The Garden - 30-40-50

While showgardens are a fantastic way to present new ideas and illustrate the incredible potential of any outdoor space, they are often not practical for most people to replicate - and while the fantasy is enticing, they can sometimes be financially beyond many people's reach. I think there is a movement of design that is beginning to re-examine the opulence and glamour of the outdoor room/kitchen theme that has become so popular in recent years, bringing it back to simple comfort and an uncomplicated space.

I designed 30-40-50 as an experiment to see if a garden could still be interesting and present some good design ideas, as well as be attainable for the average person in terms of size, style and realistic budget. When designing it, the following brief was used:

The Brief

It must be able to be created within a $30,000 budget, offer year-round interest with plant textures and a sculptural theme, be very easy to look after & waterwise, be interesting to look at from the house, and offer a twist on the concept of glamour and an artistic interpretation that is strong and interesting - something a little bit unexpected.

The Concept - 30-40-50

In the past few years, the main trend in landscape design has been all about Resort Living - full sized kitchens, pools, covered living areas with soft furnishings and fireplaces, and decorated in many cases to outdo the interior of the house! While this is a wonderful idea for those families that can actually use it, and who have the space and the budget, I find that as many people are downsizing their living arrangements these outdoor resort style gardens aren't always the right answer.

30-40-50 is an experiment - it is a very different take on the lush, opulent garden/living room area - and a different take on what it means to have a relaxed, comfortable environment (but with a few hard edges). It is not a typical resort garden, but a look at what an alternative could be for those who want the comfort and luxury without all the commitment and structure of pavilions, kitchens and pools.

30-40-50 refers to the 3 main decades of 20th Century post modernist design - the 1930's with it's emphasis on monochromatic tones and art deco pattern repetition, as well as they heyday of black & white hollywood; the 1940's post-war era, where industrial materials made a bigger impact and people had to be ingenious and make do with available materials - and the 1950's, where space age new materials and lighter forms made their showing.

This garden reflects these elements of each of these decades - it is monochromatic, with an almost exclusively black and white colour scheme, with repetitive shapes in the forms of the stepped paved areas, and surrounding wall screen; it features materials we often don't see in landscapes, such as ply; and it pays homage to the use of space age materials, predominantly through the aluminium pergola (which also harkens back to the chrome accents on 30's art deco) and the 'morse code' sculpture embedded in the wall.

The planting scheme is based on species with white or glaucous foliage, creating interest using texture rather than the traditional show of seasonal colour (and making it a lower maintenance proposition as well), and the combination of the dark, sleek hard surfaces and soft pale foliage textures makes an interesting contrast.

• The garden is screened on two sides by a marine play wall, stained charcoal, but allowing the grain of the material to show through and catch the light
  
  
• Two granite platforms rotate in 20 degree increments, with a slight wedge of water showing underneath - it is as though the upper platform has been turned to reveal the softness of the water within
  
  
• A fine, glistening aluminium pergola straddles the upper platform, again twisted at 20 degrees, providing a light structure to tie the vertical elements of the garden together. A fine stainless wire runs around the inner edge of the top of the structure, allowing soft net curtaining to be manipulated to create different vistas from within
  
  
• Furnishing has been kept very simple, with the clear sharp lines of the Dedon Zofa loungers

30-40-50 has been created to show people with a smaller space that you can be radically different to the norm and still create an exciting and unique space full of stimulus and drama.

Plants List

The plants used for 30-40-50 have been selected for their foliage interest first and foremost, with a colour scheme that is predominantly white or very pale blue (glaucous) and a variety of textures and shapes.

Leaf texture varies from the soft silvery leaves of Convolvulus cnerorum, Leucodendron argentum and Perovskia atriplicifolia, to the smooth white or pale blue leaves of Lomandra confertifolia 'Seascape', Festuca glauca or Eucalyptus gunnii.

Species were also chosen on the basis of availability to the average person and water efficient principles. The overall result is a planting scheme that meets the criteria of a coastal / low water use / drought tolerant garden with plenty of contrast and depth.

Materials & Other

The materials and furniture used for 30/40/50 are as follows:

Paving
Splitstone in 'Abyss'

Furnishings
Dedon Zofa loungers from Domo Collections

Pergola
Designed by GHLD - constructed by Envirotech

Timber Stain
Sikkens Cetol HLS 020 Ebony