It's often difficult to keep the front lawn looking good, particularly now that there are water restrictions in many areas of Australia. Evan Gaulke of Ochre Landscapes thinks that front lawns are a waste of space if they aren't maintained to a high standard. He designed a front courtyard to replace a front lawn and provide an interesting entry to the house.

Design features The walls of the courtyard are painted a very dark grey colour (Dulux 'Penny Black'). Evan explained that in an outside situation dark walls actually make the space appear larger, unlike dark interior walls, which enclose rooms. The light green foliage of Japanese maples (Acer palmatum ‘Sangokaku’ - formerly known as 'Senkaki') stands out beautifully against the dark grey walls.
The random stone path has broken edges, drawing the visitor onto the stepping stones. A ground cover (pratia) between the stepping stones gives the illusion of space. Extra space was also created by putting in a retaining wall. Evan likes the texture and softness of curved, free-form concrete, as opposed to rendered, straight walls. A water feature constructed from recycled glass adds the soothing sound of trickling water to the courtyard. The water feature is green during the day, but with night lighting it resembles a chunk of floating ice. A well-placed garden seat gives a restful feel to the garden. Reinforcing mesh welded and bolted to the walls provides a framework for an espaliered tangelo (Citrus x tangelo).

Further information

Evan Gaulke
Ochre Landscape
Phone: 0414 439 298
Web: www.ochrelandscape.com.au

Copyright CTC Productions 2004