Designing the new landscape around the magnificent mature Golden Elm tree was central to the brief at our Mt Martha project. Also included on our client’s wish list for their new space was a new concrete pool (complete with maximum space for poolside lounging which was a design challenge in this relatively small space), a fire pit zone for relaxing and entertaining, lawn for the kids, and a clever way of tying all these elements together.

The lush, aesthetic space you see here was previously overgrown and unusable. The design features different zoned areas: a paved entertaining area with a custom in situ concrete bench seat, shaded areas making the most of the canopy of that spectacular Elm, sunny spots to catch the morning and afternoon sunshine, and all important: a pool to swim in.

Unlike some of our other more hardy, coastal landscape designs, Mt Martha’s plant palette is lush and green (a delightful blend of exotics and natives). The backyard had slight slope, which we dealt with by incorporating tiers within the landscape and aesthetically pleasing steps to tie each zone together both physically and visually.