A timeless marvel

This heritage home received a green modern makeover

- KYLIE BARACZ

This Canterbury house alone is a knockout, with its intricate heritage features and quaint, white weatherboard cladding. However, after Ian Barker Gardens took charge of its surrounding garden, it has become a vibrant, majestic delight. Featuring a modern poolside entertaining space, a verdant entryway and Japanese maple canopy, the residence now commands roadside attention.

“The active family of four asked us to transform their tired front, side and rear gardens into areas that shone,” says Ian Barker from Ian Barker Gardens. “In keeping with the flavour of their heritage home, it was crucial that the garden design be classic and timeless, with a contemporary edge.”

Ian and his team cleverly combined cottage and modern garden styles to create a lush, green garden, fit for the home’s stately Victorian facade. The style of the front entrance leans more to the cottage garden aesthetic, with 6m Acer palmatum, Japanese Maples, providing a clear and defined front yard. “Repositioning the 6m-high maples allowed us to create a simple, lush canopy, which gave our clients the clearly defined, direct access to the home they were after,” says Ian. “The sheer stature and maturity of these trees make this front garden a showstopper.”