Kirsti Sheldon’s award-winning Sunshine Coast garden

Kirsti Sheldon practices what she preaches. Her award-winning new build at Kings Beach on the Sunshine Coast melds the best of a beachside lifestyle with sophisticated gardens.

The Kings Beach property. Picture: Kelli Jean Black

Landscape architect Kirsti Sheldon knows all about the trend to build the biggest house possible at the expense of garden space. In designing and building her family’s new home at Kings Beach on Queensland’s Sunshine Coast, she challenged the conventional luxury holiday home style of the area by gifting most of their large block over to landscape. The project recently won Best Garden at the Australian Institute of Architecture’s 2023 Queensland Awards.

“We’d watched a number of new builds in the local area that were large, conventional spec homes that sadly didn’t appear to consider the beautiful coastal location, or the opportunities of their specific site,” says Sheldon, who owns and runs 7b Landscapes + Interiors. So when the block next door to their house came up for sale, she and husband Wayne Jenvey bought it to protect the investment they’d made in renovating their home of 10 years.

Banksia House at Kings Beach on Queensland’s Sunshine Coast. Photo: Supplied

The 1500sqm property slopes steeply south to north, down from the street, as well as west to east across the block, where the landform runs out to a headland. Sheldon envisaged that architecture and landscape should be inextricably linked, with a relaxed coastal holiday vibe.

“If we’d built a big concrete box we would have blocked a lot of people’s views and sunlight, as there’s multi-residential across the street. We didn’t want or need massive, unused internal spaces – those spaces could be outdoors,” says Sheldon. She and architect Dragi Majstorovic worked hand-in-hand on every detail so that house and landscape are seamlessly integrated.

Set back 6m from the street behind a wall, three separate, small buildings intertwine with a variety of outdoor spaces. Above a tandem garage and storage area is the parents’ retreat; on the other side of the entry breezeway is a pod with two bedrooms, each with ensuite, and an outdoor bath. Across a generous courtyard the main living pod has a large deck on its north side, leading to a lawn area for bocce or yoga.

To enhance the idea of “nature taking over”, there are random openings and cut-outs in the walls and boardwalk where plants scramble throug. Photo: Supplied

The adjacent pool is sited 1.2m above ground to negate the need for a pool fence. It’s an uncomplicated design, using a materials palette of concrete, stone and timber, all with raw finishes that will age and soften with time. Added in the past year is a studio at the bottom of the garden that brings the total area of buildings to just less than 20 per cent of the block.

To enhance the idea of “nature taking over”, there are random openings and cut-outs in the walls and boardwalk where plants scramble through. Creeping fig (Ficus pumila) is rapidly clothing the concrete walls in dense green, significantly changing the feel of the structures. Gabion baskets, filled with rocks, were chosen to create the necessary level changes to manage the slope; topped with timber, they become occasional seating. Sheldon estimates that 90 per cent of the plantings are natives, with a few exotics such as star jasmine on the courtyard walls. Rainforest trees such as lemon myrtle (Backhousia citriodora), ivory curl tree (Buckinghamia celsissima) and weeping lillypilly (Waterhousea floribunda) were planted to create privacy along the east boundary. Below the pool, medium height grevilleas, banksias and bottlebrushes were chosen to grow up to the height of pool where their flowers – and the birds they attract – will be on show. Other plants with interesting form and texture include screwpine (Pandanus tectorius), kangaroo paws, and prostrate swamp oak (Casuarina ‘Cousin It’).

The best view over the whole property is from a viewing platform, off the top of the parents’ retreat on top of the garage. “We call it the surf watchtower,” laughs Sheldon. “My husband is a keen surfer, so he can climb up the ladder to check what the ocean is doing.”

Q&A

I’m sitting in my garden, marvelling at the beauty of that “feeling” of spring. Are there any particular plants or tips to keep that feeling going over a long, hot summer?

Liz Grist, Newcastle

In spring, we welcome that first warmth after winter and the sudden surge of flowers and growth, especially on deciduous plants that were bare. That can’t really be duplicated in summer, especially when it gets hot. But you could plant some summer-flowering bulbs such as liliums, gladioli, hippeastrums and dahlias, and add colourful annuals such as petunias, calibrachoas and salvias. Shade trees are vital for summer relaxing in the garden; crepe myrtles, frangipanis and Magnolia ‘Little Gem’ flower in summer.

My three 20-year-old majestic palms are exuding a bubbly sap from their lower trunks. The smallest looks like it’s suffering from an excess of water, although that’s not the case.

Lorraine Langston, Brisbane

Palms can ooze sap from wounds to the trunk, caused by tools, insects, lightning or birds. A fungal or bacterial infection is possible – check for soft or mushy tissue around the affected area. These are not curable.

Can I train a crimson glory vine (Vitis coignetiae) or another deciduous climber on wire supports underneath a perspex pergola to reduce heat transfer in summer?

Marga Hannon, Encounter Bay, SA

Crimson glory vine is a great choice for your climate. You can train it under a clear roof cover but be aware that when plants are covered and are thus not able to be washed by rain, they accumulate dust and then pests. Ideally, hose over the foliage at least every month to help keep it clean.

Send your questions to: [e-mail] The best question for October wins Fiskars’ PowerGear X Large Bypass Lopper, designed for strength and comfort, worth $145. fiskars.com.au

Fiskars’ PowerGear X Large Bypass Lopper.