olive tree makeover

We were called earlier in the summer to look at a garden that had been landscaped a couple of years ago.  The hardscaping was fine - curving raised planter beds and gravel - the planting was just wrong.  Wrong plant, wrong place.





The borders had become over grown and messey.  While all the plants were perfect in their own right, the were just wrong in this context.
There was nothing for it except a scorched earth policy.  In the interests of sustainability, the client was able to off load most of the (unwanted) plants to a friend and a couple we replanted to the front garden.



One the first thing we wanted to do was bring some colour into the garden so we painted the back fence in a lavender colour.  Then we replanted the beds with some statement olive trees - our signature plant.  The olives just look so good against the lavender background.

The client wanted an element of formality so put three very tall black terazzo planters planted with buxus balls against that part of the fence which didn't have a raised bed.  The symmetry of the three identical planters is aesthetically pleasing.



The balance of the planting palette was made up of hostas, crocosmia lucifer, purple leaved dodenea, fluffly pink bright astilbe 'sprite', dark sultry ophiopogan.  These are balanced by the more structural planting including ferns, phormiums and rounded pittosporum 'tobira'.




The garden is now a gently pleasing space.  The lavender backdrop and gentle planting palette softens the gravel and brick raised beds.




Close up showing one of the olive trees against the lavender painted fence along with the dodenea, astilbes and ophiopogon.  The upturned terracotta vessel adds a finishing touch.