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Salvia used in Vermont South landscape design

Creating your dream garden – steps before hiring a “landscaper”

December 25, 2019
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Construction, Gardens for Life, Home office, Landscape Design, Landscaping, Maintenance, Plants, Productive gardening, Scented gardens, Seasonal tips
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Posted by Parveen

Do you want to learn what it takes to create your dream garden? A space that you love to look at and spend time in?

 

We have developed a free comprehensive eBook just for you!

 

This 17-page eWorkbook will help:

  • Map out your existing garden and identify problem areas
  • Brainstorm new ideas
  • Clarify what you want before contacting a landscape designer or contractor

If you are not sure where to start, what to include in your garden and how to put it all together this eWorkbook is for you.

 

Now is the perfect time to jump in, start reading and create your dream garden!

Download the free comprehensive eBook now!

Blackburn

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Burwood

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Maribyrnong

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Brighton

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If you need further suggestions or design or plantscaping both indoors and outdoors, please contact us for an onsite 90 minute consultation. 

Refer to our packages for further detail on how we can help you in the consults and subsequently throughout your garden implementation process.

Do check out our Hawthorn project for a detailed discussion on the garden design thought process, complete with before and after pictures.

Our passion your garden! xx

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Your garden should be a safe place for everyone, i Your garden should be a safe place for everyone, including the one who thinks the flower beds are their personal buffet! 🐶🌿⁠ ⁠ October is World Animal Month; a good reminder that pet-friendly garden design is about much more than choosing a tough lawn.⁠ ⁠ Our gardens are places for exploring, sniffing, digging, sunbaking, zoomies and the occasional “What on earth have you got in your mouth?!” moment. 😂⁠ ⁠ When designing a Melbourne garden for a family with pets, I consider how everyone will actually use the space: people and paws included.⁠ ⁠ 🌱 Choose planting carefully:⁠ Plant selection matters. Some plants can be harmful to pets, so consider this in the planting design, especially with curious dogs and cats.⁠ ⁠ 🚪 Create safe boundaries:⁠ You can incorporate secure fencing and gates into the overall landscape design without making the garden feel enclosed or purely functional.⁠ ⁠ 💧 Think about comfort:⁠ Shade, access to water and comfortable places to rest become especially important through Melbourne’s warmer months.⁠ ⁠ 🐾 Design around how pets actually move:⁠ Got a dog with a favourite zoomie route? Putting delicate planting directly in its path probably won’t end well! Sometimes the better design solution is to recognise that movement & work with it rather than constantly fighting it.⁠ ⁠ It’s what I consider throughout my Melbourne landscape designs: how people live, how pets behave, how plants grow & how all those needs can come together in a garden that is both beautiful & practical.⁠ ⁠ A successful garden isn’t simply one that looks good; it should work beautifully for everyone who calls it home. 🐾💚⁠ ⁠ What would you change in your garden to make it better for your four-legged family members?⁠
One succulent is never enough. 🌵⁠ ⁠ You buy one su One succulent is never enough. 🌵⁠ ⁠ You buy one succulent. Just one. Next thing you know, you’re eyeing off every cute little rosette at the nursery and mentally rearranging the garden to make room for more. Sound familiar? 👀⁠ ⁠ Well, here’s the good news: you might not need to buy more at all!⁠ ⁠ Succulents are surprisingly easy to propagate, meaning you can grow new plants from leaves, stems, or even little baby plants called “pups.” ⁠ ⁠ Yep, free plants! Your green thumb AND your wallet can thank us later. 🙌⁠ ⁠ But there’s a little more to it than popping a leaf in some dirt and hoping for the best!⁠ ⁠ Want to give your succulent-growing skills a boost? We’ve got tips to help you get started and grow your collection with a little less guesswork.⁠ ⁠ 👉 Go to the link below, and discover in our blog how to grow more succulents, because apparently, one is never enough!⁠ ⁠ 🔗 https://inspiringlandscapes.com.au/how-to-grow-succulents-2/⁠
