D E S I G N & I N N O VAT I O N
the scene N O W I S T H E T I M E T O S TA R T E N J O Y I N G Y O U R P R O P E R T Y ’ S B A C K YA R D . G O O M L A N D S C A P E S O F F E R S O M E G U I D I N G P R I N C I P L E S O N H O W T O A D D B E A U T Y A N D VA L U E , A S T H E Y S H O W C A S E T H E I R R E C E N T AWA R D -W I N N I N G W O R K I N T H E H I G H C O U N T R Y.
HARDY NATIVE PLANTING
These New Zealand native plants deal well with the extremes of wind, sun and snow – and look great too!
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n Canterbury, we know all about the harsh environmental conditions of our weather. Just in the last couple of months, we have been subjected to an array of punishing weather conditions. Landscaping in a way that minimises these is vital. For example, wind can shut down many an evening’s entertainments, so creating shelter from wind is crucial to getting the most of your outdoor spaces. In the case of their recent Terrace Downs project, the team at Goom set about dealing with the 100 km/hour winds synonymous of the area by carrying out some creative planting and hardscaping. The materials, soft and hard, had to survive these extremes. Jessica Staples, senior landscape architect at Goom, explains more.
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NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2020
“There are many days when being outside in the high country isn’t a pleasant experience. The grand vistas have to be enjoyed from the protection of the indoors, and the landscape design needs to be in the foreground of those views,” Jessica says. This project shows how good design reacts to the specific requirements of the setting. In addition to the hardy native planting, underground heating was installed to prevent snow and ice sitting on the driveway. The key is to use your surrounds as a feature. In urban projects on the flat, there may be no view, or if there is, it might be into the neighbour’s adjoining property. So, screening and landscaping are crucial.
