The client was keen to make her small backyard “more tropical” and “lush” despite the small block size and children’s play area. Paving around the pool had been constructed “a little too high”, and there was talk of backfilling the entire yard to match its level. A large exposed fence in need of concealment rounded out the list.
The key elements of this design are the expanded beds, both alongside the pool and to the rear and north boundary. Tall-growing Heliconia varieties will cover the fence while the palms establish and grow. The client loved her Calathea lutea, so we added more of these to create focal points in otherwise dull corners. A sandstone step formalises the level change between the new turf and the pool paving, with tough plantings of Trachelospermum and Alpinia nutans to obscure the rest of the hard edges. Aspleniums, philodendrons and Spathiphyllums fill out the middle layer between turf and canopy.
A large urn, set in a bed of dwarf mondo grass, reduces the awkwardness of the pool corner. An Alocasia macrorrhiza will eventually create a spectacular focal point, reducing the impact of the freestanding pool wall.
