Acton House: Saul Eslake’s heritage manor with garden to match

This heritage Georgian manor was exquisitely remade for modern living. And the landscape master plan was just as impressive.

Blend of old and new: the house sits on a 6.6ha block. Pictures: Playstreet

Acton House is a heritage-listed, 1826 Georgian residence on 6.6ha, 20 minutes’ drive east of Hobart. The surrounding semi-rural suburb of Acton Park takes its name from the historic estate, which economist Saul Eslake and his wife Linda Arenella bought in 2013. For landscape architect Carl Turk, designing and implementing a landscape master plan was an exciting project to kick-start Playstreet, the practice he had just established with business partner Miriam Shevland.

Architects Circa Morris-Nunn were engaged to create a family home that would mark Eslake’s return to Tasmania in 2015 after 30 years. Two new wings at the rear of the house incorporate salvaged stone and massive timber beams, adze-cut by convicts, from the tumbled-down 1820s barn. Responding to that adroit blend of old and new, Playstreet created a landscape that respects the heritage values of the property while offering a series of contemporary spaces to enjoy in all seasons. The result has recently won the Gardens category of the Tasmanian Landscape Architecture Awards.

The plantings are full of textural interest

At the front of the house, the initial challenge was to work with the existing mature trees and hedges while opening up water views to Frederick Henry Bay. Playstreet designed a new and subtly detailed entry to the home that still retains the look and feel of an elegant arrival to a grand country house.

At the rear, the contemporary courtyard between the two new wings was a blank canvas where Turk says they could “take more risks”. The main feature is a distinctive stacked wall using stone salvaged from the barn juxtaposed with newly cut stone from a local quarry. “Our thinking here was influenced by the way stonemasons stacked vertical slabs in the quarry yard,” he says. “The wall transitions from vertical stacks, through a line of collapsing ‘dominoes’, to flat stepping stones.”

Hard landscaping

Throughout the construction phase Turk was frequently hands-on, acknowledging Earthworm Landscaping’s collaboration as crucial to getting the details right. Generous garden beds contain a mix of trees, shrubs, perennials and succulents selected with assistance from Lindy Campbell of Island Herbs to provide rich contrasts of colour, texture and structure. From the courtyard, an informal planting of native and exotic trees forms a viewing corridor out to the landscape of Mount Rumney and the Meehan Ranges. Irrigation water for the gardens comes from six 23,000-litre water tanks, fed from the roof catchment.

The “falling domino” effect

Salvaged stone walls that soak up the sun surround the extensive kitchen garden, while monumental stone slabs, found weathered at the quarry, are key paving elements around the home. The master plan includes areas yet to be developed such as a permanent lake, winter garden, wildflower meadow, walking trail and gardens around two guest cottages on the property.

For Turk, it’s been a joy to see the property evolve since 2013. “We were out there recently and saw how the garden is thriving,” he says. Adds Shevland: “To get a project looking like this does require money and commitment, so getting recognition through awards is especially exciting for us in Tasmania because there just aren’t many projects like this.”

The garden is thriving. Picture: Playstreet

Q&A

Lately when I lift the compost bin lid there are dozens of worms around the bin’s rim. Why? Barry Powells, Coffs Harbour

Worms can enjoy the condensation that develops when the bin’s warm, humid air comes in contact with cold plastic – or they might just be rogues that like a bit of travel. A mass exodus of worms, though, could indicate the compost is too wet or too acidic (if so, add more fibrous, dry materials and a sprinkle of garden lime), or has insufficient ventilation.

My grass tree has a flower spike. Should I cut if off when it finishes? Should I remove the dead leaves on the lower trunk? Is it good to water with a brown sugar solution? George Thomson, by email

When the flowers along the spike have all died, it will fall out naturally or you can cut it at the base. You can trim off the lower “skirt” of dead leaves if you want a neater look (tie the green leaves up together, out of the way) but in nature they hang there or get burned off in bushfires. No definitive studies have proven sugar solutions will benefit plants; they can be detrimental.

Every spring and summer hordes of tiny grey weevils appear at night to disfigure a range of plants. An environmentally friendly solution would be bliss. Wolfgang Koehler, Lyndoch, SA

Adult weevils are mostly 7-12mm long and have a distinctive, extended “snout”. They munch vegetables and ornamental plants, ringbarking young plants and scalloping leaf edges; the larvae eat roots. Chooks, ducks and guinea fowl will hunt them out. Ensure plants are not water stressed, control weeds, rotate vegetable crops, and band trunks with sticky traps. Yates Baythroid is a registered pesticide.

The Karcher WD2 Premium cleaner

Send your questions to: [e-mail] or Helen Young, PO Box 3098, Willoughby North, NSW 2068. Website: helenyoung.com.au. The best question for September wins a Karcher WD2 Premium wet and dry vacuum cleaner worth $119