Spanish Mission Style
Recently we received a very interesting letter from Selena and John Roberts, who are in the process of building a magnificent Spanish Mission Style house on the Gold Coast in Queensland. This is their dream home, and Selena and John thoroughly researched the style and made careful plans before work began on the building. In fact, they made a special trip to the United States of America to look at Spanish Mission Style houses, then came home with all the ideas and inspiration they needed to help make their dream a reality. The house is basically of timber frame construction, covered with, of all things, a polystyrene product and then rendered. Using these amazing materials they were able to build their wonderful house for around $120,000 – a very low cost for such a striking result. The house is nearing completion, with its sweeping arches, tiled roofs and bell tower. However, Selena and John are worried about the garden. They describe their gardening skills as “pathetic” and feel that the wrong sort of landscaping would destroy the whole effect they are trying to create.
We asked Queensland garden designer Phillip O’Malley to come up with an appropriate garden design for the Roberts’ Spanish Mission Style house. With the help of computer graphics Don was able to show Selena and John how the finished garden would look. Phillip’s ideas included big entrance doors opening onto a driveway lined with pencil pines, agapanthus and hippeastrums. The courtyard would feature terracotta paving, a fountain, and succulents and pink mandevillas planted in terracotta pots. Instead of leaving the house white, Phillip suggested painting a strip around the base in a blue colour somewhere between cobalt and ultramarine. John and Selena loved Phillip’s design, and invited Don and the Burke’s Backyard team to pay them another visit when the new garden is finished.
Contact information
Phillip O’Malley
Garden Design Pty. Ltd.
PO Box 313
Pomona, 4568
Phone: (07) 5485 2858
Fax: (07) 5576 6495
Mobile: 0419 332 522
Web: http://phillipomalleygardendesign.com.au