DESIGN PROPOSAL
Glenn / Moore Residence, Stoneville 6081
Design brief
- To increase the physically and psychologically usable areas of the block.
- To facilitate privacy.
- To attract and sustain native wildlife.
- To make obvious and attractive entries and outdoor living areas.
- To rationalise the service area.
- To add value to the property.
- To minimise water use after a period of establishment.
- To create areas of interest and enjoyment.
Assessment
The property is a good half-acre with adequate ring-lock fencing, a semi-circular driveway and two farm gate entries. The brick and iron house (circa 1972) is set back from the street and sits well in the semi-bush environment. It has excellent passive solar design.
1.Front (western) part of block
The front (western) part of the block is remnant bush with some weed infestation and a lack of understorey and structure. It has both the water meter and a tap in the middle towards the road frontage. There are privacy issues on the northern boundary as this is access to the park and a thoroughfare to two streets. Traffic consists of:
- people walking dogs
- occasional horseriders
- children accessing the basketball court and open space
- pedestrians (foot traffic) use it as a shortcut.
2.Southern boundary
The southern boundary is shared with neighbours and also has privacy issues, particularly regarding the neighbours’ garage and cars. This boundary has an infestation of Acacia decurrens, one of which is leaning on the carport.
Other weed species in this part of the property are:
- Tecoma
- Cotoneaster
- Ivy
3.House
There is a slope from the house pad down to the boundary – about 250mm over 5m. The area is served by a reticulation line, but has no sprinklers.
The house has no obvious entry. The original carport has been converted to a study/sunroom, but the original driveway apron (concrete, green painted and 3m x 5m) has been left intact. Removal of this needs a Telstra® site visit as the phone line is in the vicinity, and cutting through the concrete with a floor saw to facilitate removal without damaging the sunroom floor.
With the exception of some mature and healthy eucalypts, most of the planting around the house is unplanned, unstructured and unsightly. Ivy is at plague proportions and infesting trees and moving into the bush block next to the property. There is vinca covering about 90m2 of existing garden beds. A healthy azalea, a good-sized tree fern and a pandorea hedge on the north boundary can be partly retained. All other exotic (and much of the native) vegetation needs removing. The soil is 15mm of topsoil (acidic gravelly loam) over heavy clay and rock – typical Eastern Hills conditions.
4.General observations
The property is generally shaded and sheltered from the summer easterlies, but experiences drying out and compaction in summer. There has been a professionally installed reticulation system, but it needs an upgrade. The front area of the block needs some reticulation to service the deciduous trees in summer. Given the rocky barrier of the driveway, a stand-alone battery operated valve and sprinklers is the best option.
There is almost no usable space on the block and the garden feels chaotic and claustrophobic.
Proposed landscape works plan
Given the modest nature of the house and its surroundings, a subtle garden of mostly natives, with naturalistic features is proposed.
1.Weed removal
Removal of the weeds, particularly the ivy, vinca and fishbone fern will be accomplished by machine and hand removal and spraying the surviving infestation with glyphosate until it is manageable enough to continue hand-pulling.
2.Conservation aspects
The block forms part of the bush corridors found throughout the Eastern Hills and has mature and healthy Euc. calophylla, a Euc. citriodora (rather too close to the house, but in very good condition after years of professional management) and mature Euc.patens, a fairly rare tall eucalypt indigenous to the area. It is proposed to retain all the mature trees – some of which are nesting and food sites for cockatoos, parrots and galahs, and to introduce native understorey.
Dieback is present in the area, so a mix of indigenous plants and some Eastern States natives, as well as hardy waterwise exotics for summer flowering and semi-formal hedge plantings for delineation of certain areas will be planted. Given the slightly acidic granite soils, grevilleas will form the major planting and create a boundary hedge. The selection of flowering and prickly natives will create an environment more friendly to the smaller birds found in the area and the native mammals and reptiles.
3.Privacy issues
The privacy issues will be managed by the planting of dense hedging on the boundaries.
4.Climate and colour
Northern winter light will be improved by the removal of trees that are unhealthy or weed species, and the planting of deciduous species will add autumn colour (spectacularly achievable in the Hills) and give summer shade for the north facing living areas of the house.
5.Structures and features
Currently the north face of the house has an old, low pergola attached to it with an unproductive grapevine. The paving is also poorly laid and is cracking and lifting.
The house is also dark red and thus creates a very red ‘heat sink’ effect with the dark red clinker house bricks. There is a rain run-off problem and no soakwells from the downpipes. The septic tanks are set close to the house and fairly high in the ground, which creates difficulties with paving. No paving will be laid in this area. Available sunlight will be greatly increased by the removal of weed trees on the northern side of the block, thus enabling the planting of herbs and roses.
The area where there was a swimming pool many years ago still has some fencing and a shed. The bamboo in this area has gone wild. All items need to be removed.
