A harbourside landscape design on Sydney’s lower north shore

Recently featured in Australian House & Garden, this established Lower North Shore garden presented an opportunity for Nelson Thomas to sensitively reimagine an existing landscape—retaining its mature character while creating a stronger connection between the garden, architecture and its harbourside setting.

Previously designed by renowned landscape designer Peter Fudge, the garden already had beautiful bones, including mature Angophoras, Banksias, grass trees and tree ferns. Our landscape design approach was not to replace this established character, but to work with it, introducing new layers of planting and creating spaces that better reflected how the owners wanted to live within the garden.

Working alongside Jorge Hrdina Architects, our Sydney landscape architecture studio approached the garden as an extension of the renovated home. Natural sandstone, timber and an abundant planting palette create a landscape that feels deeply connected to both the architecture and its bushland surroundings.

A layered approach to landscape and garden design

The sloping property contains a variety of microclimates, from deep shade beneath established trees to areas receiving full sun. The residential landscape design responds to these changing conditions while maintaining a consistent feeling of softness and abundance.

Australian native plants were combined with carefully selected exotic species to create a garden sympathetic to its natural setting without feeling like a traditionally native garden. Grasses, flowering perennials and sculptural foliage introduce movement and seasonal interest, while repeated mass planting creates cohesion across the expansive site.

With more than 50 species used throughout the garden, repetition was key. Beneath the mature Angophoras, Lomandra longifolia ‘Tanika’ was planted en masse—a simple and robust landscape design solution for an area where planting had previously struggled.

Creating a journey through the landscape

One of the defining elements of this Sydney garden design is the journey from the house towards the harbour.

Freeform sandstone steppers, individually shaped on site, weave through abundant planting. Grasses, groundcovers, ferns, agaves and flowering perennials soften the pathway, creating the feeling of moving through the garden rather than simply alongside it.

Rather than relying on a single hero element, the success of the landscape architecture lies in how the garden works as a whole. Existing trees, new planting, natural stone and architecture sit comfortably together, creating a landscape that feels established and intrinsically connected to its site.

For Nelson Thomas, this project reflects an approach we bring to landscape design across Sydney—understanding the existing conditions first and designing a garden that works with, rather than against, its environment. The result is a lush, layered and enduring garden with an overall feeling of peaceful harmony.

Landscape Design: Nelson Thomas
Architecture: Jorge Hrdina Architects
Photography: Brigid Arnott
Featured in: Australian House & Garden

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