking the transition from the designed
garden to the neighbouring woodland beyond. Hidden at random spots in amongst these loose borders are varying
height Bronze LED light rods that mimic the city skyline and provide a vertical sculptural element to the bottom of the
garden. A copse of trees in the NW corner helps to blur the boundaries between the clients” garden and the Royal
Botanic Gardens beyond.

The clients purchased an architecturally designed mid-century residence located in Kew. Although recently renovated,
the clean mid-century lines and large picture windows have been retained and its origins as a gallery to display art are
still evident. Overlooked by several homes, the owners needed privacy whilst still being able to use and enjoy their
garden. In addition to a new entry, they would also like an internal courtyard oasis that is visible from all windows within
the residence.

With this in mind, I designed a contemporary Australian native garden that mirrors the rectilinear lines of the home
bringing the outdoors in where possible and extending the entertainer’s footprint of the home. I chose a classic colour
palette of soft greys and greens so that the garden will remain timeless. I have selected local materials with planting to
be exclusively Australian natives, based on the proximity of the home to Studley Park thereby ensuring aesthetic
appropriateness.

The planting is at times sculptural in form, referencing the home’s origins as a gallery, and at others, more naturalistic,
softening the hard landscaping by referencing the archetype of nearby Studley Park, tall canopies and lower storey
grasses. The central courtyard heroes the Dicksonia antarctica, creating a lacy canopy and evoking a feeling of peace,
calm and quiet by the bank of a river. Cloud pruned Alyxia buxifolia represent the rocks by the riverbank, while grasses
and drifts of wild flowers, weaving through, represent the movement of water in the river.

The garden is designed to provide respite from the busy outer world in calm, balanced, liveable spaces. The
courtyards provide a sanctuary to relax, unwind and enjoy art, whilst the outdoor entertaining terraces are designed for
the pragmatics of outdoor living, shade in summer and warmth in winter as well as areas to cook, relax and enjoy good
company. The placement of specimen trees and hard landscaping structures create privacy, and the placement of
bluestone water features on arrival, help to focus the eye on the entry and re-frame the view on Kew.

This design reconnects a young family with nature following the Covid lockdown in Melbourne. A little over three acres,
the sloping property has magnificent panoramic views across Western Port Bay, while the rear of the property abuts rural
paddocks with sweeping views of eucalyptus woodlands and the rolling hills of Shoreham and Merricks beyond. The
existing gardens are largely lawn with native scrubland lining the perimeters of the site and a small woodland area near
the rear of the home. Amongst other things, the clients would like an outdoor kitchen and fireplace, paved terraces for
indoor/outdoor living, a pool and a quiet space for the boys to play guitar. They would also like less lawn and more
drought tolerant planting across the site, especially to help settle the existing tennis court into the garden.

Using the concept of bio’philic design, I created immersive garden spaces that foreground planting into built areas.
Taking cues from nature, I designed this garden by reference to the wind sheared shrubs, shimmering grasses and basalt
boulders found along the local coastline. To further anchor the garden to the landscape beyond, I used a combination of
indigenous and native plants. I also used exotic plants suited to the microclimate to improve diversity.

The garden invites exploration with pockets for play, rest and relaxation. Working with the fall of the land, I designed an
elevated timber boardwalk that meanders through the coastal woodland area before connecting the family to
destinations in the garden, including the pool and tennis court. Toward the rear boundary is a solitary bench seat where
the client can sit and enjoy the views of the rural landscape beyond. A fire pit in the Northern corner takes advantage of
beautiful rural vistas and sea views to Balnarring. At the lowest point of the property, a dam with a timber jetty provides a
quiet introspective space, surrounded by locally sourced boulders, native plants and grasses to attract local wildlife.
Lawn has been largely replaced with deep atmospheric borders filled with native, indigenous and exotic plants.

Minor alterations to the residence have enabled seamless indoor/outdoor living with sweeping terraces to the front and
rear of the property, designed to capture the sea and garden views. A double sided fireplace is housed in the newly
created alfresco area between the garage and the existing home. The terrace to the rear of the property has a built in
BBQ, wine fridge and sink for outdoor entertaining. The lower terrace connects to a sunken gravel courtyard partially
enclosed by a series of three disconnected rammed earth walls. Restrained planting is used throughout the courtyard
space to soften the built form, attract wildlife and to better connect the family to nature.