Avalon in Adelaide’s leafy Burnside: “A Hills garden in a suburban setting”

With its lush plantings and network of intimate spaces, this garden feels like a personal sanctuary.

Nook: one of the garden’s secluded terraces. Picture: Gareth Williams

“It feels like a Hills garden in a suburban setting,” says Nadia Matijevic of the project she designed in Adelaide’s leafy Burnside. Owners Pam Gerrard and Brian Marks named the garden Avalon after working with Matijevic to transform their steep, unusable back yard into a tranquil paradise of lush plants and intimate spaces.

The property backs onto a tree-filled reserve with a bubbling creek, and the design embraces that “borrowed landscape”, visually connecting the garden to it with a dry creek bed that meanders down the slope. A rock waterfall, timber bridge and a burbling water feature enhance the effect.

A huge English elm was the one beautiful item in the original garden. The rest was exposed rock, mossy embankments, some dead grass and a decrepit pergola. Access from house to garden was difficult. While the owners asked for an outdoor entertaining area and a blue and white theme, Matijevic envisaged a personal sanctuary where surrounding foliage makes you feel protected, yet with areas that look outwards and over the garden.

Vision: Nadia Matijevic. Picture: Gareth Williams

The result is that the back garden feels twice as large as its 20m x 20m dimensions. Gravel paths circumnavigate the space, with two strategically placed circular patios of local stone at which to pause. From a wisteria-draped pergola at the back of the house, a stone path links to the circular dining deck, which is cantilevered over a rock embankment. While it shelters under the protective boughs of the elm, it also offers views to the adjoining Michael Perry Botanic Reserve. “Each zone links to the next but has its own sense of space,” explains Matijevic.

The plants are a tapestry of texture. “Planting design is what makes the garden sing,” she says, describing it as an evergreen understorey under a deciduous canopy, with seasonal accents. A rich variety of plants – chosen to be waterwise and low maintenance – are arranged in swathes and groups that effectively disguise the steep slope and blur the boundaries.

Textures: it’s a feast for the senses. Picture: Gareth Williams

Matijevic has all this in her genes: she joined Adelaide Garden Design, the firm established in

1989 by her trailblazer mother, Margit Wright, at the age of 19. “I didn’t plan on following in my mum’s footsteps, but after I bought my first house I was constantly drawing gardens, houses and ideas,” Matijevic says. That was 23 years ago and she hasn’t looked back. The business has collected 48 industry awards over the years; Avalon won three in the 2019 Master Landscapers of South Australia awards, including Judges’ Choice for overall best garden.

“Avalon is modest and understated, and the owners adore it,” says Matijevic. “It’s difficult to describe the feel of the garden, but it feels like it has a soul – you just don’t want to leave it.”

Avalon is open April 4-5 for the South Australia Landscape Festival, a new collaboration between Open Gardens SA and Master Landscapers of SA that raises funds for SCOSA.

salandscapefestival.com.au

Q&A

Why does my basil in a large pot keep dying? It grows for about three weeks and then the underside leaves get mould on them.

Kim Patrick, Maroochydore

Fungal problems are common when humidity is high. Water in the morning rather than late in the day, and allow the soil to just dry out between waterings. Small plants in overly large pots can stay too wet so don’t let water sit in the pot’s saucer. A position with good light and air movement will help, and weekly applications of Seasol will strengthen plants.

Are ants in the garden a good thing? If not, what’s the best way to keep them at bay?

Rachael Phillips, by email

Of the 1300 ant species in Australia, only some – mostly introduced species – are considered pests. Ants are vital to seed dispersal, and aerate soil and aid in the decomposition of wood; many are scavengers or predators, and they are food for many creatures. Ants rarely damage plants directly but they protect sap-sucking pests such as aphids and scales in order to feed off their honeydew. If ants are a problem, use products such as ant sand, keep soil moist and dunk pot plants in a bucket of water.

The sandy soil in my sloping front garden repels water. I’ve been adding organic matter, soil wetting agents, mulch and groundcovers but water continues to run down the slope, taking soil and nutrients with it. What can I do?

Thora Ramsey, Bunbury, WA

To slow surface water and help stabilise the slope, add large rocks and logs across the slope. Clumping plants such as grasses, kangaroo paws and blue flag (Orthrosanthus) are good soil-binders, and tree roots will also help stabilise the slope. Soil wetters need to be replenished every four to six months.

Fiskars PowerGear X loppers.

Send your questions to: [e-mail] or Helen Young, PO Box 3098, Willoughby North, NSW 2068. The best question for March wins Fiskars’ PowerGear X loppers, worth $100.