The lawn is sloping, shaded and uneven. The expanded lawn area needs to be levelled up and moving the service area (shed and clothesline) to the north-eastern corner will free up space adjacent to the house for entertaining and children’s play. Constructing low berms for boundary planting will facilitate privacy and get past the problem of little accessible topsoil.
An attractive winding grass path through the mature trees will lead people to the new parts of the garden and the rear of the house. A grassed path will cause no damage to the trees and will be more practical than attempting to lay pavers in the area. Construction of a pond and decking will enhance the amenity, while lighting will create a charming visual feature for evening ambiance.
Hard surface paths to be created with sandstone paving and a decorative mosaic will indicate the entertaining area and fix the run-off and unevenness problems currently existing. Paths also lead to a sitting area with bench and pebbles which will create a ‘retreat’ area for viewing and enjoying the garden.
The new pergola/arbour will have climbing roses known for their association with medicinal gardens. The path through the arbour will lead to the circular driveway and make another entry from the garden to the house.
The final topping up of the driveway with crushed gravel and compacted clay will rejuvenate the garden and entry. All berms and beds will be appropriately fertilised and mulched. Further outdoor light will be installed to enhance night time viewing and create ambiance.
The owners have indicated that they will undertake a portion of work including relocating service area (clothesline) and shed, and installing slab. As a result, this work will not be shown in other Portico Designs documentation, for example, Recommendations, Budget estimates or Project calendar.
The owners have signed off on a change from their initial request to construct a Physick garden. This section of the garden will not be developed at this time and the current concept drawing reflects the client change request. However, the clients have requested a plantings list for the Physick garden and this will be included as a separate section on the ‘Plantings list and landscape items’ document.
Recommendations
1.Remove all weed infestations, including trees, using machine and hand removal.
2.Spray any surviving infestations until hand weeding is possible.
3.Retain all mature Eucalypt trees for nesting and food habitats for local fauna. Remove existing exotic and most of native vegetation.
4.Use a mixture of indigenous plants, such as grevilleas and Eastern States natives, as well as hardy waterwise exotics for summer flowering and semi-formal hedge plantings to suit soil and climatic conditions.
5.Remove existing concrete driveway apron. Note: Contact Telstra® to locate telephone lines before any construction work is undertaken. Care also needs to be taken to ensure sunroom floor is not damaged during work.
6.Upgrade existing reticulation system with stand-alone battery operated valve and install new sprinklers to the southern boundary.
7.Plant dense hedging on the boundaries.
8.Install a solid privacy fencing on the north boundary to 15m.
- Remove unhealthy trees and plant deciduous species to add autumn colour and give summer shade to the north facing living areas of the house.
10.Remove existing paving, low pergola and grapevine.
11.Construct new pergola/rose arbour from recycled, repainted Jarrah from existing pergola and plant climbing roses.
12.Install new soakwells.
13.Remove swimming pool fencing, shed and bamboo.
14.Level up the expanded lawn area.
15.Import soil to construct low berms and beds for boundary planting to facilitate privacy.
16.Construct winding grass paths.
17.Construct hard surface paths using sawn sandstone with a decorative mosaic for gardens and to fix the existing run-off and unevenness problems.
18.Add a market umbrella and outdoor seating to entertaining area (not included in budget estimates).
19Install outdoor lighting to create an entry statement and make it obvious where to enter the house.
20Construct a water feature (pond), decking and install pond light to create interest and ambiance.
21Use moss rocks to make outcrops throughout the garden.
22Build an arbour from recycled, repainted Jarrah from pergola and plant climbing roses
23Top up the circular driveway with crushed gravel and compacted clay to rejuvenate the garden and entry.
24Construct a seating area with pebbles for viewing the garden.
Conclusion
The design features outlined are well-suited to the Glenn/Moore residence’s era, locality and environmental conditions. They also add value to the property, assist privacy, effectively utilise the available space and provide solutions to existing problems, such as uneven levels, weed infestations and drainage.
The suggested plantings will in time minimise water use, particularly after a period of establishment, and will also attract and sustain native wildlife. The water feature will assist with run-off and provide a focus for the garden, as well as create a habitat for wildlife.
Other focal points of the garden, such as, lighting, pathways, decking and arbour, will create areas of interest and enjoyment. They also provide obvious and attractive entryways to the outdoor areas.
Work to be undertaken by clients will not be included in the budget estimates or project calendar.
The overall design stimulates the senses with an array of colour, perfume, foliage and wildlife. The garden is both a place that encourages personal refection and invites others to share in the outdoor living experience that is so much part of the lifestyle of the area.
The recommended garden design is both attractive and practical, and effectively fulfils the clients’ brief.
See ‘Plantings list and landscape items’ and ‘Budget estimates’ for further details and costings.
Design proposal for Glenn / Moore Residence: V2Page 1 of 7