Azaleas have entered the chat, and they’re not her Azaleas have entered the chat, and they’re not here to be subtle. 🌸⁠ ⁠ When azaleas burst into flower, they don’t quietly add a little colour to the garden. They make an entrance.⁠ ⁠ Pink, red, white, purple and everything in between; their spectacular blooms can completely transform a garden and bring a wonderful burst of seasonal colour.⁠ ⁠ Good planting design isn’t about filling a garden with plants that all demand attention at once.⁠ It’s about knowing when to let one plant have its moment. 🌿⁠ ⁠ Used thoughtfully, azaleas can provide structure and evergreen foliage for much of the year, then become the star when flowering. The surrounding planting can play a quieter role, creating contrast and allowing that seasonal display to really shine.⁠ ⁠ That’s something I consider when designing Melbourne gardens: how plants will relate to one another through colour, form, texture and season, and how the garden will evolve throughout the year.⁠ ⁠ A beautiful garden shouldn’t feel like a collection of individual plants competing for attention.⁠ It should feel like a conversation between them. And right now? The azaleas are doing most of the talking. 🌸⁠ ⁠ Azalea lover or azalea avoider?⁠ ⁠ 📸Azalea at Burwood 2026 project
Raised garden beds: bringing the garden to you. 🌿⁠ Raised garden beds: bringing the garden to you. 🌿⁠ ⁠ In this Melbourne front garden design, the raised bed wasn’t simply about practicality; it had an important design job to do.⁠ ⁠ Rather than keeping all the planting at ground level, I deliberately elevated this section of the garden to create a focal point, introduce another layer of height and give the front of the house greater presence.⁠ ⁠ Without it, the planting would sit at a similar level across the front garden and potentially blend together. Raising the bed creates definition and hierarchy, while giving the trees and underplanting their own moment within the landscape. 🌳⁠ ⁠ The native blueberry trees were also a conscious choice, selected to contribute to the City of Whitehorse’s urban canopy objectives and meet the requirements of the approved landscape permit while still working with the overall design.⁠ ⁠ That’s something I consider in every Melbourne landscape design: how planting, levels, materials, architecture and council requirements can work together rather than being treated as separate considerations.⁠ ⁠ If you’re considering raised garden beds, think beyond what you’ll plant in them. Consider their height, proportion, location and relationship to your home. Done well, they can provide structure, create a focal point and completely change how a garden is experienced.⁠ ⁠ Good landscape design isn’t just about what goes where. It’s about understanding why it belongs there. 💚⁠ ⁠ 📸 Glen Iris project detail 2025-2026
Your letterbox called. It’s tired of being the mos Your letterbox called. It’s tired of being the most boring thing in your front garden. 📬🌿⁠ ⁠ We spend so much time choosing beautiful plants, paving, gates and garden features, and then we put a standard letterbox at the front and call it done.⁠ ⁠ But why should the letterbox miss out on all the fun?⁠ ⁠ A thoughtfully designed letterbox can be so much more than somewhere for the post to land. In a well-designed front garden, it can become a small piece of art, adding personality, texture and character before anyone has even reached the front door. ✨⁠ ⁠ Timber, stone, metal, colour, planting or custom detailing, there are so many ways to make it feel like it genuinely belongs.⁠ ⁠ That’s something I consider in every Melbourne landscape design. It’s about creating connection from the street to the front door, with the architecture, garden, planting and details working together.⁠ ⁠ Great garden design isn’t just about the big things. It’s often the little details that make you stop and look twice. 💚⁠ ⁠ So next time you walk past your letterbox, ask yourself: is it just holding your mail, or is it helping tell the story of your garden?⁠ ⁠ 📸 2025-2026 project detail: letterbox design⁠ ⁠ @ironbarkmetaldesign
