Hidden Garden Retreat

The Green family had spent a lot of time and money renovating their 1960’s bungalow. The next step was to bring the exterior spaces up to the same standard. The setting was great to start with, with a large north-facing back lawn and fantastic mature trees. What was missing was a setting within the garden that would draw them into the space. The large deck existed but there was no pull factor to encourage them further into the garden. The client has put a lot of thought into what they wanted before getting in touch with us, including a portfolio of Houzz reference images. This showed crisp, clean lines, seating built into the hardscape rather than freestanding elements, and the use of contemporary materials. “We showed Jessica the style we liked and she was able to nail it the first time!”. As one of the clients works from home, with his office space looking directly out on the garden, he was adamant that he didn’t want to see the garden shed from here. Alongside this, they wanted to retain and emphasize their lovely mature trees, and to create an outdoor BBQ area with integrated seating – somewhere to read a book & for the family to gather. Unique Challenges There was originally no connection between their home and garden. As the client put it “you felt trapped in the house”. Developing living areas that would draw them outside and enhance their indoor-outdoor flow was, therefore, a top priority. We had to decide what should stay and what should go in order to emphasize the forms of the remaining trees. Once the garden was cleared out, we worked on developing the best placement for their new outdoor BBQ living area, making sure that this was within easy access of their home, and fitted within the existing trees. The BBQ unit was no easy feat to construct. With no access to machinery, the concrete aggregate had to be mixed in their garage and narrowed down the narrow path alongside their home. This made life a bit harder for our team on the ground, but they powered through. Final Outcome The innovative design and attention to detail constructing it has added a whole new dimension to the family’s outdoor living. The client’s young girls love using the irregular concrete steppers for hopscotch, while the whole family find themselves BBQing and dining outside a lot more. With lighting along the path and in the trees it is magical at night. “We dim the lights inside & light up the garden & it’s just beautiful. You feel as though you are in a park.” Despite the park-like feeling, their garden is low maintenance. “We spend about 5 mins gardening a week. Bark chips are the secret. It’s really just a matter of mowing the lawn.” The revamp not only won gold in the design and construction categories of the nationwide landscaping awards, but also scooped up the Supreme Landscape of the Year award. Features Role Design, Manage, Construct Site Area 400m² (rear of the section only) Status Completed 2015 Awards Landscape of the Year 2016 Landscape Industries of New Zealand Design of the Year 2016 Landscape Industries of New Zealand Gold Award for Design 2016 Landscape Industries of New Zealand Gold Award for Construction 2016 Landscape Industries of New Zealand Indoor Outdoor Flow Award 2015 NZ House & Garden