Our client was undergoing demolition of their old home replacing it with a beautiful, well-proportioned Tuscan style family home. My client wanted to be able to enjoy the garden visually from within the home as much as taking pleasure from being within it. It had to hold a semi-tropical feel, with plantings which did not require high attention. Space to spread out with family and friends was important whilst being an area for private rest and relaxation.

The design of the home, and indoor fixtures and finishings, needed to be absorbed within the garden design to create a seamless experience. The design naturally created a sense of passage and the garden needed to provide the framework for free flow from space to space. A tropical reserve was situated beyond the back garden making it imperative to use this visibly to the full. The garden was to be a resort style space giving maximum scope for entertainment yet letting the garden entwine visually with the reserve creating a living Trompe L^`oeil effect.

As you arrive at this home you are instantly transfixed by the way the home and front garden is woven into each other. The path gently leading you to a magnificent set of floor to ceiling wrought iron gates which, whilst supporting a beautiful Bougainvillea, offers glimpses of the homes sturdy double doors and molded columns. The paving, soft in its appearance, leads you through the gates whilst the Clivia miniata continues the garden on. As you reach the door your eye is drawn to a secret courtyard embraced with scrambling Trachelospermum jasminoides ‘Star Jasmine’ through wrought iron wall frames and Liriope muscari tickling the paving’s edges.

As you enter the home you are transfixed by the elegant ambiance of the home with the distraction of the flowing voile curtains moving in the breeze. Occasionally a wisp of wind catches the veils sufficiently enough to offer a teasing glimpse of the garden beyond, its rich colour of the tropical plantings and the magnificent contrasting blue from the pool. Walking closer to the curtains you find yourself submerged into an ambiance of peace and tranquility. The garden setting offers you instant rest finding your eyes skimming across the water towards the water cabana. You cannot help but hear the quite sound of falling water and your interest is aroused. Your eyes continue to follow the line of the pool. You see the pool disappearing around the side of the home realizing there is more to this pool than first meets the eye. Underwater seating ledges support spa jets generating a massaging seat whilst your legs just hang weightlessly in the water. In part, the pool’s water just flows effortlessly over the edge of the infinity edge. Curiosity causes you to see further and as you get as close as possible without entering the water you see there is more.

Not only does the infinity edge pour over into a private spa pool, offering total peace and privacy, but you find you are surrounded by lush tropical plantings of the Alpinia zerumbet ‘Shell Ginger’, Cordyline australis ‘Sago Palm, Dypsis lutescens ‘Golden Cane Plam’, Bambusa chungii and the bold shiny leaves of the Magnolia with its white plate size flowers to name a few of the plantings. Neatly placed within the plantings slightly lower than the main patio lies a board walk pushing its way through the plants and allowing you to get amongst it all. Descending on to the board walk you see it offers you a path to the cabana to enjoy the seating awaiting you. As you sit down leaning back you become consumed by the sound of the birds, trickling water, whispering leaves. There before you with music floating across the breeze provided by the hidden outdoor entertaining system you are presented with the entire visual treat of the pool, garden and new home illuminated by the discreet lighting throughout the gardens. A space to escape and recharge and unwind.