EXPRESSIVE NATURE

By using traditional plants in unexpected ways and mixing manicured with wild elements, a Melbourne designer has produced a character-rich garden.

- Elizabeth Wilson

Some people might be surprised to hear a garden described as having “great personality”. That’s the way landscape architect Bethany Williamson sums up this garden she designed in Melbourne – and it’s easy to see why.

Bethany knew something special and unexpected was required for this garden from the moment she inspected the site. The heritage cottage had just been renovated with a super-sleek extension at the rear by neil architecture, and the homeowners enlisted her to create a front garden to match. she felt it was logical to take her cues from the home’s old-embraces-new narrative. “The garden needed to be in harmony with the home’s traditional facade but it also needed to hint at the very contemporary extension at the back,” she says. “It couldn’t be a traditional garden.”

With no car access needing to be factored into the 15x12-metre layout, “it was to be designed purely as a space for visitors to enter”, says Bethany, who was given total creative freedom by the homeowners. “They wanted it to look good, be low maintenance and plant focused.”