Photography: Holly Hawkins
Like many houses in Melbourne’s historic eastern suburbs, this Federation-era beauty is a blend of old and new. From the street, the classic brick and fretwork facade is complemented with formal hedges and glossy foliage.
But beyond the side gate lies a contemporary extension and a garden that mixes modern edge with traditional cottage charm for a space that feels truly timeless.
Landscape designer Ian Barker first consulted with the owners, Viv and Leigh, when they were parents to young children and the backyard was in regular use. The timing wasn’t right to rework the garden then, but fast forward to 2022 and the couple were ready to reclaim the grass. An outdoor dining area to accomodate at least eight guests was top of the wish list.
But Ian warned this would come at a cost: “My first question was, would they be willing to reduce the amount of lawn? And they said ‘Well, no-one’s played on the lawn for 10 years, so yes.’” It wasn’t just the lawn taking more than its fair share. “There was a huge sunlounge area next to the pool, which was a bit of a waste of space, and the alfresco next to the house was nowhere near big enough for entertaining,” Ian says.
Beyond the traditional timber picket fence lies a sanctuary of flowers, perfect for owners Viv and Leigh. The married couple are parents to young adults and, after years maintaining a lawn for their children to play on, they were ready to prioritise their own dreams of entertaining when they reached out to landscape designer Ian Barker.
His solution was to address the proportions. Reducing the sunlounge area opened up space for a formal dining zone under a pergola, while extending the original alfresco terrace beyond the roofline allowed for a relaxed lounge setting. The large steel pergola is now the garden’s focal point, designed to mirror the home’s sleek extension in pitch and scale. It’s a sight to behold now but as the plantings mature, it will grow even lovelier. “When it’s covered in Boston ivy, it’ll look like the Hanging Gardens of Babylon,” Ian says.
“Our philosophy is to offset contemporary hardscape with really soft, loose planting.”
IAN BARKER, LANDSCAPE DESIGNER
While the architecture is contemporary, “The landscape is a bit of a contradiction,” Ian says. “Even though it’s structured planting, it’s quite loose and whimsical.” Owner Viv is a garden lover, so she wasn’t put off by the idea of maintaining flower beds across the seasons. She requested hydrangeas and roses, which Ian scattered among the sculptural box hedge and borders of silvery lamb’s ear.
Far from a high maintenance garden, the space is a nice medium ground; not too difficult but a space Viv can enjoy tending to. At the home’s entrance, Ian and his team made small adjustments to refine the formal garden. They undercut the trees lining the path to the front door to lighten up the beds below, now filled with azaleas and hellebores.
And to create a sense of fairytale possibility, they planted Boston ivy around the gate to the pool, paired with a moody charcoal finish that lends a mysterious, alluring air. “It became this hidden doorway,” says Ian. “You wanted to know what was beyond.” The changes have reinvigorated the owners’ enjoyment of the space. “They’re excited by how it’s changed the way they look at the garden,” Ian says. “They love how much lushness is directly attached to the house and how green it feels now.”
The steel pergola over the dining table was designed to complement rather than compete with the contemporary architecture of the extension. “We wanted something that would disappear into the background, and it will eventually be softened by a climber,” says Ian. The dome heat lamps from Cape Outdoor take the edge off cool nights while adding to the dramatic scale of the pergola. Used throughout the property, bluestone paving works perfectly with the soft blue, silver and white palette of the garden.
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Landscape design: Ian Barker Gardens, landscape.net.au
Landscape construction: Bott Landscapes, bottlandscapes.com.au
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