Snow Pear Garden
Guy and Jeanette Cooper asked garden designer Peter Fudge to create an instant garden that was low maintenance, and in keeping with the style of their newly renovated house. Peter’s stunning design takes its influence from the formal gardens of France. The garden looks good all year round because it relies on dramatic foliage contrast, rather than on flowers. The dominant feature is an avenue of snow pears (Pyrus nivalis). These hardy trees grow to about 10m (30′) and have attractive silvery/grey leaves. They grow well in Perth, Adelaide, Sydney, Melbourne, Hobart and the mountains.
Peter has used bands of massed plantings to soften the front of the house and the driveway areas. Small periwinkle (Vinca minor) cascades over the stone walls, in front of gardenias (Gardenia augusta ‘Florida’), Gymea lilies (Doryanthes excelsa), arum lilies (Zantedeschia aethiopica), sasanqua camellias (Camellia sasanqua), and conifers (x Cupressocyparis leylandii ‘Leighton Green’).
A side garden features white sasanqua camellias (Camellia sasanqua ‘Setsugekka’) and a formal mini parterre. Lilly pilly cones (Syzygium australe ‘Elite’) surrounded by squares of box hedging give a very formal feel to the back garden.
Guy and Jeanette love the garden, and use it just like another room of the house. They find that it is the perfect place to relax and enjoy the company of their children and grandchildren. Although it is not as low maintenance as they would have liked, Jeanette finds clipping all the hedges once a month very therapeutic.
Contact information
Peter Fudge Garden Design
294 Sailors Bay Road
Northbridge, NSW, 2063
Phone: (02) 9958 4819 Fax: (02) 9967 4034 Web: www.peterfudgegardens.com.au