Photography: Anjie Blair
As Hobart’s most exquisite example of Arts and Crafts architecture, this prized century-old home in Tasmania’s capital warrants the landscaping to match. Ten years ago, landscape designer Myles Baldwin and his team were approached to transform the grounds, which had fallen into disrepair. The damaged front gates, collapsed earth embankments and unsightly bitumen parking bays were a far cry from the lush, immersive idyll seen today.
“The landscape brief was to create the best version of a garden for this style of home – romantic and unique – with a diverse array of plant material,” says Myles.
“To ensure it felt like it had always belonged, we did extensive research on the heritage of the house,” says Myles. The grounds are a textbook expression of traditional Arts and Crafts style, with elegant transitions between each garden room, old-fashioned trees, shrubs and curvilinear perennial beds flowing over lush, rolling lawns.
An artistic application of colour, shape and texture is evident at every gorgeous turn. The retaining walls, paving and steps – crafted by local stonemasons with historic Tasmanian sandstone – further define the journey through the just under two hectares of land. “It’s a very structured but wild garden,” says head gardener and horticulturalist Anthony O’Reilly.
Myles retained the significant trees and added mature ones to gently demarcate the various areas and provide privacy at the property’s perimeter. In spring through summer, a meandering line-up of oak, birch and laurel trees form a green canopy for a hydrangea walk that bursts with blooms and thrives in the dappled sunlight and clay-based soil. “The shrubs and flowering trees provide lovely flowers and foliage, including viburnum, hawthorn and snow pears,” says Myles.
Anthony works full-time on the property with a small team. “We are constantly feeding, composting and watering because there is so much plant life,” he shares. The property also incorporates a vegetable patch that is cared for by the homeowner’s father, who takes great delight in gardening with his young granddaughter.
The area contains a grid of 24 raised beds and a greenhouse designed and erected by Hartley Botanic. Victorian-era in style, the charming greenhouse is a nod to the past and one of many elements in this special estate that stirs a comforting nostalgia. After a decade of restoration, Myles observes that “the garden has now found its own equilibrium”.
Made with aluminium and glass, the striking greenhouse is from Hartley Botanic in England and set on to Tasmanian bricks. A vintage birdbath sits in between local sandstone pavers and raised vegetable beds made with reclaimed hardwood. “The dovetail joints in the timber are beautiful,” Anthony notes. The garden features beds of purple salvia ‘Santa Barbara’, star magnolia and May bush.
“We are just enjoying the actual gardening and the maintenance, and trialling new plants” Anthony O’Reilly, head gardener
Sandstone steps leading to a perennial garden are framed with the colour-popping salvia ‘Wendy’s Wish’, ‘Hidcote Pink’ and smoke bush. The manicured boxleaf honeysuckle topiary adds contrast. “If you have structure against something wild, it shows off each plant quite well,” offers head gardener and horticulturalist Anthony O’Reilly.
The plant material was chosen to suit Hobart’s climate and strong seasonal change. This led to the design, which focused on English perennial borders, shrubbery displays, an eastern terrace and hydrangea walk.
“As you move further away from the main home, there are more woodlands and shrub beds with ground cover like violets and campanulas to smother the weeds,” Anthony explains.
The inviting textures of May bush, fragrant rosemary and the purple-toned fringe flower combine under a horse chestnut tree; gates hidden by lush growth lead to secret shady nooks by the pool; sandstone steps integrated into the sloping lawn add to the manicured aesthetic; the fluffy pink perennial, ‘Queen of the Prairie’, rises above the dramatic foliage of the gunnera plant.
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Landscape design: Myles Baldwin Design, (02) 9699 2622, mylesbaldwin.com.
