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Melbourne and Sydney do traditional gardens beautifully while Brisbane gardens can look hot and uptight when the same stringent design language is enforced. The challenge lies in successfully translating the essence of the traditional garden into the subtropics to create a garden that is at home in its environment. Formal gardens are traditionally structured with strong geometrical balance and symmetry, drawing their inspiration from the classical gardens of Europe. Subtropical formal gardens may sound like an oxymoron but they are achievable with a strict plant palette and a disciplined eye. Here are 10 tips on how to achieve a meaningful contemporary subtropical garden in the formal style, without losing the lushness our gardens are known and loved for.
1. Think about your layout Regardless of location, every great garden begins with a plan. No matter what size you’re working with, your garden will appear balanced if one side mirrors the other. Formal gardens, in particular, require this aesthetic, as they should feature symmetrical layouts of identical planting beds along an axis. It’s why creating strong bones for a formal garden is an important first step.
2. Relish the juxtaposition Using plants repeatedly within the garden creates a sense of order, and judicious repetition throughout a garden reinforces the strength of design. Typical formal planting includes manicured shrubs, clipped low hedges and large privacy screens that create garden walls. Subtropical lush planting can then be overlaid to juxtapose the rigidity.
3. Create a focal point Focal points within the garden can act in many different ways. They can add surprise and wonder, help to draw you through the garden or offer a place for the eye to stop and rest. Urns, feature planting, water features and garden art can work wonders in formal-style gardens.
4. Practise restraint Keep the variety of plants simple. Monochromatic layers of green on green are soothing and help to balance the garden. Your paving material should also be kept simple. Regularly shaped pavers add to the symmetry of a classically designed garden.
5. Swap conifer out In temperate formal gardens, vertical height is often provided by conifers, but when they are used in subtropical gardens, conifers can easily look out of place. That’s when gracious palms such as the Alexandra (Archontophoenix alexandrae)or Kentia palm (Howea forsteriana) can step in to add strong vertical structure, when used repeatedly. Another fantastic option is Elaeocarpus eumundi – it is an elegant mid-sized rainforest tree with foliage to the ground.
6. Go for tall hedges Formal gardens often contain tall hedges. They help to form the ‘garden walls’ and give strength to the design. There are many options for the subtropical garden includingbamboo species such asslender weavers(Bambusa textilis ‘Gracilis’), which can offer height and screening quickly. Another option is Viburnum odoratissimum, whichis fast-growing and easily trimmed as a formal hedge. Its gorgeous glossy leaves are in keeping with a lush subtropical garden feel.
7. Use a buxus alternative Murraya ‘Min-a-Min’ is a great subtropical substitute for Buxus japonica. It can be trimmed as a low hedge, left to grow as a medium hedge or even trimmed to a ball. Another winner is Westringia‘Grey Box’. It can also be trimmed successfully. For a looser look, Philodendron ‘Xanadu’ make beautiful, tidy low hedges.
8. Forget roses Classic flowering shrubs and trees like camellias and roses often struggle in heat and humidity. Great subtropical substitutes include native gardenia (Randia fitzalanii), Gardenia, Chinese star jasmine (Trachelospermum jasminoides) and white flowering annuals such as Impatiens. Flowering plants lend femininity and softness to the subtropical formal garden.
9. Choose underplanting heroes Effective layering techniques turn good gardens into great gardens. Liriope ‘Evergreen Giant’ wins hands down as a reliable underplanting in subtropical gardens. It looks fabulous and adds polish with very little effort in return. Variegated jasmine (Trachelospermum jasminoides ‘Tricolor’), Agapanthus, spider lilies (Hymenocallis littoralis) and walking iris (Neomarica gracilis)are also popular choices when adding finishing touches.
10. Prune lightly and often Gardens grow quickly in a subtropical climate, and a formal garden requires frequent attention to look its best. I recommend pruning lightly and often to avoid the over-lopped look. Don’t wait to trim hedges once they have exceeded their desired height – hedges that are trimmed and shaped while young will continue to look full and lush throughout their lives.
Designing a formal garden in the subtropics is not an invitation to replicate a style that is not in keeping with the place, but is rather a point of reference to begin a relevant conversation; one that draws from our past but responds to our present. With an open dialogue, subtropical formal gardens will continue to morph, change and appeal well into the future.
TELL US Do you have a formal garden in the subtropics? Show us your pictures in the Comments.