The Clearing, Pirongia
This Landscape and Planting design was informed by the site location which overlooked native bush with views through to the Waikato basin and backed by the Pirongia Forest Park. The land had been part of a farm for around 100 years, while plants and trees had grown up around it. The concept of ‘The Clearing’ was applied to the design process, embracing the central openness and enhancing the edges with locally occurring native species to further develop this idea.
The planting took cues from both the native plants of the region and beneficial exotics, including a large range of productive fruit trees. The central planting is designed to bring energy and personality to the space, with vibrant pops of colour throughout the seasons. While the natives hold the perimeter. The materials used were primarily recycled, with the Australian hardwood decking and fencing timbers produced from old power poles, and the paving recycled from a demolition yard.
This multi-levelled design provides indoor flow to an infinity style lawn and elevated areas that serve as suspended platforms from which to take in the views. As the garden evolves, so too does the sense of place and belonging that comes with it.
The Cut, Waitatuna Valley
This was a large, complex relatively bare site on a small cut hillside in Waitatuna Valley, Waikato. The practical goals were to create space for a garage and carport, maximise the views and afternoon sun for outdoor living and remove the driveway from the front of the house while creating a seamless connection to the interior of the house.
The earthworks required for this project were extensive, working with the site and house to set levels and moving large amounts of earth to create an extended lawn and a deeper cut in the hillside for the garage and carport area. All the rocks found on site were integrated into the design and the pavers were installed by our very patient and clever client Abby.
Planting was to be primarily native to include edibles and some exotics to bring dynamic to the palette and to work in with the existing planting on site. Connecting to the distant views was also an important part of this design to ensure that the garden seamlessly connected with the natural clusters, forms and colours of the valley.
Lantern, Papamoa
The design for this garden was intended to create a tropical oasis within an enclosed, private dining courtyard. The plants were clustered in two dense areas with space for tables around the edges, encouraging interaction between diners and the garden while providing a unique dining experience.
The density in layers and types of plants were selected to provide a lush and tropical visual element, year round vibrancy and to offer a cooling quality in the hot summer months. The plants also needed to be able to survive in the low nutrient sandy soil that presented on site. Lush natives were used alongside resilient tropical plants and drought tolerant species to fulfill the brief.
Concrete planters located in sunny spots were initially designed as herb gardens to compliment the food and cocktail menu, these have since been planted out.
‘Lantern’ located on Domain road in Papamoa is an all-round excellent, delicious and very highly regarded Southeast Asian fusion restaurant. The experience of dining in such a verdant garden is also a very special one and well worth a visit!
Julies’ Place
This easy care courtyard garden was designed to provide ample space for entertaining and easy indoor flow set in an abundant and seasonal garden filled with natives, flowers and food. Julie our client is an avid gardener and wanted a diverse range of plants including those with sentimental value that had come with her from a previous garden.
Ditching the lawnmower in favor of gardens was music to our ears as it provided fantastic scope for a range of size and depth in the planting which allowed the naturalistic approach to shine. Without lawns, access around the site became very important and a clear path was included to ensure easy movement and flow around the site. The pavers were handmade in Tauranga by ‘Paving Worx’, adding a lovely bespoke element to the design and paring beautifully with the low wall/seat that holds the edge of the courtyard and allows for space for the extended family to meet and gather.
Two seating areas make the most of the sunny spots in both the morning and afternoon and provide strategically placed trees for privacy from neighbours while enhancing the framed views from inside the house.
House and Land, Pirongia
This project involved designing a house tailored specifically to the site and covenants at the base of Mount Pirongia. It was our first full home and land design, which was developed in CAD before collaborating with Joel Surridge Architecture to produce the working drawings.
The site presented challenges, with a significant slope and resource consent requirements that limited earthworks, requiring a carefully considered response. The primary focus was ensuring the house sat comfortably within the landscape, minimising disturbance while creating a seamless connection between indoors and outdoors. At the same time, the design needed to provide generous space for growing food, accommodating vehicles, and allowing the family to spread out and live with ease.
Taking a bare site and working from the outset to consider how the house will sit and interact with the land is something that we really love doing! It is never to early to plan for your outdoor living, having a design from the outset allows you to maximise value with earthworks and can save money and greatly improve outcomes. .
Specific landscape and planting design for this site can be viewed in the project titled ‘The Clearing’.
The Tiny Pool, Pirongia
This Tiny Pool was part of our Pirongia project, but we wanted to feature it separately as it was such a satisfying outcome and we would love to do more.
The 1.9m-deep pool was set into the ground at a height that allows the pool wall to double as a 1.2m pool fence on the back side. The exposed north-facing concrete provides a large, heated surface area, acting as thermal mass to extend the swimming season.
The concept was for the space to nestle into the planting at the rear while opening to expansive views at the front, creating an infinity feel. The deck was carefully designed to be highly functional while remaining in scale with the pool. It sits on screw piles, reducing the concrete footprint, and the water also serves as a fire-fighting resource, a requirement for the site. The timber portion of the pool fence is made from repurposed Australian hardwood power poles and copper pipe, allowing for a radial curve and visual permeability so it integrates seamlessly with the surrounding garden.
This pool is located to catch the last of the afternoon sun and although compact, can still accommodate a decent pool party.
Urban Abundance, Hamilton
The brief at this property in central Hamilton was to provide as much food as possible in an attractive garden setting. This abundant 550 sqm site supports 16 different fruit trees some with multiple grafting and 5 generous vegetable beds capturing the northern sun. The trees are mixed with native species, flowering perennials and exotics picking up on the eclectic interior of the home.
The space was under 4 metres wide and it was essential to create a strong connection between the garden and the indoors, maximise the sunny areas on-site and and create privacy on a busy intersection. The unique deck and circular lawn offer a strong balance to the dynamic gardens, clearly defining the outdoor living spaces while maintaining easy movement around the site.
Espaliered fruit trees feature along the driveway to make the most of these narrow spaces and add to the productive capacity of the garden. Although this garden is a work horse in terms of feeding the family, it is also beautifully balanced in form and structure presenting as a well designed space that feels both abundant and artistic.