Episode: #14 23/12/06
Presenter: Phil Dudman

Phil visits a garden beaming with terrific design ideas and lots of little tricks that could save you money.

In the front garden the owners opted for a formal style garden, full of neat repetitive shapes and clipped hedges. It really suits the architectural style of the house but more than that they have used the hedges to provide a level of privacy and enhance the space.

The old chain wire for example, rather than spending a lot of money replacing it, the owners planted a hardy Murraya hedge to cover it up. With the money saved they built a new timber gate which gives the illusion of a similar picket fence running below the foliage.

Throughout the rest of the front garden they have used hedges to divide what is already a small space into even smaller spaces and what that does is give you the impression that there is a lot more going on. Even the way the hedges step up at different levels gives the area a greater sense of depth.

One thing that makes the front garden extra special is the pond. It adds such a tranquil and relaxed feel.

The back garden is a tropical haven in the city; full of shady palms, colourful heliconias and flowering gingers under planted with swathes of bromeliads, mondo grass and other gems.

You can imagine what it may have looked like before, a lonely hills hoist, maybe an old dunny and crumbly concrete. Now it has been completely transformed and the old concrete path has been replaced by a rustic timber boardwalk.

It is an incredibly bold design feature and you would expect something like this to be expensive but all the timber was salvaged from a rickety old veranda, which saved buckets of money. It looks fabulous and it is very functional plus it is all caped off with this stylish pergola retreat.

Every bit of remaining space has been filled with plants with gravel pathways that allow free movement throughout the garden. To save money again, they have utilised an inexpensive road base complemented by the occasional dressings of more decorative pebbles.

But how about this for an idea? You can use mirrors in amongst pebbles to give the illusion of water.

So you can see, with a few clever design tricks, you can make your garden look really special without burning a hole in your pocket.

Featured Garden

Karen Haynes Design

www.karenhaynesdesign.com