Enhancing Living Spaces with Connected Outdoor Design

The Completed Look


Before The Plant Store


The Brief
The vision for this garden was to design a series of interconnected outdoor spaces that extend the living areas of the home into the natural environment. This approach aimed to enhance the client’s interaction with her garden, fulfilling her desire for a picturesque yet functional setting. Essential to this project was the integration of structured hardscape elements like an outdoor fire and BBQ area, which needed to be harmoniously blended into the tranquil, floral-rich garden landscape. The goal was to craft a visually cohesive and restful outdoor retreat that reflects the client's appreciation for gardening while requiring minimal upkeep.

Our Design


Plant Palette



Why We Chose These Plants

With the Cottage or English theme appealing, a concoction of perennials was carefully selected to create a visual, as well as scentual feast, with varying colours, scents, and textures incorporated. To ensure the garden looks consistently appealing, it was important to consider plants that would flower at varying times of the year.

As the weather begins to warm in Spring, the Rhododendron flowers are first to emerge, ‘Dopey’ being chosen for its dwarf growing habit so not to overwhelm the other plants or obstruct any views. This is closely followed by Penstemon, which has attractive trumpet-shaped flowers that continue long into Summer. By such time, the Lavenders are also showcasing their purple flowers, emitting their calming scent around the garden. English varieties were used due to their flowering habit, which encourages more regular trimming to ensure a longer life span, as well as being a hardier and stronger-scented variety in comparison to French Lavender. Sedum Autumn Joy, as the name suggests, is responsible for contributing floral interest well into the Autumn and provides great textural interest with their succulent foliage. Not unlike the Hydrangea, these blooms undergo spectacular colour transition from when they first emerge, transitioning to antique hues of copper and pink as they mature—both making stunning cut flowers.

While this is very much a garden to be enjoyed over the Summer, incorporating forms of evergreen structure was an important consideration to hold the garden together and provide interest through the Winter months. Cistus Snowmound and Nandina Gulfstream were both chosen for their ability to complement the English style of the garden. Nandina takes on a naturally rounded form, and its colour actually intensifies as the weather cools, transitioning through vibrant shades of green, orange, and red. The role of Cistus in this garden has also been an important one, its spreading and low-growing habit, acting to accentuate the other plants and consume any empty space. Although deciduous, the Liquidambar Gumballs are a real structural feature of the garden, their clear stems rising above the floral display to balance the space with their height and define the garden border. The Autumn colour and maple-shaped foliage they present brings immense presence to the garden.

This garden harnesses the essence and beauty that flowers can bring to a space. A restful ambience has been achieved with the garden beds softly encompassing the home, able to be admired from every angle.

Before and After
 
 
 

Project Costs
Planning: $1,295.00
Plant Supply: $7,391.01
Install: $23,971.50

 

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