Full Pockets Bursts of greenery help a Melbourne new build feel at home.

EASY TO GROW

Gardens

Photograph by Mitch Lyons.

Designed by Neil Architecture in collaboration with Bethany Williamson Landscape Architecture, this Melbourne new build incorporates views of greenery at every possible vantage point. See the plant-infused result over the page...

PLANT-FOCUSED SPACES THAT INVITE AND DELIGHT

FULL POCKETS

With limited outdoor space, the owners of this new build were seeking ways to create views of greenery. The answer? Pocket-sized plantings at every opportunity.

STORY Elizabeth Wilson | PHOTOGRAPHY Mitch Lyons

A green-on-green palette of interesting leaf textures was the focus for landscape architect Bethany Williamson when she created pocket plantings around this three-level home. At the front entrance, she planted Japanese maples (Acer palmatum ‘Osakazuki’) underplanted with Indian hawthorn (Rhaphiolepis ‘Snow Maiden’) and New Zealand rock lily (Arthropodium ‘Te Puna’). On the rooftop above the garage, she planted hardier species, including grasses Lomandra ‘Tanika’ and Miscanthus ‘Kleine Fontaine’ with creeping boobialla (Myoporum ‘Yareena’) cascading over the edge. OPPOSITE The shady side courtyard features a silver birch tree (Betula pendula) underplanted with Plectranthus ‘Nico’, Strobilanthes gossypinus, Fatsia japonica and two types of New Zealand rock lily with Boston ivy covering the walls.

Good things come in small packages, as they say,andthetiny-but-powerfulburstsofgarden aroundthishomeareperfectexamples.When theownersofthisMelbournepropertywere buildingtheirhome,theywantedtoincorporate asmuchgreeneryastheycould.Withthehome takingupmuchofthesite,theyhopedtocreateplant-focused outlooksfromallthekeyliving spaces, and to maximise their minimaloutdoorspaces.

Thiswasreadilywelcomedbytheirarchitect,DavidNeilof NeilArchitecture,knownfordesigninghomesfeaturingin-built greenspaces.Indevelopingthefloorplan,Davidskilfullyinserted pocketsandsliversofspacededicatedtoplants,sothatmany ofthekeyinteriorshaveviewsandglimpsesofgreenery.And then he called on regular collaborator, landscape architect BethanyWilliamson,tobringeachoftheseminigardenstolife.

ForBethany,thebriefwasanexcitingone.“Thepocketsof plantinghadanimportantroletoplayinsofteningthestructure and making all the spaces more comfortable,” she says.

Withthehousespanningthreelevels,thechallengeforBethany wasthatallofthesegardenpocketsweresubjecttodifferent growingconditions.“Eachlevelreceivesdifferentamountsof directsun,”saysBethany.“Thetopterraceandtherooftopgarden abovethegaragecopsunformostoftheday,whereastheside courtyardisinshade,withfleetingsunshine.So,thisproject wasaboutmakingsureallthegardenspacesfeltcohesive even thoughtheyallexperiencedifferentmicroclimates.”

Bethanyneededtoselectdifferenttypesofplantstosuiteach space.Thekeytoachievingasenseofcohesionwasinchoosing plants with interesting leaf types. “The plant selections are different from one space to the next, so it was about making surealltheplantswereinterestingintheirownright.Thefocus wasonusingagreen-on-greenpaletteandinterestingtextures.”

Atthefrontentrance,sheplantedAcer‘Osakazuki’,avariety ofJapanesemaplethatcanhandlesun,underplantedwithIndian hawthorn (Rhaphiolepis ‘Snow Maiden’), dwarf New Zealand rock lily (Arthropodium ‘Te Puna’), seaside daisy (Erigeron karvinskianus) and blue star creeper(Pratia pedunculata). >

ABOVE Clockwise from top left Two of the ground-floor bedrooms connect to the courtyard. The outdoor dining terrace looks onto the rooftop garden via steel fin louvres. Boston ivy, dwarf New Zealand rock lily and a Japanese maple grow outside the ground-floor children’s bathroom, creating the effect of an almost-outdoor shower. A sliver of greenery – dwarf New Zealand rock lily, spur flower (Plectranthus ‘Nico’) and blue star creeper (Pratia pedunculata) – enlivens the main ensuite. OPPOSITE Every burst of greenery around the house has its own microclimate. On the top balcony, which is not shaded by the street tree canopy, Bethany planted a mix of hardy succulents and grasses. On the exposed garage rooftop, she opted for a mix of three grasses along with rice paper plant (Tetrapanax papyriferus) and Myoporum ‘Yareena’.