Chatswood, NSW:
It’s not often that a Japanese garden sees itself manifest so well in a completely unlikely place and climate. With an array of different outdoor ‘rooms’, this garden echoes the principles of Zen in an Australian climate while sustaining a visual and functional pleasure that transcends the seasons. Upon entry, you are greeted with a red steel moongate before entering the soft tai-chi lawn edged in corten steel. Lush planting flanks the perimeter of the garden to separate you from the neighbours. Crushed gravel introduces a Zen ground treatment where floating pavers take you to either the grand raised deck above the space or the secluded reading area overlooked by an Ornamental Pear. The Large Oak tree is retained and circled with a timber seat to bring users closer to the natural textures that equally dominant the space as do the splashes of natural colour. A bespoke water feature forms the backdrop of the entertainment area with the fluidity extending to the Koi pond that is shared by all the outdoor rooms – reticulated and filtered by hidden systems. Small outcrops of limestone boulders and Cousin it staple the garden and remain in sight as you step down the exiting stairs to this magnificent Lower North Shore abode.