Instagram post 17994467771868110 Instagram post 17994467771868110
Who says the focal point of a garden has to be a p Who says the focal point of a garden has to be a plant? 👀⁠ ⁠ Sometimes, it’s simply a beautifully placed bench.⁠ ⁠ In thoughtful garden design, seating shouldn’t be an afterthought. The right piece, in the right position, can create a destination, frame a view and invite you to stop and actually experience the garden. 🌳⁠ ⁠ Timber works particularly beautifully outdoors. Its warmth and natural texture soften hard landscaping and sit comfortably amongst layered planting, but like the garden around it, it does need a little care.⁠ ⁠ ☀️ A few simple maintenance tips:⁠ ⁠ Clean timber regularly to prevent dirt and organic matter building up, keep it as dry and well ventilated as possible, and apply an appropriate exterior timber oil or protective finish when required. ⁠ ⁠ Left untreated, many timbers will naturally weather to a silvery-grey, something to consider when choosing the look you want long-term.⁠ ⁠ These are the details I consider when designing Melbourne gardens: not just how a space will look when it’s finished, but how it will be used, experienced and maintained over time.⁠ ⁠ Good landscape design isn’t just about creating something beautiful.⁠ It’s about creating a garden you genuinely want to live in. 💚⁠ ⁠ 📸 Berwick project 2024⁠
🌸 When a flower turns up dressed like it’s heading 🌸 When a flower turns up dressed like it’s heading to a tropical gala.⁠ ⁠ Meet the gorgeous Pink Mussaenda, spotted at Penang Botanic Gardens in Malaysia. Those soft pink bracts certainly know how to make an entrance!⁠ ⁠ One of the things I love most about exploring gardens around the world is seeing planting design through a different lens — how colour, texture, form and climate come together to create a completely different sense of place.⁠ ⁠ As a landscape designer, I’m always looking beyond whether a plant is simply beautiful. I’m noticing what it contributes to the composition — the contrast it creates, how it sits amongst surrounding foliage and, most importantly, how it makes you feel in the space.⁠ ⁠ Because memorable gardens aren’t created by choosing beautiful plants individually. They come from understanding how plants work together to create an experience. 🌿⁠ ⁠ And yes … I inevitably come home with an ever-growing list of plants I wish we could grow in Melbourne gardens. 😂⁠ ⁠ Nature has a pretty good eye for colour. Sometimes you just have to stop and take notes. 🌸⁠ ⁠ Have you come across a Mussaenda before?⁠ ⁠ 📸 Penang Botanical Gardens, Malaysia
🌿 Sometimes the best gardens aren’t created by sta 🌿 Sometimes the best gardens aren’t created by starting from scratch but by knowing what’s worth keeping.⁠ ⁠ The Glen Iris project was a wonderfully collaborative journey, and one of my favourite parts was working with the garden’s existing character.⁠ ⁠ We retained beautiful mature camellias and rhododendrons, then introduced a relaxed, contemporary cottage feel filled with texture, movement and seasonal colour. 🌸⁠ ⁠ We also have given the garden a gentle nudge to move beyond a predominantly green and white palette! 😉⁠ ⁠ Large organic stepping stones now encourage you to slow down and explore, while fruit trees are tucked into unexpected places for little moments of surprise.⁠ ⁠ And the sculptural mounds of Zoysia grass? A nostalgic nod to my childhood, and a feature the clients loved so much, they wanted more! 😍⁠ ⁠ That’s my philosophy: great landscape design isn’t always about adding more. It’s about knowing what to keep, what to change and giving every element a purpose.⁠ ⁠ 🌿 What’s one thing in your garden you’d never want to remove?⁠ ⁠ 📸 Glen Iris design project
