Bondi backyard beauty

It's hard to take winter seriously in the sub-tropics where I live. Today it's 22°C. Perfect weather for daydreaming about backyard redesigns. For small block inner city living this Bondi backyard is just about perfect. Pool? Tick. Outdoor kitchen and al fresco dining? Tick. Tropical plantings including statement container plants? Tick. A bit of grass and a swing for the kids? Tick. Privacy in the middle of a bustling city like Sydney? Tick. Who needs anything more? By Harrison's Landscaping.

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A sophisticated, minimalist courtyard garden

Simple, clean lined, modern and low maintenance -  doesn't mean that this small inner city courtyard isn't a sophisticated urban oasis. Annandale landscape design by Secret Gardens.

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A modern city garden

The rain is bucketing down here. A month's rain will fall in one day as an ex tropical cyclone winds slowly down the coast. Schools are closed and even the government has sent non essential staff home. (I can't complain as many to the north of me have lost houses and livelihoods as the cyclone made landfall.) There is a silver lining to all this water falling from the skies. My garden will drink it in, the grass will turn green and my water tanks will overflow. With all this promised bounty to come I'm daydreaming of stylish urban gardens like this new design in inner-Sydney Leichardt by Adam Robinson Design in collaboration with Garden Society.

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Gardens by Nelson Byrd Woltz

The temperature has risen here about 30°C and I am dreaming of all the things I would love to do in my yard once the piles of snow melt away. My husband has made an absolute mess of the front yard by parking his work pick-up plow truck right on the front lawn so I am preparing myself to die of embarrassment when the snow is gone and we are left with a mud pile (not helping at all that we live on a very busy road). As soon as I get this post completed I am stashing a bunch of these photos away for reference. These gardens, walkways, backyards and rooftop patios by landscape architecture firm Nelson Byrd Woltz (located in Charlottesville Virginia and New York City) are soooooo beautiful. The outdoor space above is magical - I love grasses and very "feathery" plants that look like cotton candy.  

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Louvers

The garden is a stylish inner city oasis of grasses, climbers and exposed brick. And then you notice that the back gate/wall is made of adjustable louvers. Clever! Parkville garden by Eckersley Garden Architecture.

Photography by Jeremy Blode