Home Garden

Since 1995 I have dreamed of a sustainable north facing home with deciduous shade in summer and a water efficient regenerative garden. I moved to my current address in 2004, with its existing mid 1980’s brick veneer house. Our children walked to school from here.

We worked on the garden with evergreen shade on the west, and deciduous plantings on north and east, with rainwater tanks collecting what we could.

In 2017 the disaster of a house fire enabled a reset and new direction (our silver lining). 

We engaged an energy efficient architect from a firm serious about sustainable design. Our instructions included to make it feel that the home and garden merge with consideration of vistas and connection. We also built for aging in place with no intention to move.

In autumn the sun creeps in to warm the floors and house naturally. Deciduous plants cool in summer and allow sun penetration in winter

the boundary between inside and garden is blurred

We moved back Christmas 2021/22

We secured ample water with an underground rain water tank (115,000 L) that supplies the house via filters and UV sterilisation. Additional 30,000+ L above ground tanks allow gravity fed watering in the garden. 

With a rooftop solar array and battery we contribute power to the grid through a virtual power station.

We have reinvented our garden. Remnant large trees provided great structural bones which we have added to with yet more trees and many shrubs. We moved many - some to our daughter in Gawler, some to a better location in the garden using a mechanical digger and our nephew driving it.

large remaining trees form the bones of the garden

Our garden is intentional, but natural - almost haphazard - but extremely well considered. There is a tension between David’s shady forest and my food providing trees, shrubs and perennials. We both love natives and architectural plants. David has an amazingly artistic eye and creates great spaces and art forms.

Water is managed through the rain harvesting and carefully applied using ollas, wicking beds, drip systems, low pressure gravity fed sprinklers from the above ground tanks.

Many of the vegetable beds are raised to anticipate needs of aging in place. 

Siting plants depends on David’s aesthetic input but importantly the needs of the plant and the ability to provide any needed microclimate to accomodate this. For example, on the south side of the house is a raised area with a north facing slope. Good drainage and sun is ideal for our citrus grove comprising tangelo, lime, Washington navel, Toc navel, blood orange; a Bacon avocado, a macadamia tree and a Gala apple are tucked in for good measure.

The north side of the garage is an excellent sheltered sun spot for a persimmon tree, Stella cherry, Jujube, Plum (Coes’ golden drop with a Prun d’Agen graft - this is a pollinator for the Coe’s golden drop), dwarf black mulberry, dwarf double grafted almond, two wicking vegetable beds and potted blueberries (need acidic soil so live in pots) and our grafted fruit trees growing on before a permanent in-ground position is found.

The soil has been much improved over the years with thick mulch at least once a year, we compost on site (David’s slow open heaps and my intense Aerobins) and also worm farms - I kept my promise to reduce the number when I bought a flow through system but I am gradually bringing back my previous ones as there can never be too many worms.

The garden begins at the verge with Katie’s Splendour grass under the silver birch copse; a pair of maples frame the driveway. The northern bank has great drainage and full sun so great place for 3 pistachio trees, a dwarf nectarine and a dwarf apricot (as well as native plants, salvia, leucadendrons and grasses).

The path to the front door is flanked by bamboo and hellebore; behind the hand hewn timber is the Reed avocado between the Ionsis Plena crab apples, the weeping cherry, rhododendron, camellia and fuchsias (David loves fuchsia). And a couple of acacias and gum trees - because - we can.

Our garden is populated with family favourites - Granny Hunt’s favourite rose (Dainty Bess) and favourite shrub - Garrya elliptica (Tassel bush); one of Nana Yourn’s geraniums, the cycad she gave me 35 years ago; Mum’s hippeastrums; Dad’s cacti, elk horn ferns and cycads; the ponytail palms I bought in tiny pots at university 40 years ago. Now we add the fig trees we grew from learning to prune at Joe’s Connected Garden; the fruit trees we learnt to graft at Sophie’s Patch and the Rare Fruit Society. Things I learnt to grow from cuttings, taught to me by  Nana Yourn and later, when we were dating, David’s mother Megan.

Natives and exotics intermix in our garden. The biggest problem is making sure to be careful with feeding as natives and proteas are sensitive. Our leucadendrons and rice flowers are in the bed above the citrus trees to avoid poisoning from overflow from hungry citrus feed. 

There are native grasses, food sources for little birds and lizards and suitable habitat to sustain them.

The grass tree is sited with a long vista from the front door and under the pergola - it is in a raised bed to ensure good drainage and on the north of the house for a hot location; but it is also close to the deciduous ornamental pear that provides oh so cool shade. 

There is a palpable temperature differential between the ornamental garden close to the house and the fruit and vegetable garden down the back near the studio. The lawn over the underground rainwater tank cleans our garden soiled soles as we walk across as well as acting as an evaporative cooler on hot windy days. It also catches the washing if it falls off our iconic Hills Hoist replete with bore water staining. Oh I love an original Hills Hoist - what can be more South Aussie than a magpie on the Hills Hoist?

Native acacia with exotic smoke bush, blacksmiths sculpture and Hills hoist abut each other

Our garden is life. It is our place to centre, to connect and be mindful; to observe and meditate, calm and ponder.

We both love gardening and share a common vision but also have have differences and negotiate - all good relationships do this and ours is with each other and with nature.

There are no rules, just understanding - the needs of the plants, and the one next to it.