Crazy paved fire pit circle enclosed by a curved sandstone bench seat with cushions and tropical planting

Ideas & past work

Feature planting ideas, Brisbane

Unique feature plants, trees and palms sourced from all states — small through to ex-ground size, chosen to suit the aspect and the soil. 16 photographs.

How Duncan designs it

No two the same.

Planting is what makes a new garden look like it has always been there. The stone and timber give it a shape; the plants give it a season, a scent and a reason for the birds to turn up.

Duncan chooses plants for the spot rather than the label — the aspect, the soil, how much shade the house throws, how much water the client wants to give it. Feature trees and palms are sourced from all states, from small through to advanced and ex-ground stock, so a garden can look established on handover. Layering does the rest: something tall for structure, something broad-leafed in the middle, something fine and low at the edge. With a horticulture qualification behind it, the palette is picked to suit Brisbane’s summers and its dry winters.

That is why the beds below look nothing like each other. Tropical layering against a dark fence, native beds of grevillea and paper daisies, clipped topiary above a stone wall — every one was planned on paper, costed, and planted by the person who designed it.

Rows of mondo grass planted in black mulch behind a bluestone edge

01Rows of mondo and feature plantingRows of mondo grass in black mulch behind a bluestone edge.

Tropical feature planting of cordyline and heliconia beside an entry path

02Tropical feature plantingCordyline and heliconia massed beside an entry path for colour all year.

Row of standard topiary trees above a clipped hedge and stone wall

03Standard topiary and hedgingStandard topiary trees in a row above a clipped hedge and stone wall.

Layered garden bed of grasses and shrubs beside a stepped path

04Layered garden bedA layered bed of grasses and shrubs stepping down beside the path.

05Grasses and perennialsOrnamental grasses and flowering perennials filling a garden bed.

06Native shrub plantingNative shrubs and grasses planted among sandstone boulders.

Raised stacked stone planter box with a feature tree and lawn around it

07Raised stone planterA raised stacked stone planter box with a feature tree, set in the lawn.

Stone stepping stones set in white pebble with mondo grass, agaves and a potted succulent beside a rendered entry

08Entry steppers through layered plantingStone steppers in white pebble with mondo grass, agaves and a potted succulent beside a rendered entry.

Shaded tropical garden with lawn, palms and layered planting

09Shaded tropical gardenA shaded tropical garden of lawn, palms and layered planting.

Row of clipped shrubs planted along a rendered wall

10Clipped shrub borderA row of clipped shrubs along a rendered wall.

Hardwood sleeper edged garden bed planted with palms and shrubs

11Sleeper edged borderA hardwood sleeper-edged bed planted with palms and shrubs.

Spiky feature grass tree foliage in close detail

12Feature grass treeGrass tree foliage up close — a slow-growing native used as a living sculpture.

13Native beds above the valleyLayered native beds of grevillea, westringia and paper daisies beside a brick home, with the range behind.

14Tropical layering on a dark fenceBroad-leaf tropical planting layered against a dark fence.

15Heliconia foliageBacklit heliconia leaves filling a garden bed.

16Tropical border and steppersElephant ears, golden cane and cordyline massed along a dark fence beside travertine steppers.

Reference

Foliage & form.

The non-flowering half of the palette — leaf, texture and shape. Sourced from growers across the eastern states, in every size from tube stock through to ex-ground.