Avenue of Achievable Gardens

At the turn of spring in the alpine regions of Victoria, the snow slowly melts revealing the life below its clean white cover. Grasses spring to life; small plants begin to sprout and the true shape of the formally hidden landscape is revealed. Vast areas of rocks, low shrubs and windswept snow gums populate the horizon. Gullies team with creeks and groundcovers begin to blossom. This design serves to complement that moment by transposing its forms and composition into an urban courtyard.

This garden is for a client that enjoys the simplicity and calming nature of the high country.

Mounded earth with sculptural snow gums form the structure of the space. Clipped westringia serves as the mid-height formality, punctuating ribbons of white foliage shrubs. Underfoot, groundcovers live in the shade of a steel-grate walkway and two rocking chairs.

Sweeping lines of Poa sieberiana blur the connection between garden and sky. A nod to the ghostly texture of leafless snow gums after the harsh summer brushfires. Swathes of unmelted snow litter the corners of shady areas represented here with white quartz gravel. Long stems of grass and cheerful bursts of billy buttons interrupt the silver foliage and soften the edges of the stern metal walkway.