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After purchasing a home on a half-acre block in Tuckombil, NSW, the owners were keen to make the most of the expansive — yet unruly — landscape.
The site was a mix of overgrown subtropical gardens and bare turf areas, with coffee trees scattered around and a tall woody hedge that ran the length of the driveway, up to their house.
‘This gave a confined feeling to the house surrounds as it walled itself off from the rest of the property, and restricted access to the gardens,’ Streatscapes founder Thomas Streat says.
His team was engaged with the brief to turn the property into an ‘exciting native garden’ that matched the surrounding bushlands and rolling hills.
‘Being such a large amount of space, I wanted to keep things as informal as possible with just a few architectural elements to connect the garden with the interactive spaces,’ Thomas says.
He looked to bushwalking trails as a reference, reimagining the landscape as a network of pathways that opened to functional zones designed with family in mind.
Now, wandering through the garden is almost reminiscent of a national park. Rows of organic-looking sandstone steps are lined with masses of Pennisetum alopecuroides (ornamental native grass) and basalt boulders.
Crushed stone pathways crunch underfoot, as you find your way through the various spaces. There’s a ‘park’ with a timber-framed swing set for the kids to play on, an open-roof courtyard, grassy turfs that merge into the hillside, and a fire pit with a sculptural ‘star gazing seat’ built from concrete.
‘The design for this space came together quickly, drawing inspiration from campfire nights,’ Thomas adds.
‘The fireplace was specifically inspired by a campsite in Dorrigo National Park. The boulder mantle, which I love, gives the fire such a beautiful, charred frame and reflects the heat back out towards you.’
Grevillea robusta (silky oak) trees and ground covers were also used to attract nectar-loving birds and insects to enhance the local ecosystem, while providing pops of colour throughout the sea of moving grasses.
The resulting garden is filled with beautiful vignettes, complete with can dry creek bed swales that direct rainfall to run off the contours of the land — ensuring the planting can withstand the Northern Rivers’ heavy rainfall.
But the landscaping really comes alive with activity from the owners, who enjoy countless hours exploring and playing in their own backyard.
