A tiny front garden is landscaped to suit the house, not the street, in this lush makeover that uses natives and subtropical plants to full effect
Renovations to her Grey Lynn bungalow left Nathalie Morris at a loss as to how to deal with a small but important patch in the front garden. The area could be seen from the lounge and, of course, was on display every time she walked in or out the front door. “So it was really worth putting the effort into this part of the garden,” says Nathalie.
“I think, for a lot of people the front garden is designed around how it looks from the street. I wanted the opposite. We are in a quiet cul de sac and, with the main lounge positioned at the front of the house, I wanted to create an outlook from that room.”
After an online search, she approached landscape designer Kirsten Sach whose ideas impressed her immediately. However, she did have a few initial trepidations. “I think, deep down, I feared that the design would be boring because, after all, what can you do with such a small garden? But when the design came back from Kirsten, it was actually more exotic than I was expecting. I love that I have something quite different to the traditional front garden with a patch of lawn.”
Words by: Carol Bucknell. Photography by: Helen Bankers.
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“The nikau is the standout feature of the garden for me, but I also love the stepping stones and groundcover,” says Nathalie.
When viewed from the lounge, the densely planted garden is a tapestry of texture and colour. Mature nikau palms act as a focal point while also screening the house from the street. Bifolds open the house up to the garden, making the lounge feel like an outdoor room.
The contrasting leaf colours and shapes of the native climber Tecomanthe, canna, mondo grass, black taro and nikau ensure the tiny garden is full of interest.
The giant leaves of the tractor seat plant (Ligularia reniformis).
“Plants are the shining stars in this garden and leaf textures and colour have been contrasted and played off each other,” says Nathalie.
Stepping-stone schist pavers are set into dwarf mondo grass and blue star creeper groundcovers with carefully selected rocks and giant bromeliads adding sculptural form.
Using a range of different plants for the groundcover has added a lot of visual interest,” Nathalie enthuses. “The blue star creeper and mondo grasses have now grown to fully cover the ground.”
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