OOZE CHIC

CLEAR OUT THE CLUTTER AND MAKE YOUR MODERN GARDEN SLEEK AND SOPHISTICATED

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GIVE SPACE TO YOUR SPREADING CYCADS AND FILL AROUND THEM WITH SMALLER PLANTS.

1 LIVING WITH NATURE

Harsh materials such as the Corten steel garden beds and rendered concrete wall blend in well with the bushrock – rather than competing with it – and give the hardscapes texture and depth. Then, all the plants seem to fit in so naturally!

NOTHING CASCADES QUITE LIKE CASUARINA ‘COUSIN IT ’ TO SOFTEN HARD EDGES

Great contemporary garden design is a modern meld of two opposing, yet complementary, ideals – going overboard, but with a sense of restraint. How? Going overboard calls for masses of plants, posed in casual patterns or recurring in isolated spots to create a comforting echo. Restraint, meanwhile, is about featuring just two or three particular plants from among the many you adore – plants that are evergreen, sculptural and focused on foliage, not flowers. It also means taking into account the elements – in this case a home built on fragile bushrock on a steep block, next to a salty estuary – for a garden that thrives year round. Challenge met!

2 LUXURIOUS LEAVES

Mix your foliage shapes, sizes and tones, then repeat. Philodendrons add height and volume, Casuarina ‘Cousin It’ is soft and drapey, and the blue-green of Crassula ‘Blue Bird’ lies behind.