This quarter acre section once was split unevenly into three sections serving three 75 sqm units. The present owners, having gradually acquired all three Art Deco units, converted them into a single home and office for their business, which meant that the 1100 sqm land could be united into a single garden. 

The site sees the land sloping steeply down to the house facing south. It was infested with pine trees, agapathas, hawthorn, and kikuyu initially. Quite a challenge. 

The design brief was to convert the slope into a productive yet beautiful ‘city lifestyle block’. Based on Permaculture principles, Wadhamville Garden for Wellbeing has been designed to be alive, abundant with food, medicine, wildlife, healthy soil, and plant diversity yet relatively low maintenance. 

The designer, Amanda Warren, developed the garden whilst studying Permaculture and Regenerative Design, bringing in zones that could provide food, medicine, and pleasure without a great deal of work. Each area is designed to support each other and thrive without too much intervention. Working with nature means that the various inhabitants of the ecosystem perform many of the required functions. The Ruth Stout Gardening without Work, no-dig method takes care of water, nutrients, and weeds. 

Over 40 steps take you through each zone, allowing many different routes through the garden, a favorite device of Tom Stuart Smith, which allows the user to follow their own desire path. 

Zone 1 comprises the ‘easy reach’ from the house area, frequented many times a day. This lends itself to herbs, salads. Food is grown in with ornamentals for beauty, including many herbs for teas. 

As you move up through the garden, you meet the herd of rescue Guinea Pigs, whose job is to ‘mow’ the lawn on the first terrace, bees, and then vegetables open out on the second terrace (Zone 2), and the third terrace (Zone 3) takes you to an orchard training to be a food forest and the chickens, who provide daily eggs and fertilizer. A she shed rewards the climber with a gas-powered jug for herbal teas. 

The garden is full of surprises, such as the ‘Bath Terrace’, a sustainable alternative to a spa, and a ‘Flowform’—a magical Rudolph Steiner-inspired water feature that energizes the atmosphere. Don’t miss the tortoise garden, which encourages you to slow down and meditate on one of the many insect hotel seats made from recycled materials.

Wadmanvill Garden for Wellbeing pdf (1.7MB)