With the onset of cooler weather, now is the perfect time to prepare your Perth garden for a transformation. We will be looking at some of the most popular landscape design elements trending in Perth right now to turn your garden into an oasis.
1. Upright post screens and fences – a stylish alternative
An upright post fence can provide a privacy screen, delineate a boundary, or create zones in your garden to entice further exploration. As a stylish alternative to glass, upright posts can also enhance your pool surrounds. Vertical posts preserve visibility while making a stylistic or architectural statement about your home.
There are several materials you could consider for this purpose, depending on your taste and budget:
- Vertical timber screening – When hardwood timber such as spotted gum or western red cedar is cut into thin profile batons, the effect is modern and contemporary, allowing for a flow-through breeze.
- Large format wooden posts or batons can be utilised for pool fencing if the gaps and height are within the range to meet pool safety regulations. The sturdy posts can be fixed directly into the ground or raised and set in concrete. However, this pool fence style can be more expensive than glass.
- Corten Steel – a low-maintenance fencing material that requires no treatment and can offer a unique industrial or rustic aesthetic when used as vertical privacy screen panels.
- For a contemporary look that may be more durable than timber, the geometric lines of treated steel poles can set off the modern pool and allow for visibility. When combined with a partial glass pool surround, this look can highlight the area.
2. Naturalistic garden planting – inspired by nature
Sprezzatura is an Italian word meaning “studied carelessness” or achieving an aesthetic which hides the conscious effort behind it. A naturalistic garden design has sprezzatura. It is a garden where every space is filled with plant choices that blend perfectly. If you didn’t know better, you would think it a natural occurrence.
It’s all in the design, and the trick is in arranging the planting palette in such a way as to look like it has occurred organically. The layout mimics the natural self-seeding and spontaneous spreading that occurs in nature.
Naturalistic garden planting has grown in popularity and is inspired by the natural environment. An evocative naturalistic garden design goes beyond planting just native plants; it usually features a layering of diverse textures and colours created in any style of habitat you desire.
If designed and planned with consideration and an eye for detail, this garden style should remain low maintenance while also benefitting the environment. The diversity and overall coverage of plants protect the soil, which means less weeding and garden maintenance for you.
3. Beautiful, low-maintenance gardens – more time for yourself
Suppose you love entertaining outdoors but find you are too busy and not inclined to garden or prefer the minimalistic aesthetic of a contemporary landscape design. In that case, a low-maintenance garden can reflect your lifestyle without sacrificing beauty.
Your landscape designer can achieve a lush green landscaped oasis with some careful planning and high-quality plant selection and materials. What better design than a contemporary style garden where outdoor living is an extension of your home?
Here are some structural ways a contemporary style landscape can be designed to reduce planting areas:
- Create entertainment areas with timber decking and permanent garden furniture
- Use vertical wooden poles to create feature walls or boundaries.
- Pave areas of your garden with natural stone or steppers – The ratio of planting space to patio areas can be reduced without sacrificing style and beauty. If you would like to read more about stylish paving styles, see Our Favourite Pavements for Perth Outdoor Spaces
- Install decorative structures such as water features or a fire pit – ideal for most modern garden designs.
- Reduce lawn areas or get rid of lawn altogether.
- Consider quality artificial turf – If you still want some green space.
- Furnish your garden with pots – Well-placed pots are beautiful and can eliminate weeding.
- Consider a mature feature tree – natural shade and low maintenance beauty.
Your landscape designer can recommend various low maintenance but stunning plants to populate and transform your garden. The possibilities are endless, from Australian native grasses and flowering plants to succulents and lush poolside plantings that utilise trees and shrubs that don’t drop leaves.
4. Hamptons style landscapes – A popular Perth choice
In contrast to low maintenance gardens, Hampton’s style landscape designs are very popular in Perth. A typical Hamptons style garden design features a manicured lawn, soft ground cover, natural limestone walls, and topiary hedges. Plants such as climbing roses, gardenias and hydrangeas are common plant choices.
