FAMILY TREES

Creating a child-friendly backyard was a priority for an Auckland couple

- Catherine Steel

From the lounge in Ben and Kylie Crawford's home in Auckland's Castor Bay, majestic kânuka and ponga catch your vision, leading your eye up the ascending section into the bush. Tul and kererü sing out as they dive from tree to tree.

Accessed from the living area and rear deck, Ben and Kylie's garden comprises two levels covered in artificial grass. The levels have been built around the mature trees, allowing children Huxley, five, and Mylo, three-and-a-half, easy access to the trampoline and playhouse, and free rein to roam this native sanctuary.

The garden overlooks a creek, which the couple regenerated and turned into a feature of their house design. One part of the garden leads to a spa pool and a bridge linking to the bedroom wing of the home. It is the last step in the couple's vision for the site, which they chanced upon in 2014.

When the couple first saw the land, it was underwhelming, overgrown with noxious weeds but it had beautiful native bush around the boundary and a creek running through the property.

"We were looking for a section to buy and saw this bit of land, which is big at 1397sqm and covered in mature bush close to the beach," says Ben, who won the inaugural The Block NZ season with his sister Libby, and is now co-founder of brand agency Tomorrow Studio. "While it had its challenges, we saw the opportunity to create something special."