Simon Johnson, innovative businessman and owner of specialty food venture, Simon Johnson Purveyor of Quality Foods, bought his beachside house four years ago. At that time the cottage style garden was full of roses, marguerite daisies, lavender and weeds. Simon changed the look of the house and the style of garden to better suit the steep slope and seaside location, and to make the garden easy to manage. He likes having a garden, but didn’t want to spend his precious weekend leisure time digging up weeds.
The Plants
The steeply sloping garden is terraced, and the terrace walls rendered to match the earthy colours of the house. Massed foliage plants create a spectacular but low maintenance garden. Agaves (Agave attenuata and A. americana ‘Mediopicta’) look striking in a bed mulched with coarse railway ballast (blue metal). An adjoining lawn is edged in black mondo grass (Ophiopogon planiscapus ‘Nigrescens’). Stepped beds tumble down to the roadway below, filled with ground cover bougainvilleas (Bougainvillea ‘Temple Fire’), cycads (Cycas revoluta), philodendrons (Philodendron ‘Xanadu’), spider lilies (Hymenocallis littoralis), star jasmine (Trachelospermum jasminoides) and agapanthus. Also featured are dracaenas (Dracaena draco) and dwarf pygmy date palms (Phoenix roebelinii).
Further information
The garden was designed by Brendan Lewis, phone: 0409 122 269
Simon Johnson Purveyor of Quality Foods
Shop details:
NSW
181 Harris Street Pyrmont, 2009
Phone (02) 9552 2522 or freecall 1800 655 522; fax (02) 9660 0060
Website: www.simonjohnson.com.au
Hours: Monday to Saturday 9am – 5pm 55 Queen Street,Woollahra, 2025
Phone (02) 9328 6888; fax (02) 9328 6833
Hours: Monday to Friday 10am – 6pm/ Saturday 9am – 5pm/ Sunday 10am – 4pm
VIC
12 – 14 Saint David Street, Fitzroy, 3065
Phone (03) 9486 9456; fax (03) 9486 9897
Hours: Monday to Friday 9.30am – 4.30pm/ Saturday 9am – 5pm
Distributors:
QLD
Black Pearl Caviar Foods of Quality & Distinction
36 Baxter Street, Fortitude Valley, 4006
Phone (07) 3257 2144; fax (07) 3257 2044
Hours: Monday to Friday 8.30am – 5pm; Saturday 10am – 4pm
WA
Lamont’s Food & Wine
Shop 1, 125 St George’s Terrace, Perth, 6000
Phone (08) 9321 9907; fax (08) 9321 9908
Hours: Monday to Friday 10am – 8pm