There are two reasons why I am going to blog about this garden whilst it is still in the design phase, the first is that I am so excited to be designing a garden using local indigenous species to the Illawarra, the second is that this garden has a creek running through it!

I am not sure if  ‘Site specific local indigenous species’ (probably not) is even an appropriate term, however it is the only way I can convey how extremely appropriate the plants we are using in this design will be. The garden is very shady and backs onto bushland at the rear (see photo below), the creek runs down the side of the house and then across the front of the property. There are plenty of existing sandstone boulders in place that need to be uncovered, and the front garden has a native bird food forest already established.

The driveway is a bit of a mess and will be re-surfaced in sections especially the part that runs over the creek. Part of the brief for this garden is to design something that uses local  Illawarra species in order to encourage others to do the same in their gardens.

Part of the problem with designing a garden using such specific plants is the sourcing of these species when it comes time to plant. This is something I am already working on, having to  substitute plants in a few months time is not an option for this project.

Above is an image of where we will create a permeable parking bay planted out with native ground covers, the idea is that you will not even see the turf pavers underneath the ground covers.

Stay tuned for some beautiful images of Illawarra locals in their appropriate environment 😉