Judi and John Denton live in the Adelaide Hills. Their garden design shows a modern approach that reflects the contemporary design of the house. This interesting garden features evergreen plants as structural elements, bold mass planting, soft grey-green foliage and low, rounded shrubbery.

The house has a solar passive design, based on modules facing north and maximising views from the windows. It overlooks the garden, which is about 10 years old and is built on the site of an old farmhouse. Stone from the original farmhouse was used to build a ha-ha (sunken stone wall), to keep the sheep out of the garden and give an uninterrupted view of the dam and gully.

Clipped mounds of shrubs such as westringia (Westringia cvs) French lavender (Lavandula dentata), diosma (Coleonema alba) and correa (Correa alba and C. baeuerienii) provide a tapestry effect and lead the eye to the beautiful rolling hills in the distance.

Don asked landscaper, Mark Barnett, for his recommendations on plants for the Adelaide region. Mark said that you can't go wrong with lavender, and westringias are great value because they're tough, fast growing and clippable. He said that if you're going for a water wise garden, think about things like acacias, grevilleas, eremophilas and succulents.

Contact information

Mark Barnett, landscaper
Mark Barnett Gardens
Phone: 0417 889 099

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