Features to consider in a Hamptons style landscape:
- Swimming pool
- Outdoor shower
- Pergola
- Decking
- Outdoor pots and planters
- Mature feature tree – deciduous
If your home is exposed to harsh conditions such as coastal winds, the Hamptons style landscape may not suit your location. These gardens require regular maintenance and watering to keep everything looking just so. Clients who request Hamptons style landscapes often engage a gardener to perform the bulk of the ongoing maintenance.
5. Fully tiled concrete pools – What are the advantages?
When you decide to install a pool, there are many alternatives to consider, including the size, shape, and material you wish to use. Fully tiled concrete pools have been popular among Perth homeowners due to their sparkling visual appeal and flexible installation options. A fully tiled concrete pool may be a more significant initial outlay than a fibreglass pool, but the long-term advantages can save you money in the long run.
The advantages of a concrete pool:
- Fully customisable – There are limitless sizes and shapes and configurations
- Can be changed and updated easily – new tiles, a different shape
- Structural integrity – Concrete is durable and proven in the marketplace
- Any coating or fixture can be attached to concrete
Why tiles?
Aside from the aesthetic beauty that can be achieved by installing a bespoke fully tiled concrete pool, there are additional advantages to selecting tiles as your choice of pool lining.
- A fully tiled pool is considered the highest standard of finish a pool can have.
- Tiles are smoother, colourfast, and less chemically reactive when compared to fibreglass or alternative concrete finishing.
- Colours and designs are limitless.
- Partial tiling combined with a more cost-effective lining can also be an option.
You can read more about luxury poolside landscaping ideas here.
6. Green roofs – green your building
From the turf roofs in Scandinavia during the Viking times to the Hanging Gardens of Babylon, green roofs go back in history thousands of years. The contemporary green roof is a popular landscape feature in modern architecturally designed urban buildings in Europe, where they have been mandated in some cities. If you choose to have a green roof on your Perth home, it can provide a visual impact while improving the efficiency of your dwelling.
What is a green roof?
A green roof supports living vegetation and is positioned on the roof surface of a building, either flat or pitched. A growing medium (soil) is placed over a waterproof membrane and planted partially or wholly with vegetation. Planting choices on your green roof can range from a lawn to a forest, depending on the depth of your planting space.
The benefits of having a green roof in Perth:
- Reduced energy costs – cooling and heating
- Reduced stormwater runoff
- Improved sound insulation
- Habitat creation
- Increased biodiversity
- Aesthetic
Green roofs can be accompanied by another landscaping element, green walls, where internal or external vertical structures are designed to support vegetation covering using stacked pots or growing mats.
While they require significant planning and preparation, green roofs and walls are a lovely way to add planting and visual impact to a landscape with minimal planting space while benefiting the environment.
7. Natural stone and stone walls – for a traditional look in your Perth garden
There are many practical reasons you may need a wall constructed in your garden. First, a retaining wall must be sturdy and functional, but there is no reason it can’t also be beautiful to look at.
A professionally constructed natural stone wall can add value to your Perth home while preserving the structural integrity of your property. In addition, hand-cut stone can evoke a rustic look in your landscaped garden. When combined with planting and complementary paving, this natural finish will add a unique texture to your landscape.
What is Natural Stone?
Natural stone is defined as organic rock quarried from the earth and used for building or decorative purposes. There are many local and imported natural stone options available in Perth.
Ways you can use Natural stone:
- Retaining walls – a natural stone wall will enable drainage while keeping soil and plants contained
- Patio paving – solid and durable, and easy to maintain
- Walkways and steps – natural stone is durable and can be interspersed with ground cover
- Japanese style gardens – pebbles or river stones for a calming aesthetic
- Make a statement – large boulders can be a unique feature in your garden
- Outdoor spa surrounds – for a natural spa experience
- Water features – river stones
To achieve any of these popular design elements in your Perth garden, make an appointment with one of our landscape designers early in the process to ensure that you achieve the best results. TDL’s landscape architects and designers can not only advise you on your design element choices but will take a comprehensive approach to the design and construction of your whole landscape. TDL is uniquely placed to take you from initial sketch to construction completion and maintenance, with a team of skilled and professional designers, landscapers, and horticulturalists. Get in touch today to discuss your landscaping requirements.