A pretty perennial garden that pulls inspiration from around the world (2024)

With lush beds filled with flowering perennials in the English tradition, a pool house evoking Californian cool and the langour of the Med, this garden is a potpourri of inspiration far and wide. Add a spectacular vista of coastal Victoria and it’s little wonder the owner often holidays at home.

Thanks to deft hard and softscaping, this United Nations of influences forms an inviting, harmonious whole. But its tranquillity belies its tricky creation story. In 2020, its designer, Jason King of King’s Gardens & Pools, was confronted with a scrubby slope buffeted by winds off the Southern Ocean and tight-packed clay underfoot, hardly fertile ground for what the owner had in mind.

“Facing north east, the slope was very exposed, with the soil almost impenetrable – water just ran off it – but the owner wanted an expanse of flat lawn with an infinity edge,” says Jason. The wish list also included “abundant flowers in meandering beds, a large pool with pool house and outdoor fireplace for socialising, and an overall modern feel, with a hint of Mediterranean”.

“We wanted as many sunny pockets as possible, imperative on such an exposed site, together with a retreat-like feel,” adds the owner. “It was important to have a large, fenced pool area as a comfortable hangout spot, but soft landscaping and lawn around the pool to create a green and peaceful sanctuary.”

The first stage was to build the pool, a pool house (designed by ELC Architecture and Interior Design) and their surrounds, while the second stage the following year involved the rest of the garden abutting the house.

An olive grove occupies the remainder of the sprawling 1-hectare site. Jason started by importing 1000 tonnes of soil to build up the site and create a series of terraces, providing the basis for the multifaceted garden the owner desired, while also ensuring good drainage and water capture.

Jason had to think big in other ways too. “The pool is 14×6 metres to reflect the scale of the space. But to shelter it from the wind, we offset it to the west, with the pool house providing a windbreak, both for the pool and an adjoining courtyard.”

A freeform stone wall, at a right angle to the pool house, acts as an additional windbreak. He located the pool on a lower terrace, partly for shelter and also so family and friends in the pool house could soak up breath-taking views of the ocean beyond.

FEATURE PLANTS

TREES

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Manchurian pear (Pyrus ussuriensis)

Olive (Olea europaea)

Orange (Citrus sinensis)

SHRUBS

Joe-Pye weed (Eupatorium purpureum)

Tree germander

White azalea

Japanese aralia (Fatsia japonica)

PERENNIALS

Salvia nemorosa ‘Caradonna’

Sea lavender (Limonium perezii)

Yarrow (Achillea millefolium)

Russian sage

The pool includes a 30-centimetre wading area along its length, creating areas for socialising and leisurely swimming. “Steps down into the pool are a seamless continuation of the steps from the pool house above. This keeps it symmetrical while also creating a grand entrance into the pool,” says Jason.

The home, pool house and pool surrounds share the same material palette for continuity. “The stone wall sets the tone for the rest of the garden, linking the lower terraces to the upper,” explains Jason.

In keeping with the owner’s desire for a relaxed Mediterranean feel, sandy-toned render features on the walls and the pool house. “When paired with an almost identical limestone paver, the entire pool, pool surround and adjoining courtyard blend neatly,” he adds.

The Mediterranean vibe is accentuated by the plantings, which include fragrant citrus trees, rosemary, thyme and sage. Next to the pool house, a courtyard features decorative grasses to soften the impact of the hardscaping.

Several mature olive trees, pear trees and a smoke bush (Cotinus coggygria) already on the property were shifted poolside to frame the views and add instant height. The beautiful aqua of the pool complements the silvery foliage of the olive trees and rosemary.

Expansive lawns and deep, layered beds of perennials formed stage two of the project. While truckloads of imported soil provided a nutrient-rich base, Jason also had to include efficient drainage and an irrigation system, harnessing rainfall directly and through hard-surface run-off and storing it in a 60,000-litre tank.

For the sweeping lawns, looking out over the ocean and orchard, Jason chose hardy tall fescue, which tolerates full sun and shade, but still “needs a fair drink in summer”. So, too, does the pink and purple perennial garden overflowing with plants of varying heights, which creates a magical sight when juxtaposed against the broad lawns, the towering gum trees and the ocean.

“The pink perennials were a marriage between the owner’s strong desire for a big perennial garden and our love of pink,” says Jason. Lavenders, Russian sage, Joe-Pye weed (Eupatorium purpureum), Sedum ‘Autumn Joy’ and woodland sage (Salvia nemorosa ‘Caradonna’) bring bursts of pink, mauve and purple in the freeform beds, while Calamagrostis x acutiflora ‘Karl Foerster’, a feathered reed grass, offers a wispy contrast that shimmers in the constant breezes.

“Late afternoon on the lawn under the gums is the perfect place for a siesta with the dogs,” says the owner. “And first light on the terraced area in early summer, when all the perennials are beaming with new colour, is a true delight.”

King’s Gardens & Pools, Breakwater, Victoria; (03) 4227 1552 or kingslandscaping.com.au

ELC Architecture and Interior Design, Ivanhoe, Victoria; (03) 9490 2244 or elcgroup.com.au