West Pymble
WHERE THE BUSH BEGINS
This West Pymble project sits on the edge of Sydney’s bushland fringe, where the suburbs give way to something wilder. Our landscape architects worked closely with the owners of this home by Richard Cole Architecture to deliver a native garden design that honours both the architecture and the land it sits on. The front garden greets you with structure and texture, while the rear dissolves into the surrounding Australian bush.
The front garden is anchored by a tiered corten steel retaining system, from which generous planting beds spill in every direction. Sandstone boulders were shaped and positioned to form a custom water feature and bench seating, sitting in quiet dialogue with the modernist home’s low horizontal lines, making the perfect pairing between the native garden design with this exquisite home. Circular sandstone stepping stones trace a path through the garden, with decomposed granite keeping the material language grounded and honest.
Scope
Landscape Architecture
Construction
Horticulture
Year 2024
Location West Pymble, NSW
Photography Natalie Hunfalvay
To the rear, the garden opens up and the bush takes over. A custom perforated steel staircase and walkway navigate the steep slope, light in form and designed to move through the landscape rather than compete with it. The pool sits at the base, framed by tree ferns, cycads, banksia, and Cordyline, with the surrounding Eucalypt canopy providing a backdrop no designer could improve on. More perforated steel connects the house to the garden at the upper level, with sandstone paving continuing the landscape construction throughout.
The planting palette is unapologetically Australian native garden design. Kangaroo Paw, Banksia, Grevillea, Lomandra and native grasses were selected for their resilience and their ability to connect this Sydney native garden to the bush beyond the boundary. This is a garden that knows where it is.
