Photography: Robyn Lea
Outstanding architecture is often the hero of a heritage property, but a sympathetically designed garden can steal the stage, especially when it enhances the historic charm with a rosy spotlight. Such is the case of this home and surrounding gardens in a bayside suburb of Melbourne. It’s no surprise that such a spotlight-stealing garden is the work of iconic Australian landscape designer, Paul Bangay OAM.
Inside the stately heritage home
Built in 1892 to a design by architect George Jobbins, Fairfield Hall is exactly the sort of significant heritage building admired by homeowners Sandra (who is heavily involved in the National Trust of Victoria) and her husband Steve.
“It’s not a typical Victorian garden, which would traditionally be a lot more decorative, but it’s still a lovely, classic garden” – Paul Bangay
True to type, Sandra jumped at the chance to explore this Italianate edifice when it came on the market in 2020. She was especially excited to get a closer look at its stately brick form, cast-iron lacework and romantic turrets. These features piqued her interest, yet she didn’t expect to completely fall in love. Recalls Sandra, “It’s so original and well built – and it was just too special to let go.”
An overgrown garden in need of love
While the building had been well preserved inside, the garden hadn’t enjoyed the same tender care. Though its size had been largely retained, with a proportionate scale to suit the grand old building, it was really an oversized bed of weeds. “The garden needed a total overhaul,” says Sandra. “There were tree roots growing through everything – the front verandahs even had tree roots growing through them – but there was just so much potential.” And that was too tantalising to resist.
“We’ve come from a place that was extremely formal and predominantly classic in the ’80s, to a more casual, relaxed place, that’s a bit wilder and more in keeping with the way people live now,” Paul muses. It was a transformation that traversed the decades.
“You think a winter garden will be pretty drab, but when you see the silhouette of the branches in the light, it’s pretty special” – Sandra, homeowner
Paul Bangay’s garden design brief
The grand old home deserved a magnificent garden to suit, but Sandra says, “We didn’t want a super-formal garden. We wanted a garden that would change with the seasons, and that would still have structure and flow.” To deliver this, they called on landscape maestro Paul Bangay, whose oeuvre captures exactly the tone of softened formality they wanted.
Timeless design, that would ensure the heritage and layout of the property were treated sympathetically, was key. “But the way to make it more contemporary is through the use of materials,” Paul says. “For example, one of the pathways takes you on a lovely journey past the front of the house and then down the east side. In designing that walkway, we maintained the traditional layout, type of stone and colour, but used a contemporary filetti paving.” Similarly, instead of decorative stone edging, as would have been used in an original garden of the home’s era, Paul specified slender steel edging, over which flowers and foliage spill from the laden beds.
A plant palette filled with flowers
To soften the formality, and to ensure an ever-changing canvas of colour, Sandra wanted a plant palette loaded with flowers. This was a brief Paul fulfilled with a plan including astors, two types of lavender, catmint, ajuga, jasmine, salvias and agastaches.
Despite requesting a floriferous garden, Sandra asked to limit the number of roses. “Because you do have a bare garden in winter if you have tonnes of roses,” she explains. The roses that did make the cut are carefully chosen to provide bang for buck, including vigorous Pierre de Ronsard climbers over the arbour and clumps of bushy Mutabilis, which is covered in butterfly-type blooms for most of the year.
Inside the Paul Bangay’s final result
Paul’s plans were swiftly executed by Julian McCarthy Landscapes. “And our gardener, Deb Richardson, maintains it every week – she’s wonderful, she’s done our garden for 30 years,” says Sandra.
Though only completed less than three years ago, the garden already feels thoroughly well established. Evergreens, from verdant Buxus to blue-toned juniper, form a base palette against which is set a kaleidoscope of flowers and deciduous trees. These shift in and out of focus as the seasons change, creating movement as well as an unfolding, evolving beauty.
The expansive front lawn is surrounded by beds of mass-planted perennials. “The planting is soft, informal, like one big wraparound herbaceous border,” says Paul.
Sandra is also ecstatic with the result. “What I find amazing is we don’t have bare dirt anywhere – everything has grown and filled out so quickly,” says Sandra. “And as the trees grow, it will become more and more beautiful.”
Source book
Landscape design: Paul Bangay Garden Design, (03) 9070 6050, paulbangay.com.
Landscape construction: Julian McCarthy Landscapes, 0417 310 083, julianmccarthylandscapes.com.au.
Be the first to read this story by subscribing to Home Beautiful magazine.