Your garden is plotting something. 🌿👀⁠ ⁠ And no, w Your garden is plotting something. 🌿👀⁠ ⁠ And no, we’re not talking about a rogue vine taking over the fence.⁠ ⁠ A thoughtfully designed garden can do a whole lot more than look pretty. It can feed pollinators, provide habitat for birds and beneficial insects, improve soil health, help cool urban spaces and create a stronger connection between people and nature.⁠ ⁠ And here’s where it gets really interesting.⁠ ⁠ Those benefits don’t stop at your garden gate.⁠ ⁠ Every flowering plant supporting a bee, every tree providing shade and every layered planting bed creating habitat can contribute to a healthier, more connected neighbourhood.⁠ ⁠ But biodiversity and beauty don’t have to compete either. In fact, richly layered planting can create gardens that feel established, immersive, luxurious and full of life.⁠ ⁠ And in part 2 of the blog, we explore something else: why a garden’s value isn’t always about what it looks like on the day it’s planted.⁠ ⁠ The real magic happens as it grows, changes and becomes part of everyday life.⁠ ⁠ 🌱 Want to see how biodiverse planting can benefit your garden, your lifestyle and even the wider environment? ⁠ ⁠ Read part 2 of our blog here: [not live yet] https://inspiringlandscapes.com.au/why-biodiverse-planting-creates-better-gardens-part-2/⁠ ⁠ 📹 Forest Hill Project Front Garden 2026
✨ Lighting Should Reveal, Not Just Illuminate⁠ ⁠ W ✨ Lighting Should Reveal, Not Just Illuminate⁠ ⁠ What stands out in this space is not only the architecture but also the intelligent lighting design that brings it to life after dark.⁠ ⁠ Rather than uniform brightness, the light is carefully composed. It grazes arches, highlights ornamentation, and traces geometric rhythm across the façade, while allowing shadow to remain. ⁠ ⁠ These shadows are not absence; they add depth, contrast, and a sense of mystery that slows the eye and invites exploration.⁠ ⁠ Overhead string lighting adds another layer, gently framing the space and suggesting enclosure without overpowering the architecture. It creates a soft canopy effect, echoing the intimacy of historic plazas and courtyards.⁠ ⁠ Atmospherically, the lighting transforms perception. The space feels warmer, more human, and more contemplative at night. Movement becomes slower and more intentional, with light and shadow shaping mood while leaving room for imagination.⁠ ⁠ This approach also carries a cultural layer. Historically, public spaces were not erased by darkness but reinterpreted through firelight, lanterns, and architectural lighting. This approach treats darkness as something to work with, not eliminate, restoring a richer night-time atmosphere often lost in modern over-lighting.⁠ ⁠ I bring the same philosophy into landscape design. Garden lighting should never flatten a space. Instead, it should reveal structure, guide movement, and highlight texture, foliage, stone, or water so the garden becomes more atmospheric after dark.⁠ ⁠ Thoughtful lighting doesn’t just make a space visible. It reshapes how we experience it emotionally, culturally, and spatially. ✨🌿⁠ ⁠ ⁠📸 Local mosque, Georgetown, Penang, Malaysia
👩‍🎨 Prescribed: More Garden Time 😉⁠ ⁠ “I googled m 👩‍🎨 Prescribed: More Garden Time 😉⁠ ⁠ “I googled my symptoms, and it turns out I’m past due for dilly dallying in the garden.” 😂⁠ ⁠ I couldn’t agree more.⁠ ⁠ For me, thoughtful landscape design isn’t just about creating a beautiful garden. It’s about designing how a garden makes you feel and the little moments it invites into everyday life.⁠ ⁠ A wander without a destination. Noticing something new in a flower. Coffee beneath a tree. Or simply sitting amongst the greenery and doing absolutely nothing. ☕🌿⁠ ⁠ The best garden design gives us reasons to slow down, connect with nature and enjoy the space we call home.⁠ ⁠ Sometimes, dilly-dallying is exactly what a garden is designed for. 💚⁠
