The Burke’s Backyard team visited a tiny backyard (6x10m or 20×33′) at the back of a semi-detached home. Landscape designer Graeme Greenhalgh explained the importance of colour in the garden, and how small spaces can appear as big spaces using tricks of illusion and perspective.
Colour and stripes
Blocks of colour and stripes create a major impact in this garden. The paving is striped and the back gate is a terracotta colour, but the pièce de résistance has to be the striped palm tree! The Bangalow palm (Archontophoenix cunninghamiana) is about 8m (26′) tall and is painted alternate blue and white stripes with limewash. The stripes fade in colour as they go up the trunk. This adds drama at ground level while leading the eye upwards. It also makes the palm appear much taller than it is. Painting the growth rings is Graeme’s way of accentuating the nature of the tree itself, and adding some humour and life to the garden. The stripes on the palm are reflected in stripes on the paving. The edge of the paving is curved, the edge of the lawn is curved and the path seems to lead you to the right of an urn which is off-centre. In this garden all expectations are thrown off key because nothing is where it should be. Graeme agrees that the garden is a challenge, but says that everyone who visits enjoys themselves.
Plants
Apart from the Bangalow palm, the garden is planted with cordylines (Cordyline stricta and Cordyline stricta ‘Rubra’) and some beautiful native trees including blueberry ash (Elaeocarpus reticulatus) and riberry (Syzygium luehmannii).
Garden design
Don and Graeme discussed the radical change in garden design in Australia. Twenty five or thirty years ago people just wanted plants like azaleas in their backyards, but today things are different. All of a sudden the days of azaleas are gone, and Australian garden design is at the cutting edge.
Further information
Graeme Greenhalgh, landscape designer “Tropic of Sydney”
Phone: (02) 9369 1991
Fax: (02) 9389 0273 The outdoor furniture featured in the segment was from Aero Design. Phone: Sydney: (02) 9251 6660, Melbourne: (03) 9429 4910, Brisbane: (07) 3252 3409. The table cost $385 and chairs $135 each.