By: Antony Konig

Landscaper, Antony Konig, takes us through the top trends for gardens now, utilising eco-friendly and water-wise methods to make your garden prosper. With bright ideas for making the most of your outdoor space for entertainment, enjoyment or relaxation, you’ll be inspired by ‘Garden Design for Perth’. 

Hopefully this article reduces the complexity of the art and science of garden design and won’t be seen as simplistic (not understanding the complexity). By garden I mean the space outdoors of your home. It might not even include plants but generally just about everyone considers plants in one guise or another to be essential. The TV makeover shows have thrust the garden into the spotlight, even if some things take longer than 24 hours to happen. You can do the work yourself or get others to do it but I, and many others, believe if you don’t have a pleasing outdoors space then you are missing out.

What’s been in fashion and what are the trends?

That’s relatively easy. The ‘resort’ look is popular- the swimming pool surrounded by architectural plants such as cordylines, aloes and agaves. This always photographs well and is reasonably simple and low maintenance - you just need the budget and the house.

Just about all modern gardens feature a lot of hardscape (paving, walls etc). Liquid limestone, washed aggregate concrete and large format pavers have certainly transformed the look of flooring compared to the standard brick pavers. Walls are frequently rendered and sometimes picked out in quite bold colours as a feature. Decking gets a strong nod but avoid CCA treated softwood underfoot - it’s banned in Europe due to its carcinogenic properties. Planting with strong shapes and in lines of a single species will continue to be popular but expect to see some mixes of complementary plants that offset each other. Water features in our hot climate are welcome, with the water wall in recent years being very popular.

The outdoor room is certainly now recognised as a legitimate part of a house, with many builders including it in their houses. Cooking outdoors is nearly always fun and practical too for spicy dishes and, depending on the skill of the cook, seared or burnt steaks. Pizza ovens can also cook a range of dishes. Add a roof and some seating and a table and you will have a popular place. Plastic blinds, similar to those in cafés, coupled with heaters, mean that it can even be used in the colder months of the year.

Subtle mood lighting in the garden provides drama and atmosphere. Low voltage LED lighting is safe and energy efficient. Consider up-lighting feature trees and perhaps picking out a water feature or piece of garden art. Outdoor lighting with switches or even remote controls/timers enables you to enjoy your garden even when you are inside.

Growing vegetables, herbs and fruit will become more prevalent as we increasingly try to connect with nature. There is nothing like the satisfaction of eating something that we’ve grown ourselves. I never put in ‘herb gardens’ as such, but always encourage incorporating herbs throughout the planting, as they are decorative plants in their own right. So no need to hide them in a corner but boldly display them and preferably next to the kitchen door and bbq.

Being increasingly waterwise will become essential. You may have noticed that the last James Bond film featured the scarcity of water as well as Daniel Craig. Due to the best efforts of industry and the Water Corporation, and a little luck with the rainfall, we have not had to water our gardens recently like the Eastern States with buckets or hosepipes. However, it’s very likely that we will be facing some tightening of the current twice a week watering. So if you want a green garden then you need to design in some water holding features. If you are west of the Perth Escarpment, one way is to increase the soil moisture content by adding organic matter and clay. Consider updating your reticulation system to dripper pipe and low volume sprinkler heads. Another way, if you have the money, is to invest in a serious grey water system. This will mean that your garden will definitely be green in all senses - allow $10-20000. See the smart approved products to help you be water wise in the home and garden, www.smartwatermark.info.

Trees are great! They provide a range of benefits such as shade, habitat for birds, reducing the speed of traffic, helping with pollution and visual beauty. But haven’t we been shortchanged in Perth with those horrible box trees on our verges? There’s a huge range of trees that are so much better - liquid amber, red flowering gum, Brachychiton, cottonwood. As block sizes become smaller expect to see trees becoming espaliered – pruned and trained along a vertical surface. Try this with citrus and olives. Trees in a courtyard enable shade and providing that the canopy is above head height, don’t take up much room. And don’t be afraid to have trees pruned, but make sure it is done correctly.

‘Newer’ plants for Perth will become more readily available as more nurseries expand their range and designers use what’s new. There are some fantastic plants that should be more used that are very suitable for our climate.

So how do you achieve some of these ideas in your garden? First of all write down a wish list of what you would like. Look through magazines, books and websites. Consider your budget. Scrimping on your outdoor space is as bad as over-capitilising. Then get some professional advice and a design for your garden. With a sound plan your garden then can be transformed, either by yourself or by contractors. Remember you don’t have to do everything at once. But you will need a plan otherwise it can look ‘bitsy’. The Landscape Industries Association of Western Australia has a list of members who are qualified in design and construction and who hold appropriate insurances, www.landscapewa.com.au.

So, despite our sometimes-oppressive heat and water restrictions, you should still be able to have an outdoor space that you genuinely enjoy and adds value to your life.

Based in Fremantle, Antony designs and constructs residential gardens. See www.akl.com.au