👩‍🎨 A Garden That Feels Like You⁠ ⁠ Your garden do 👩‍🎨 A Garden That Feels Like You⁠ ⁠ Your garden doesn’t necessarily need to be bigger, newer, or filled with more. It needs thoughtful landscape design that understands how you want to live.⁠ ⁠ That’s where every design begins for me: with listening.⁠ ⁠ Whether it’s a blank canvas, a difficult space, or a garden that doesn’t feel right, my role is to uncover its potential and create something beautiful, functional, and deeply connected to your home, lifestyle, and the way you want to feel in it for years to come.⁠ ⁠ And my involvement doesn’t stop once the design is complete. I can stay with you throughout the journey, helping with landscape and planting design, material selection, sourcing, and construction guidance. All while keeping an eye on the details that ensure the original vision carries through as your garden comes to life.⁠ ⁠ As one client beautifully put it, I “took the time to clearly understand our vision”, working through the design until it truly met their expectations.⁠ ⁠ Another valued client highlighted the difference that continued involvement during construction made, from site visits and plant substitutions to “fine-tuning” the details as her garden came to life.⁠ ⁠ Good garden design isn’t about imposing a particular style; it’s about listening, solving problems creatively, and designing a garden that becomes more meaningful and more beautiful as you live in it. 💚⁠ ⁠ ✨ Perhaps your dream garden starts with a conversation.⁠ ⁠ 📸 Pic: Murrumbeena project 2023
🌿 Designing for Biodiversity⁠ ⁠ The design intent 🌿 Designing for Biodiversity⁠ ⁠ The design intent here began with conserving the existing mature tree and building a more biodiverse, layered landscape around it.⁠ ⁠ The Kniphofias planted under the tree bring vibrant colour, height, and repetition, creating a striking seasonal contrast. At the same time, their nectar-rich flowers provide an important food source for birds and pollinators. 🐦🌺⁠ ⁠ For me, thoughtful landscape design is about working with what already exists and adding layers that contribute both beauty and ecological value.⁠ ⁠ Good garden design shouldn’t just look alive; it should support life. 💚⁠ ⁠ 📸 Moonee Valley (Design by Tract consultants)
🌿 A garden plan is just the beginning. Real proje 🌿 A garden plan is just the beginning. Real projects evolve. Renovations change, timelines shift and sometimes the landscape design needs to adapt with them. For me, good landscape design is about more than handing over a set of plans. It’s about creating a considered garden for the people who live there — and helping that vision translate into the finished landscape. For Cora’s Melbourne garden, that meant staying involved, adapting the design when needed, liaising with the landscape contractor and helping source the right plants. Because a beautiful garden isn’t just designed on paper. It’s brought to life. 🌱 ⁠
Paving looks simple until you realise how many dec Paving looks simple until you realise how many decisions hide underneath it! 👀⁠ ⁠ Stone or concrete?⁠ Big pavers or small ones?⁠ Honed, flamed or blasted?⁠ Sealed or left natural?⁠ ⁠ And perhaps the biggest question of all: paving or decking?⁠ ⁠ The right choice isn’t simply about what looks good in a showroom. It needs to work with your home, your lifestyle, your budget, your family and how you actually plan to use the space.⁠ ⁠ Things like children, pets, maintenance, summer heat, slip resistance, and even how a material looks when it’s wet can all influence the decision. ⁠ ⁠ In my latest blog, I answer some of the questions I regularly get asked about paving and share some of the tricks worth considering before you make your choice.⁠ ⁠ Good landscape design isn’t just about choosing something beautiful; it’s about choosing something that works. 💚⁠ ⁠ 👉 Read the blog below to find out what you should consider before choosing paving for your garden: https://inspiringlandscapes.com.au/paving/⁠ ⁠ 📸 Pic 1: Braybrook project 2024⁠ 📸 Pic 2: Braybrook project 2024⁠ 📸 Pic 3: Forest Hill project 2026⁠ 📸 Pic 4: Berwick project 2023⁠ 📸 Pic 5: Wantirna project 2018⁠
