Overarching Goals

A driveway draped in greenery is just one of the triumphs in this garden where traditional and modern plantings unite.

- Chris Pearson

Boston ivy envelops the archway in front of the underground garage, while a path framed by four lemon trees leads to a couch lawn, framed by Buxus hedging and deep beds containing society garlic (Tulbaghia violacea), Salvia nemorosa ‘Amethyst’ and ‘Blue Hill’ and Sedum ‘Autumn Joy’ and ‘Matrona’.

Ben Scott, the designer of this garden in Melbourne’s eastern suburbs, knows how to make an entrance. When confronted with an “awkward” ramp to the underground garage, he turned what could have been a gaping negative into an inviting plus. He covered the driveway with a steel arbour festooned with Boston ivy, cocooning visitors in greenery and casting dappled light on cobblestones below.

“It could have been a black hole, but this arbour gives it intention and purpose,” says Ben. “And the lucky owners get to drive through it every day.” That smart manoeuvre encapsulates the spirit of the garden itself, where Ben has turned the ordinary into the spectacular.

When he was hired in 2016, the Victorian red-brick villa was in the midst of a major renovation, with a contemporary addition on the back and a basement partially below ground. The only remnant of the original English-style garden was a tennis court at the back. The rest was a largely blank slate, with Ben’s design parameters being the heritage facade, the driveway, the tennis court and the new extension.