Tiers for fears

Staggered from home to harbour, a clever series of terraces, hedges and leafy canopies puts this home one step ahead of the rest

Staggered from home to harbour, a clever series of terraces, hedges and leafy canopies puts this home one step ahead of the rest

If you are fortunate enough to own a home with a view, whether it be coastal, urban or rural, there’s a very good chance your place is sitting in an elevated position. The topography in such regions is often sloping and this, depending on your point of view, can either make for an interesting garden or a total challenge as you strive to correct the slope and create areas that are level and functional. Whether you choose to keep the natural slope or terrace your land will depend on your stage in life. Parents with young children tend to crave level areas for a sporting field, a base for trampolines or a flat area for a basketball hoop. This is important up to about the age of 16 and then your teens are getting their recreational fix at school or after-school sports and not usually at home, so they care less about level space.

This property in Longueville is long and narrow and the house enjoys stunning views of Sydney Harbour. The difference in levels between the viewing platform down at the waterfront to the east and the level back garden to the west of the site is 16m. Although this is a considerable difference, the length of the site is 70m, which meant a series of terraces and steps over the site could be achieved without the garden design appearing to be too daunting or overpowering.

The west-facing back garden is 20m x 20m. A level lawn area, pool and entertaining space were cut into the sloping land, requiring one 2.5m-high wall on the boundary. To visually reduce this height, I incorporated a metre-high, 600cm-wide planter box in front of the boundary. This meant we could instantly screen the tall wall on the boundary with an advanced conifer hedge. I chose conifers because they can be easily pruned into narrow, beautifully textured green walls and don’t need to grow wide in order to provide a high screen – of between 3m and 4m – from the neighbours.

The pool laps this planter box on the south boundary, resulting in pool coping on only three sides, which instantly makes the pool appear larger as it is less defined. The back garden is the space the children gravitate to so the lawn was made as large as possible and defined by a metre-wide border of ivy. Pleached pear trees form an avenue above. The minimal planting makes a bold statement with the low green platform forming a total contrast in scale to the 4m-high pear trees, drawing the eye beneath the canopy to the pool.

To soften the terraces leading off the living areas while also adding a cooling effect to the hard surfaces and easterly sun, I designed water features and low-maintenance planting. The west terrace is cooled and softened by a large carp-filled pond with Turkish olive jars forming a fountain. A wisteria-clad Japanese pergola shades the pool.

The entry gardens also use terracing, planters and steps to combat a 3m difference in level between the front gate to the door – quite simply, a 2m-wide entry path that consists of a series of steps and landings is flanked by planter boxes on either side. These boxes have been planted with layered hedging that forms a green foundation to the house and connects it to the garden. It also provides a sense of direction to the front door.

A less formal set of steppers provides access from the driveway to the back garden. These consist of stepped paved landings travelling down a bank that has been massed with grass-like liriope. Between edge steppers, mini mondo grass stabilises the soil and further naturalises the scene. The stepped path provides access to level lawn terraces, one above the other enveloped by native ornamental grasses with timber steps connecting them. Staggered away from the house, more timber steps provide access to the viewing platform just metres above Sydney Harbour. The result is a magnificent view framed by greenery.

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