A Palm Springs inspired garden might seem an unlikely fit for the cool climate and historic streetscape of Daylesford. For this modernist home, however, the brief was to create a garden that brought the warmth, curves and playful character of Palm Springs into a distinctly local setting.
With almost the entire block occupied by the house, the front garden became the only opportunity to create an outdoor landscape. A new driveway leads to the house, while a bluestone stepper pathway draws pedestrians through the garden from the street. Planting between the steppers softens the path and makes the most of the limited space. The design also needed to accommodate our client’s love of lawn, the generous front nature strip was turfed transforming it into a lush green extension of the garden.
Viewed from the elevated outdoor living space, the garden becomes a composition of playful midcentury modernist forms. A circular lawn, curved driveway edges and pill shaped steppers echo one another, with the curves catching the shadows cast by the breeze block style front fence. Boulders extend into the lawn, creating sculptural moments while doubling as informal seating.
The small footprint required each element to work hard. The circular lawn was kept compact to maximise the depth of surrounding garden beds, while planting between the steppers increases the amount of vegetation without compromising circulation. Beneath the cantilevered balcony, hardy and ephemeral plants and grasses soften the junction between garden and architecture.
Translating the Palm Springs planting palette to Daylesford presented its own challenge. Many desert plants would struggle with the local clay soils and heavy frosts, so we instead looked to desert tones and architectural forms that would thrive. Poa labillardieri (Common Tussock Grass) and Carex comans ‘Frosted Curls’ (New Zealand Sedge) capture the sandy tones, while Buxus spheres and Eucalyptus ‘Baby Blue’ reference the sculptural forms of cacti so iconic to Palm Springs. The palette is restrained to sandy tones, greens, silvers and yellow accents.
The material palette continues the Palm Springs influence, with a light warm toned exposed aggregate driveway, crushed quartz toppings and locally sourced bluestone. Feature boulders reference the Californian desert, while large white pots along the veranda are planted with hardy native grasses. The boundary fence was painted white to lighten the narrow side spaces and complement the house.
The result is a garden that balances the playful character of Palm Springs with the realities of its Daylesford setting. Every element, from the curved lawn and bluestone steppers to the desert-inspired planting, has been carefully considered to complement the architecture while allowing the garden to sit comfortably within its broader context.
