A formal garden with soul

Surrounded by neighbours, the homeowners of this garden craved privacy as well as a desire to enhance the use of their backyard, all the while maintaining a sense of openness. Good Manors was engaged to realise their vision for a formal garden that worked with two existing features: the original pool and an established crepe myrtle.

Good Manors explained one of the first steps in creating the garden was to redesign the use of the outdoor space. They did so by building a flat terrace immediately off the back of the house. This offered a space for the homeowners to entertain and help develop a connection between the interior space and the garden. Bordered by terraced greenery, there is a sense of enclosure without interrupting the view of the garden beyond.

Expansive stone steps, framed with colourful potted succulents, lead you to a raised garden area that features a sprawling lawn area and the existing swimming pool. Good Manors carried out an extensive renovation to remove the original pebblecrete from the pool’s interior and update the surrounding surfaces. new Tortoise granite coping and a glass fence modernised the pool and helped form a connection with the rest of the garden. New paving was laid and an under-utilised spa was filled in for more lawn.

The garden’s perimeter was planted with classic hedging, climbers and flowering plants, reinforcing the formal aesthetic and screening out on looking neighbours. Central to the garden was the established crepe myrtle tree with it’s twisting smooth trunk. Good Manors have made this a feature in its own right by uplighting it and installing checkerboard-like paving around the base which also ties beautifully in with the design aesthetic of the rest of the garden.

To maintain the simple, formal design style throughout the outdoor space, Good Manors opted to not overcomplicated the palette. A tight planting schedule of varying green foliage and sympathetic tones in the flowers were specified. Eco Outdoor Tortoise granite paving was used throughout all paved surface areas, creating a strong visual connection between the two levels of the garden. In doing so, Good Manors have respected the original features of the garden while still creating a visually striking outdoor space that meets the client’s brief.