Mediterranean Meets Outback

Earthy arid landscapes inspired this expansive Moss Vale garden.

- Kylie Baracz

Sustainability was key for this aridinspired Moss Vale garden. With its natural sandstone features and sculptural walls, each design feature was both purposeful and locally sourced.

The homeowners of this Federation-style property envisioned a garden inspired by a mix of worldly landscapes, including south-western USA, the Mediterranean and the dry Australian outback. To seamlessly blend these into an arid yet picturesque landscape, they hired Nicholas Bray Landscapes.

“This garden is a combination of a geometric pavement layout, curved sculptural walls, a firepit for entertaining, and garden spaces that are integrated with the verandah around the southern side of the house,” says Nicholas Bray, owner of Nicholas Bray Landscapes.

Featuring sandstone paving, rendered garden walls and gravel pathways stemming from steel entrance gates, this expansive garden blends beautifully with its native surrounds. Although on a main road, the heavy masonry at the home’s street frontage managed to nicely sound-proof the garden from passing traffic.

“It was basically a run-down weatherboard when we started,” Nicholas says of the original site. “There was a donkey in the large back garden and an array of rubbish and sheds scattered over the 2350sqm block. We had 80sqm of rubbish removed in the first week of work, and we worked hard to scrape the garden and house back to its bare bones. Australian Federation-style architecture from the 1930s was simple and not overdone, and we honoured that tradition in our outcome.”