🖤 Inspiration Is Everywhere⁠ ⁠ Who says garden des 🖤 Inspiration Is Everywhere⁠ ⁠ Who says garden design inspiration has to come from a garden?⁠ ⁠ I spotted this beautiful wrought-iron artwork while wandering through Georgetown, in Penang, Malaysia. The movement, craftsmanship and storytelling transformed an ordinary doorway into something worth stopping for.⁠ ⁠ That idea sits at the heart of my landscape design philosophy. A garden doesn’t need more features. It needs the right moments in the right places. Art, texture, an unexpected material or a beautifully framed view can invite you to pause, explore and discover.⁠ ⁠ One of my clients recently described the “artistry and creativity” at the heart of her landscape project, and I loved that, because it captures exactly what I hope thoughtful garden design can become.⁠ ⁠ Not simply a collection of beautiful things, but a series of meaningful, interconnected moments. 🌿⁠ ⁠ 🖤 Where do you find your garden inspiration?⁠ ⁠ 📸Georgetown, Penang, Malaysia
🌹💎 Diamonds are nice, but you can’t pick them from 🌹💎 Diamonds are nice, but you can’t pick them from your garden.⁠ ⁠ “I’d rather have roses on my table than diamonds on my neck.”⁠ ⁠ And honestly, I get it. 🌿⁠ ⁠ There’s something pretty special about walking outside, cutting a few flowers and bringing them inside to enjoy.⁠ ⁠ No fancy wrapping.⁠ No jewellery box.⁠ Just something you’ve grown, nurtured and watched change with the seasons.⁠ ⁠ That’s one of the things I love about designing gardens. It’s not just about creating something beautiful to look at; it’s about creating spaces that give something back to you.⁠ ⁠ Maybe that’s flowers for the kitchen table. A shady spot for your morning coffee. A veggie patch for the family. Or simply a garden that makes you stop for a moment and breathe.⁠ ⁠ For me, those little moments are what turn a landscape into something much more meaningful than a pretty picture.⁠ ⁠ 🌹 Roses or diamonds? Choose your side! And if you could have one flower growing in your garden purely for bringing inside, what would it be?⁠
❤️🌺 A little red drama There’s something irresist ❤️🌺 A little red drama There’s something irresistible about a red Abutilon. Its delicate, pendulous flowers bring colour, movement and just enough drama to draw you further into the garden. For me, planting design is never about filling spaces with pretty plants. It’s about choosing the right plant for the right place and considering how colour, form, texture and seasonal change work together to create a layered garden that keeps revealing something new. Used thoughtfully, Abutilon can soften a space, create a beautiful splash of colour and add another layer of interest amongst surrounding foliage. That’s what I love about thoughtful landscape design. No plant exists in isolation. Each one has a role to play in creating the bigger picture. 🌿❤️ 🌺 Would you make room for a little red drama in your garden? ⁠ 📸 Portable Iron Houses, Coventry Street, South Melbourne
🌿 Every Garden Has a Story 😉⁠ ⁠ This Father’s Day, 🌿 Every Garden Has a Story 😉⁠ ⁠ This Father’s Day, I’m celebrating the dads who taught us to get our hands dirty, tackle weekend projects that somehow take three times longer than expected 😂, grow a tomato plant the size of a small tree, and simply enjoy being outside.⁠ ⁠ Because gardens have a wonderful way of becoming part of our family stories.⁠ ⁠ It might be Dad’s favourite chair beneath a tree, the veggie patch he refuses to give up on, the shed where he disappears for hours, or simply a quiet spot to sit with a cuppa and watch the garden change around him.⁠ ⁠ For me, that’s what thoughtful landscape design is really about. A beautiful garden matters, but the best gardens become something more: places for everyday rituals, connection, laughter and memories. Spaces that evolve with the people who live in them and become richer and more meaningful over time.⁠ ⁠ As a Melbourne landscape designer, I love creating gardens that aren’t simply designed to be looked at, but to be lived in, and to become part of the stories families carry with them.⁠ ⁠ 💚 Happy Father’s Day to all the dads, grandads, stepdads and father figures who make life a little greener, funnier and better.⁠ ⁠ 👨 What’s Dad’s favourite spot in the garden? Bonus points if he’s quietly claimed an entire corner as his own. 😂⁠
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