Backyard renovation with a difference

By Lynne Testoni

This rear garden was completely updated to create a generous open space and new pool for a busy family.

A renovation is the perfect time to refresh the existing areas of a home, including the backyard. The owners of this suburban family home, in Sydney’s Sutherland Shire, engaged Corey Fox Landscaping to oversee a complete renovation of their rear garden with the ‘Kirrawee Coastal Project’.

With the home in the process of being renovated to a Hamptons/coastal style, the client had recently shipped a large pair of antique doors from India to be the pièce de resistance for the backyard, setting the direction and tone for the style of space.

Work included the main backyard (20m wide x 17m long), a side area (5m wide x 7m long), plus a corridor to the front of the house (3m wide x 9m long), which also provided site access.

The brief

The client wanted to create a premium, family-friendly backyard fusing tropical, classical and contemporary style planting, as well as create an harmonious flow of indoor-outdoor living with the recently renovated Hamptons-style home. The clients specifically wanted to ensure the yard was designed to draw young children outside and off screens, along with space for entertaining. The brief included the following:

• Renovate and extend an existing concrete pool to create a more functional space with a pool large enough for swimming laps, a swim-out area for children to play, and a water feature for visual interest

• Create a variety of feature gardens in differing plant styles so each part of the large space felt unique while still a cohesive part of the whole

• Introduce a variety of materials for a highly tactile and visually beautiful space

• Conceal neighbouring homes

• Create a space suitable for a trampoline (not on grass that’s difficult to mow)

• Maximise northern light to the yard and solve problems the yard previously faced with excess shade and poor drainage, leaving the yard swampy during winter

• Hide utilitarian functions such as pool equipment

• Turn the under-utilised side of the house into a functional and beautiful space

Scope of Works

The scope of work was extensive and included wall construction, decking, trampoline, drainage and plumbing, as well as turf and garden installation. The existing large, outdated concrete pool with terracotta pavers was renovated into a more modern look and feel, while a large Pinus patula (Mexican Pine tree) was removed, as it contributed to year-round full shade, poor drainage, constant leaf-litter and highly acidic soil.

The brief was to create a landscape design, material specification and horticulture plan, then deliver the project in phases to manage the client’s budget, including working with a pool builder to renovate the pool, and completing all landscaping construction works through to turf and garden establishment.

Specific construction tasks included:

• Excavation and site preparation

• Wall construction/raised garden beds including waterproofing and stone masonry

• Concreting and paving, including garden edging and stepping stones

• Trampoline basketball ring installation

• Drainage and plumbing

• Turf installation and decking

• Garden installation (including transplanting a mature 3m-high Frangipani (Plumeria acutifolia) from the owners’ parents’ place as a feature tree in the design)

Plantings

The planting schedule for the garden was extensive, with a combination of flowering shrubs, groundcovers and formal hedging, echoing the traditional style of the renovated house. A feature tree, Pyrus calleryana (Chanticleer Pear), was chosen for the centre of the new backyard, surrounded by Trachelospermum jasminoides (Chinese Star Jasmine). Formal Buxus microphylla var. japonica (Japanese Box) is featured extensively, both as hedges and as clipped balls.

Zoysia ‘Sir Grange’ turf was chosen for the lawn, accompanied by Dichondra repens between the steppers. A raised garden bed on the western side includes silver foliage, through plantings of Kalanchoe bracteata (Silver Spoons), Santolina chamaecyparissus (Lavender Cotton) and Crassula ovata (Crassula Bluebird), contrasted by the rich colours of Lavandula stoechas ‘Javelin’ (Javelin Forte Deep Purple) and Liriope muscari.

The northern boundary features Pyrus nivalis (Snow Pears), along with Murraya paniculata (Mock Orange) and is underplanted with Sansevieria trifasciata ‘Laurentii’, while the poolside garden features succulents such as Agave attenuata x A. ocahui (Agave ‘Blue Glow’) and Senecio serpens (Blue Chalk Sticks).

The final result

As well as creating extremely happy clients, the garden was recognised as a Gold winner and Best in Category for Residential Design (200sqm to 500sqm), as well as Gold for Residential Construction ($100K to $250K) at The Landscape Association’s (TLA) annual Landscape Excellence Awards in 2024. The judges said the selection of materials was modern and fresh, yet timeless. The planting enhances the garden and creates a beautiful balance between hard and soft, and adds splashes of colour.

The Landscape Association’s (TLA) Landscape Excellence Awards are the industry’s highest accolade. The 2025 Landscape Excellence Awards are now open! Enter now. To find out more about the Awards and TLA membership head to the website or contact the team directly by visiting www.landscapeassociation.com.au.