The design brief was to follow on from the ethos which underpinned the design of the house: two black boatsheds linked by a concrete gallery, sitting on a full section running directly down to the water’s edge of the upper Waitemata Harbour, with immediate views of Meola Reef receding to the Harbour Bridge.

The clients wanted to create a relaxed beachside feeling, with the property unfenced, open to the street, and also to develop the potential of the waterfront location.

Three distinctive elements informed the garden design: the flat grassed front yard, the gently sloping ground flanking the two connected ‘boatsheds’, and the steep seaward part of the property, dominated by two large oaks and invasive bamboo, which was a complete visual and physical barrier.

The owners love native trees and plants, wanting to encourage more birds, and needing a small area for herbs, some citrus and enough feijoas to eat.

Rosie the Lab had to be allowed to roam.

They wanted the large bank which tumbles to the sea to be cleared of bamboo and weed species and replanted with the ability to gain access to the water to carry kayaks. A lounging deck from which to commune with the ever-changing tidal aspect was also a priority.

The appropriate response was to sympathetically enhance the architecture of the house and the unspoilt beauty of the site.

Design elements are a timber boardwalk and series of steps hugging the transition between the two boatsheds and incorporating a productive planter, citrus and feijoas.

A gently curving series of sleeper steps negotiates the slope to a large lounging deck.

From roadside to water, the planting features titoki, kowhai, coprosmas, ribbonwoods, flax, astelias, drifts of native grasses and ferns, mass plantings of three muehlenbeckia ground covers and highlights the delicate tracery of our divaricating plants.

What has been created is a peaceful, simple and natural garden, gathering the property from the sides and flowing down to the water.

A sculpture installation by Anton Forde was commissioned for the site after completion of the garden. Visitors will be able to experience the haunting beauty of this site specific series of figures and learn the story behind Anton’s inspiration.