Outdoor Symphony

Every element of this well-composed modern landscape works in complete harmony

A well-orchestrated palette of materials and plants strikes just the right chord in this outdoor retreat. Designed by Steve Taylor of COS Design and built by Franklin Landscape & Design, this Melbourne garden is a symphony of warm colours and rich natural textures, punctuated by carefully chosen pieces of modern metallic art.

“A well-orchestrated palette of materials and plants strikes just the right chord”

The contemporary swimming pool is the centrepiece of the new design. The lines are clean, the blue of the fullytiled interior fresh and inviting, and the underwater ledge and wide entry steps enticing places to relax and unwind when you tire of swimming laps.
Integrated into the design of the raised masonry planter that stretches the full width of the pool along the rear boundary is a recessed Silkflow water feature. It sends a sheet of water cascading into the pool and is set in a backdrop of bluestone. This strip of stone marries with the bluestone coping and the poolside paving.

A section of the paving is of meticulously laid random stone pieces, which picks up on the random stone of the inset panel behind the water feature. Along one side of the pool, solid bluestone blocks were used, each weighing more than 250kg, which meant they had to be brought in on small trolleys.

To socialise or sunbathe poolside, there is a deck constructed of merbau timber. The same timber was used to build the slatted privacy screens and the bench seating around one corner of the deck. In the other corner of the deck, a cut-out space was used for a feature dragon tree.

The plants, which were selected for their colour and shape, are all hardy and low maintenance. The planting scheme includes lilly pillies for screening, bird of paradise in the raised planter, succulents, grass trees and mondo grass. Although the plants do not need a large amount of water to flourish, drip irrigation was installed to make the watering process simple and water-wise.
Easy maintenance was factored into the design of the pool. With this in mind, pool builders, Elite Pools, included a state-of-the-art in-floor cleaning system to keep the water fresh and clean, and solar heating so the pool could be used year-round and heated in the most environmentally friendly way possible.

The new pool, gardens and sun deck work in harmony with the existing undercover outdoor dining area and alfresco kitchen at the rear of the house. Frameless glass pool fencing ensures a clear view and sense of connection between each outdoor area.

WORDS: Karen Booth PHOTOS: Patrick Redmond