Frond Embrace

Australian House & Garden Magazine Feature

Thank you to Australian House & Garden Magazine for featuring this recent project.

Set within one of Woollahra’s distinguished heritage streetscapes, this garden reimagining was guided by a desire to create a landscape that feels quietly embedded within its surroundings. Rather than competing with the home’s elegant architecture, the garden extends its character outdoors, bringing a sense of softness, permanence and ease to the experience of the property. The project reflects the considered approach of Sydney landscape designer, Adam Robinson, balancing architectural form with a richly layered planting scheme that feels both timeless and deeply connected to place.

Planting plays a central role in shaping this atmosphere. A restrained yet richly textured palette introduces movement and seasonal nuance, tempering the formality of the built structure while enhancing its enduring presence. Layers of foliage and subtle shifts in tone create depth and rhythm throughout the garden, allowing the landscape to feel both composed and gently evolving over time.

The home’s north-facing orientation provided a strong framework for the design. Existing Japanese maples, long established within the garden, were retained as key elements, contributing structure, seasonal beauty and a sense of continuity. Along the boundary, a mature gum tree extends the garden’s connection to the broader neighbourhood canopy, grounding the landscape within the leafy character of Woollahra.

Working within an established setting called for a measured approach. Rather than reinventing the site, the design focused on refinement and integration, carefully editing and enhancing what was already present. New planting has been woven through the existing landscape, creating a garden that feels cohesive, resolved and deeply connected to its context.

The result is a series of outdoor spaces that feel both inviting and purposeful. Layered planting softens transitions between areas, while considered sightlines and pathways encourage a slower, more immersive experience of the garden. There is a natural flow throughout, revealing moments gradually and fostering a sense of calm and discovery.

Abundance is expressed through texture rather than excess. Generous garden beds bring richness and variation, while softened edges and relaxed forms temper rigidity, allowing the landscape to respond gracefully to changing light, seasons and growth.

With much of the original hardscape retained, the intervention focused on creating cohesion. A deep blue front fence and entrance door introduce a subtle yet defining gesture, drawing together the home’s material palette and providing a quiet sense of arrival.

The completed garden feels at once grounded and expressive — a landscape that honours its heritage setting while embracing a softer, more contemporary sensibility. It is an extension of the home that balances structure with looseness, permanence with change, and beauty with everyday liveability.

Photography Brigid Arnott
Install By Occo
Maintenance Garden Lust
Furniture Made By Tait

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