Let the WILD IN

In this whimsical garden in rural Victoria, naturalistic planting lends an untamed edge to a modern, sustainably built retreat

- REBECCA HOOTON

When lawyer Ganga Narayanan first stood on the deck of her newly built Modscape home in Glenlyon, she was met with a breathtaking panorama - rolling hills, open fields and the distant curve of Victoria's Mount Franklin. But while the interior of her home was a showcase of warmth and sustainable innovation, the exterior remained stark. "The view of the countryside from the house is beautiful," says Ganga. "However, the house needed some outside spaces to relax in... It needed some complexity and layering." That's when a chance Instagram scroll led her to landscape designer Tim Pilgrim. "A photographer I know posted photos of one of Tim's gardens and I started following him - I really liked his style," says Ganga. "I love the free-flowing natural look of his gardens. While there is plenty of structure, you have the feeling that the garden is a bit wild and seamlessly blends into the surrounding landscape."