A cottage garden

I plan to lose myself in gardening this weekend. I certainly won't be able to lose myself in the garden. It needs so much work. I drawing inspiration from this casual garden in Ingleside, Sydney by landscape architect, author and TV host Brendan Moar. Casual but carefully planned. Low on maintenance and high on style. Is it wrong to want a fire pit so much more than a barbecue in the land of the shrimp on the barbie? A little bit cottage, a little bit native, a bit shabby chic. Perfect fit for my old house.

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Up on the roof

We have established that it is Monday. We have also established that I dream of escaping the drudgery of the work day. Perhaps the workplace wouldn't be so bad if I could spend my lunch breaks up on the roof, in a secret work garden. Get away from the everyday. Head for the hill. A green roof installation in the Melbourne CBD by BENT Architecture. Photography by Dianna Snape.

 

 

Green with envy

After a long dry winter, faced with the prospect of failed summer rains and a dying garden, I sit and stare at my computer screen green with envy. Two small courtyards by Sawyer Berson. Both in New York. Both lush, moist, marvellous. I can feel a faint mist in the air, a soft breeze ruffles the leaves in the trees while cool water naps carved stone. (You may recognise the second courtyard as Julianne Moore's.)

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Dancing grass

If this garden was mine? As the day aged into late afternoon you'd find me, glass of wine in hand, listening to the wind in the trees and watching the grass dance. Peter Fudge Gardens.

Out back in the secret gardens

Just as Australian architects and interior designers are creating fabulously stylish and liveable homes our landscape designers are reworking the concept of a patch of grass weeds and a few mismatched potted plants as urban garden. Our outdoor spaces are an extension of our homes. We spend almost as much time in outside in the warmer months as in our living rooms. The boundary between inside and out is blurred and the great outdoors isn't way out in the bush. No it's just a few steps from our back door. Whenever I need inspiration for amazing urban outdoor living I just head over to Secret Gardens. It's no secret they are the best in the business.

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