Like Flashdance and Dallas, the terracotta tiles, enormous Queen Palms and unusable spaces had lost all their once fashionable appeal. The challenge was to re-vision this very 1980’s garden into a space that created a dramatic entrance to this historic Auckland home, provided a sheltered and inviting outdoor living space including a swimming pool, and which complemented the architecture of the house. No small ask in a 140m² courtyard!

Garden designer, Trish Bartleet, masterfully integrated all the desired elements of the clients’ brief. The resulting space is not only attractive but provides easy flow from the house into the courtyard, privacy has been enhanced, views maintained to the vista over the Waitemata and a much-utilised outdoor entertainment space created.

The building of the garden required a high level of planning, coordination of different trades and attention to detail – all skills of which Second Nature are masters . The site was small, access difficult and the building work complex and as the finished construction details are viewed from close quarters, no faults or inaccuracies could be entertained .

The result of this successful collaboration between client, designer and the landscape build team are a tribute to a willing client, a visionary designer and Second Nature’s team of highly skilled crafts people.