North Fitzroy Project

In 2011, Ian Barker Gardens were commissioned to design and construct the front and back areas of a property in North Fitzroy.

North Fitzroy is a cosmopolitan inner-city suburb of Melbourne, Australia.

The owners, a young professional couple, were undertaking a renovation.

And they wanted to build the garden areas at the same time.

It made sense from a logistical work flow perspective.

Plus it was advantageous from a design perspective too as it allowed a seamless integration between the inside and outside areas.

With a low maintenance and a welcoming vibe in mind, Ian Barker Gardens’ design for the front garden featured a serene minimalist style water bowl, surrounded by Buxus spheres – adding contrasting greenery all year round against the light coloured bowl, outdoor setting, and front facade.

Bluestone paving played an integral part in the design, projecting an inner city feel.

Ian Barker Gardens’ brief for the back area was to create two very distinct spaces with a contemporary, naturalistic slant – an area where their clients could entertain and submerge themselves in a green oasis, and an area for their car to be off the street and avoid the headache of inner city parking restrictions.

Given the land size of this area (4.5m x 11m), Ian Barker Gardens knew it was vital that the limited space available was designed to feel as spacious as possible.

Their starting point was to ensure all boundary setback areas were used.

Ian Barker Gardens designed a counter-levered steel pergola with an architectural difference and planted deciduous Pleached Hornbeams (Carpinus Betulus) in between.

They believed it was important not to enclose the area with a hard roof structure (making it feel smaller) and to choose planting that allowed for natural dappled light to filter through.

Hornbeams were selected for this space as they grow to form a green canopy overhead – softening the hard-scape elements.

Seasonal planting, such as Helleborus orientalis ‘Alba’ and tulips were added to bring pops of colour and texture to the garden.

Entry to the rear of the property was always going to be quite tight for a car, so the roller door was built on a slight angle to make turning into this space as easy and as effective as possible.

Ian Barker Gardens’ clients were keen to add a shed for bikes and garden tools.

But they didn’t like any of the prefabricated products available.

So instead of the garden shed being something to hide, Ian Barker Gardens chose to make it a focus piece by constructing a feature stone clad wall.

That added a sense of beauty to its functionality.

The concurrent construction of indoor and outdoor work meant the clients could remove all services (such as the hot water system and air conditioning unit) their minimal outdoor space, and place their on the roof out-of-sight instead.

Decisions such as these helped Ian Barker Gardens optimize the space and achieve a design their clients loved.

Project Details

Completion date – 2011

Building levels – 1

Project Team

Design and Construction

Ian Barker Gardens

Ian Barker Gardens is an award-winning landscape design, construction and maintenance service based in Canterbury, Victoria.

Founded by Ian Barker in 1996, the Ian Barker team comes with a wealth of experience and knowledge, offering you a level of professionalism that is unsurpassed in the landscaping industry.

www.landscape.net.au

Photography

Erik Holt