OUT & ABOUT
Summer brings on a lifestyle change for a Sydney family, with their garden becoming the heart of the home WORDS LOUISE McDAID STYLING ADAM ROBINSON PHOTOGRAPHY NATALIE HUNFALVAY
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SEEDLING POT AND SANSEVIERIA, GARDEN LIFE, GARDENLIFE.COM.AU. HUSK FLOOR CUSHION, THE DESIGN HUNTER, THEDESIGNHUNTER.COM.AU
out garden
Got a mismatched collection of pots? Plant them up with succulent toughies, such as jade plant and kalanchoe, aromatic rosemary and perfumed lavender and frangipani.
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V
isit the Clark family home on a summer’s eve and you’ll
likely find architect and interior designer Tash Clark (pictured above) in the garden. This leafy haven entices family and friends who regularly drop by. Tash’s backyard offers a relaxed outdoor place to dine, play or, enticingly, do nothing at all. “It’s a delight to have somewhere with an outdoor sofa where you can happily sit all evening,” says Tash, who lives here with her husband Ivan and their children Finnegan and Clancy. When summer arrives, the family flings open the doors and windows onto the garden and barely close them again until it’s gone. Their backyard in Sydney’s Rose Bay has a subtle sense of relaxed style.Visitors feel invited to put up their feet, relax on the sofa, read, or happily join those at the table for whatever project is on. Tash and Ivan quite often have impromptu visitors, whether it’s Tash’s parents, her sister or colleagues of her’s and Ivan’s. “It’s nice to have somewhere the whole family can comfortably enjoy,” says Tash. The 15-metre by 15-metre garden is enclosed by a wall that creates a secluded backyard, and once inside, the city beyond seemingly ceases to exists. The alluring mix of perfumed plants with edibles and herbs is reminiscent of the Moorish paradise gardens. As Tash says, “Remember that unbelievably hot Saturday? We turned on the sprinklers and ran around in the spray; it felt a bit like we were in a Moroccan walled garden.”
The house itself is a beautiful old Queen Anne-style property, and Tash wanted plants that were “not too traditional”, but did serve as a nod to that period. An avid gardener, she’s created a verdant and feminine secret garden. The greenery surrounds the house, and connects with the indoors. The glass doors and large windows of the kitchen and living area provide a vista onto the garden and good outdoor lighting means the family can use it at night, too. The garden follows you indoors through large, well-placed succulents potted in the living room, which feature green tones in the artworks and furniture. Over the pergola, Chinese star jasmine twines its way to create a perfumed canopy. Tash has included scented flowers in the yard, because the garden is mostly busy on afternoons and evenings - when the perfume seems to hang in the warm air. Gardenias and magnolia provide a heady scent, and a patch of aromatic herbs adds a fine, earthy contrast. When the kids run through the backyard, the pungency of the thyme and rosemary invades your senses and lingers. Tash loves pottering in the garden while Finnegan and Clancy play freely. “As a family we get a pretty big hoot out of the garden in lots of different ways,” says Tash. “Just this morning there were devastated shrieks from the boys when we found out the birds had taken all the strawberries! Lucky birds. We’ll just have to make sure there are some for us later.”
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“IT’S SUCH A LOVELY SPOT TO SIT WITH THE KIDS ON THE SOFA, AND THEN LINGER WITH FRIENDS WHILE THE KIDS PLAY AROUND”
Planted centrepiece Echeveria, crassula, kalanchoe, sedum and aeonium make a great summer tabletop display. Tash has added pretty cyclamen for a pretty splash of colour.
Succulents are so much fun for immediate satisfaction. They’re easy to propagate; just pop a cutting in soil and it will take root. You can create an instant display that doesn’t mind baking in the sun.
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HEAVEN SCENT
Bring your garden alive with perfume
Sofa Tash emphasises that you can’t furnish an outdoor space enough. Putting furniture in your garden lets people be in it, and this sofa from Eco Outdoors is ideal for relaxing and unwinding.
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Pergola Chinese star jasmine vines wind up the posts and drape over the top for natural shade in summer, then Tash cuts them back hard in winter to open up the area to be bright and sunny.
“THE YARD FEELS A BIT LIKE AN ENGLISH WALLED GARDEN, WHERE THE WARM WALLS ARE PERFECT TO GROW THINGS AGAINST”
Table Give your outdoor furniture a fresh coat of paint; a little TLC goes a long way to giving it a second life. Tash chose a soft grey that acts as a toned-down backdrop to the lively accessories on top of it.
Gardenia Shrub or groundcover with highly perfumed ivory flowers over summer
Rosemary Easy-to-grow shrub or trailing plant with aromatic edible leaves used as a herb
Star jasmine Vine with lots of intensely fragrant flowers, and glossy green leaves all year
Lavender Aromatic silver-leafed shrub that has flowers with a sweet herbal scent
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Window The expansive kitchen window opening is framed by an avocado tree that shades the house from the hot afternoon sun, and supplies fresh fruit, too!
“IT’S NICE TO HAVE SOMEWHERE THE WHOLE FAMILY CAN COMFORTABLY ENJOY”
Planting A maidenhair fern and a creeping fig form a leafy outlook. Tash warns though that the fig
GUTTER CREDIT
Edible garden Tash grows herbs (including mint and basil) near the kitchen so they’re close at hand when needed which, she admits, is usually at the last minute when she’s cooking.
‘DOT’ CUSHION AND HUSK FLOOR CUSHION, THE DESIGN HUNTER, THEDESIGNHUNTER.COM.AU
“can get out of control and kill off your garden beds given a chance”.
Quiet escape “This nook is a quiet hideaway,” says Tash. “The morning light is perfect to sit with the newspaper and a cuppa – it’s our ‘time out’ go-to spot.”
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