The Longueville Garden is one of our most cherished landscape design and construction projects and one that we have been captivated by and engaged with since 2008. When the clients of the Sydney property approached Joanne Green Landscape & Interior, they were already well underway with renovations to the heritage-classified home and were seeking a beautifully formed and finished landscape to complete the property. Fast-forward 12 years, and we have been able to capture and showcase how this stunning garden has matured in the years since.
An existing crabapple frames the front door while a lush garden with agapanthus, liriope, oyster plants, cypress and windflowers surrounds the verandah.
Guided by the home’s heritage features and architecturally grand scale, Director and Landscape Designer, Joanne looked to create a design that retained some of the mature and more valuable plants including mature Norfolk Island pine, jacaranda, maples, camellias and crabapple trees. The existing plants were then complemented with a diverse selection of exotics such as Indian hawthorn ‘Oriental Pearl’, Japanese box, Chinese star jasmine; and oyster plants. “We chose exotics as they were better suited to the environmental location – soil, sun, shade and aspect, but also knew they would be more manageable over a long period of time.” Says Joanne. Flowering evergreens such as azaleas, varieties of viburnum, camellia sasanquas, and magnolia were added to provide seasonal change and colour to the otherwise green-hued garden.
Liriope, Japanese box, New Guinea impatiens, camellias and crepe myrtles frame the front gate.
“It’s certainly one of our more complex and diverse gardens in terms of plant variety. The plants all complement each other and are well suited to the microclimate, which is why they have been able to truly flourish.”
- Joanne.
Mature Norfolk Island pine and other valuable plants were retained in the design.
Alongside a purposeful and well-thought-out landscape design, it was the garden maintenance over the following years that enabled the classical garden to flourish. Joanne Green Landscape & Interior’s team of horticulturists have regularly maintained the garden, from pruning shrubs and hedges, weeding garden beds and maintaining lawns to adding fertiliser, mulch and additional plants on an as-needed basis.
A topiarised camellia adds seasonal colour to the space, while the mature dracaena, Japanese maple and sago palm provide varied texture and interest.
“The client’s are garden lovers themselves, so I would have to say the success is really a team effort! I know they absolutely adore their garden and find it to be a beautifully private refuge from the busy city beyond the picket fence.”
- Joanne.
Classically styled: A garden feature surrounded with creeping fig and cast iron plant.
Plant list:
Azalea Alba Magna (Rhododendron spp.)
Camelia sasanquas and Camellia japonica’s
Cast iron plant (Aspidistra elatior)
Crabapple (Malus floribunda)
Creeping fig (Ficus pumila)
Crepe myrtle (Lagerstroemia indicia ‘Natchez’)
Layland cypress (Cupressus leylandii)
Madagascar dragon tree (Dracaena marginata)
Frangipani (Plumeria rubra)
Gardenia (Gardenia magnifica)
‘Snow Maiden’ Indian hawthorn (Rhaphiolepis indica ‘Snow Maiden’)
‘Oriental Pearl’ Indian hawthorn (Rhaphiolepis indica 'Oriental Pearl')
Japanese box (Buxus microphylla var. Japonica)
Lily of the Nile (Agapanthus)
Liriope (Liriope ‘Just Right’)
Japanese maple (Acer palmatum)
New Guinea impatiens (Impatiens hawkeri)
Norfolk Island pine (Araucaria heterophylla)
Orange jessamine (Murraya paniculate)
Oyster plants (Acanthus mollis)
Pieris Japonica ‘Temple Bells’
Port wine magnolias (Magnolia figo)
Sago palm (Cycas revoluta)
Sandankwa viburnum (Viburnum suspensum)
Silver spurflower (Plectranthus argentatus)
Spartan juniper (Juniperus chinensis ‘Spartan’)
Star jasmine (Trachelospermum jasminoides)
Star magnolia (Magnolia stellata)
Sweet viburnum (Viburnum odoratissimum)
Windflowers (Japanese anemones)
Classic favourites including New Guinea impatiens sit under an existing crabapple tree. The flowering shrub was chosen not only for its vibrant hue, but also its tolerance to shade.
For more details and images on our Longueville Garden, including the scope of the design and construction work, please click here.
To contact us to find out how we can bring a new life to your garden and outdoor area, please contact us here.
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