While the Burke’s Backyard team was in Chiang Mai they visited a private tropical retreat. It was a rare privilege to see one of the best private gardens in Thailand and there’s a lot that Australians could learn about garden design to adapt to our country.
In the hot and humid climate of Thailand, which is similar to parts of Australia through most of summer, there is a need for ventilation and shade. The structure of the house involves a series of pavilions around the property. The main pavilion where the Van Outrives live is a mixture of various bits of Asia, with influences from Thailand, Bali and Japan combined together with lots of modern elements. The roof looks traditional but it’s made out of steel and not timber. The contemporary tropical houses combine the traditional and modern features to achieve their goals. Surrounding the pavilions is a series of fish ponds that provide a cooling effect, as well as maintaining a cohesive design. All the ponds have recirculating filtered water with fittings that aerate the water as it returns, an engineering feat.
The garden pavilion achieves what few gazebos achieve in Australia. There is a high tiled roof that allows air movement through the generously sized pavilion that comfortably fits a large table and chairs. The outlook across the garden and water features is beautiful and at night it is lit up subtly so that it is both useful and enjoyable. The garden is like a garden of Eden with tropical plants like heliconias, frangipanis, philodendrons and ferns. Most of the garden is green but interesting foliage creates a restful, calming effect. The garden is dotted with a mix of Asian style achieved by the use of Balinese, Thai and other statues and carvings to complete the tropical Asian feel.
Australian examples
That Thai or even Balinese feel translates well to Australia. The trick in creating those sort of gardens is to have lots of lush greenery, coloured foliage plants, meandering paths and some pavilions.
Ann and Graham Humphrey’s garden, Brisbane, Qld
Landscape designer Annette Irish created this tropical oasis on a standard-sized, suburban block. A Balinese-style pavilion overlooking a pond is the perfect place to sit and relax, because even on the hottest of days it is cool. Unlike gazebos, pavilions have free access all around and they’re very livable. The palm collection includes specimens of foxtail palm (Wodyetia bifurcata), MacArthur palm (Ptychosperma macarthurii), princess palm (Dictyosperma album), Cuban royal palm (Roystonia regia) and golden cane palm (Chrysalidocarpus lutescens). The garden also features cycads and ferns, plants with colourful foliage such as crotons and cordylines, and flowering plants including heliconias, bromeliads, orchids, tropical bulbs and ixoras
Caroline and Jack Linschoten’s garden, Sydney, NSW
Caroline and Jack Linschoten built an impressive thatched pavilion, complete with Indonesian style furnishings, a bar and a dining area, in their own backyard. The pavilion, which is open on three sides, has become a peaceful oasis where Caroline and Jack can unwind at the end of a hectic day. It has a total feeling of space and is comfortably able to accommodate up to 15 guests at a time. The merbau timber used in the frame is a hardwood imported from Malaysia, and the thatched roof is the same dried grass used on many roofs in Indonesia. The grass, ‘Alang-Alang’, is waterproof and filters heat from the sun, reducing the inside temperature by 10-15 degrees.
Rene Hundscheidt’s garden, Brisbane, Qld
The sound of water running and bubbling from nine water features gives a feeling of peace and tranquility to Rene Hundscheidt’s garden. Visitors almost seem to float as they walk on stepping stones leading across a pond to the front door of the house. The large, thatch-roofed pavilion is made from coconut wood imported from Bali. Rene has also imported a collection of statues and artefacts to give his garden an authentic Balinese feel. At night the garden takes on a whole new ambiance, when it is illuminated by more than one hundred 12-volt lights and gas flares. Well-established palms form the basis of the garden, with an understorey of colourful foliage plants such as crotons, cordylines and bromeliads.
Dennis Hundscheidt’s garden, Brisbane, Qld
Although this garden is only the size of a normal suburban block (around 1000 square metres) its clever design makes it appear larger. The garden framework is provided by more than 100 palms, which are underplanted with massed tropical foliage plants such as crotons, cordylines and bromeliads. Several species of clumping bamboo are also featured in the planting scheme, including the giant Buddha’s belly (Bambusa vulgaris ‘Wamin’). The use of bright, vibrant colours and the sound of running water from many water features create a feeling of happiness and good karma in this garden. Balinese statuary and ornaments complete the effect, which is both exotic and very private.
Arkie Whiteley courtyard
Landscape designer Made Wijaya chose an Asian-inspired tropical theme for this tiny courtyard (3.1m x 1.9m) belonging to the late Arkie Whiteley. Arkie wanted a modular, changeable garden, so Made put in a wooden base of treated pine and left all the plants in pots. Concrete slabs were laid to form a pretend path leading through the garden towards a mirror-backed wall medallion. This creates the illusion of depth, as if the path leads to another courtyard beyond. A Balinese lantern was positioned on a Hebel block and wired for 12-volt outdoor lighting. Plants used in the design included bamboo, calatheas, cordylines, palms and ferns.
Further information
For information on garden styles from all around the world, visit the extensive archives section of the Burke’s Backyard website.
For information on open gardens in your area, consult the Australia’s Open Garden Scheme Guidebook 2003/2004, or ring the AOGS Information Line on 1902 261 026.
Annette Irish
Landscape designer
Phone/Fax: (07) 3285 5886
Mobile: 0419 775 736
Email: [email protected]
The Humphrey garden, 55 Gloucester Crescent, Bray Park, QLD, t is open to the public on March 13-14, 2004 with Australia’s Open Garden Scheme. Phone 1902 261 026 closer to the date of opening.
Rene Hundscheidt’s garden ‘Taman Air’, 12 Furorie Street, Sunnybank Hills, Qld will be open November 1-2, 2003, 10am – 4.30pm and November 7-9, 2003, 7pm-9pm with Australia’s Open Garden Scheme.
Rene Hundscheidt imports and sells pavilions, artefacts and authentic statuary to garden enthusiasts who want to create a Balinese atmosphere in their own backyards. Phone (07) 3219 5454.
Dennis Hundscheidt’s Tropical Garden, 173 Young Street, Sunnybank, Qld. will be open February 27-29, 2004 with Australia’s Open Garden Scheme.
Dennis Hundscheidt, Palmyra Landscaping and Design (07) 3345 6836 or 0408 073 780.