A low-maintenance luxury landscape renovation in Castor Bay, Auckland

Getting started

Few things are more challenging than building a new house or creating the perfect landscape. Unless you opt to do them at the same time, which is what Castor Bay homeowner Mike did. While his new build was in progress, Mike reached out to local Landscaping Consultant Logan Bridgens to get a jump on the landscape design. 

For the most part, the site was grass and dirt with the exception of an inground swimming pool and surrounding concrete. Logan visited the property to go over potential ideas with Mike and discuss his goals for the project—a low-maintenance, easy-to-care-for landscape that his parents could enjoy without worrying.  

Design iterations

With a degree in landscape design, Logan was the perfect match for Mike’s project. He got to work making a plan and broke the project down into separate areas, alongside fencing and the main portion of landscaping. He worked through a few different iterations with Mike, removing and adding elements until the design and budget were aligned. 

Mike was comfortable with the $50,000 quote and had no set deadlines, however, construction was due to wrap around Christmas of that year so Logan aimed to deliver the finished landscape at the same time. With Mike’s seal of approval, Logan and his team could begin transforming the outdoor area. 

Expert coordination

Having been a licensed building practitioner for over 15 years in addition to his work in landscape design, Logan had established an impressive crew of reliable and highly-skilled contractors to form his in-house team. For projects outside their typical scope, the paving and turf installation, Logan engaged experienced contractors from his extended network to come on board. The pool was built by contractors on the builders’ side, but Logan’s team executed the fencing, timber work, planting, and the remaining softscaping. 

What Logan projected would take about four weeks, ended up taking a little over two months. His team had to work around the active construction zone which included cumbersome scaffolding, the limited access to the landscaping site causing delays. Despite this being out of his control, he managed his side to a T and kept the project as close to schedule as possible. And more importantly, he delivered the finished product within the expected $50,000 budget.