A perfect zen

TACTILE FOLIAGE AND A DYNAMIC LAYOUT TURN AN UNUSED PLOT INTO AN INSPIRATIONAL OUTDOOR SPACE FOR PAULO ANAIA AND PINA BROCCOLI ANAIA

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When Paulo and Pina Anaia moved into their 1970s architectdesigned bungalow in 2009, they had a major renovation on their hands. ‘The garden was one of the last things to tackle,’ says Paolo. ‘Technically, there was no garden – at least, not one that we could use. It was just laid to lawn with mature trees for privacy, but we wanted to use the space for cooking and entertaining, so we had a large, grey, composite deck built behind the house.’

To help them integrate this ‘outdoor room’ with the rest of the garden, the couple hired Louisa Gilhooly at Supernature Garden Design. ‘We wanted something Zen-like to go with the house,’ says Pina. ‘Also, we’re not avid gardeners, so we needed plants that would look after themselves.’