Winter Wonders with Earth Creation Landscapes
Pete Goodlet explores the best ways to add some warmth and wonder to your garden, including how to soften odd spaces.
Winter is when Noosa gardens come into their own. The stunning sunny days and slightly cooler temperatures make gardening a blissful pleasure. As our southern counterparts don layers of thermals to prevent the dropping off of bits and bobs, in Noosa shorts and a shirt is perfect for gardening.
To encapsulate the feeling of warmth it pays to step back and look at your garden space with a critical eye. That big white wall that may have seemed a great idea at the time might appear cold and glaring. Sure, white bounces light about but it can also make a place seem quite harsh. A deep warm colour will not only wrap your garden in comfort, but your foliage will also absolutely pop.
Don’t restrict yourself just to fence lines. Your back exterior or courtyard walls of your home can be treated with a fresh new colour in a soft stone paint.
This will add an earthy peaceful feel to your outdoor entertaining area, and you won’t need your sunnies to combat glare.
A Corten Steel feature will add a rustic solidity to your walls. Corten is a fabulous product with the patina of rust on its surface that looks better as it ages, without the material degrading any further. Perfect for our coastal location that can be harsh on metal and timbers.
Mix it up with some bleached hardwood and reclaimed posts and you can create the perfect backdrop.
The beautiful living wall (above) created by Stuart and his team at Earth Creation Landscapes incorporates Corten Steel, hardwood, and the added texture of a tumbled stone water feature. Enhanced with lush plantings of foliage plants, grasses, and climbers this wall draws your eye to it and makes the perfect focal point.
Warm up your planting with some deep purple or red foliage. Grab some bright potted colour plants to cheer up your border or freshen up your pots. Nothing says welcome more than colourful pot of flowers at your front door. And in the sunshine at your back door add a big pot of Mediterranean herbs and a few chilli plants. You can buy these quite advanced and not only are the warming to the eye they will add some heat and taste to your winter casseroles.
Remember to always wash your hands thoroughly after handling your chillies, because there are certain bits that don’t take well to the touch of searing heat! It can be quite eye watering!
Winter is a great time for planning big changes to your garden. If you’re considering a swimming pool, why not look at a heated plunge pool. This is an investment you can enjoy in winter and provides the perfect spot to stargaze with a gin and tonic in your acrylic tumbler.
Add a good solar blanket and a heat pump for perfect year-round use.
Compared to a standard sized pool, the savings in chemicals and running costs will easily cover keeping your pool heated to a comfortable temperature.
Planting choices can add a richness of colour. For a small tree it’s hard to beat one of Stuart’s favourites the Chinese Pistachio: Pistacia chinensis. Its vibrant autumn red leaves carry well into winter then drop to allow the warming winter sun. Or a copse of the stunning Betula nigra or Tropical Birch with its cinnamon-brown bark peeling to reveal a pure white trunk. Run a river of purple and bronze Heuchera underneath to set a magical scene – the native Breynia Ironstone can be clipped to form a deep burgundy red hedge for impactful screening or an informal garden backdrop. For a big splash of winter purple, the Hardenbergia violacea will ramble across the ground or up a structure, its common name of Happy Wanderer is good indication of the joy it can bring to your garden.
Now while we are talking about bringing joy to your garden, I cannot think of anything more joyful and warming than having Stuart and his team at Earth Creation Landscapes coming to work their magic on your garden.
