Creating a breathtaking subtropical oasis in Maunu

The owners of this Maunu home were sick of their unkempt overgrown back garden and decided it was time for a change. Landscaping specialists Jason and Anisa Clarke were brought in to help, along with designer James McLean from JD Landscape Architecture. They spoke with homeowners Ang and Steve, who shared their vision — they wanted to transform their backyard and side entrance into a subtropical oasis with a concrete patio, lawn, and raised garden. 

“We wanted a total transformation that was both functional and low maintenance,” explains Ang. “A place we could spend a lot of our time!”

Excited by the massive potential and the homeowners’ brief, Jason got right into it. The Zones Landscaping team started by removing all the weeds that had accumulated over time, as well as the large palms that were at the end of their lifecycle. 

During this project, Ang and Steve were also carrying out renovation work on their home, so Jason and his team had to cooperate and communicate with other trades on-site to ensure there were no scheduling conflicts.

A timber retaining wall, hardscaping and softscaping

Jason proceeded to construct a retaining wall made from timber, then established the lawn and garden parameters. He added additional topsoil and lawn mix, before contouring and sowing the lawn. After this, it came time to lay the concrete patio and paths to bring it all together. The concrete patio and paths were zinc oxide bush hammered and sealed with charcoal grout at the joints to give it a decorative finish. 

He worked closely with both the designer and Ang when it came to plant selection, sizing, and placement. A range of subtropicals and natives were planted, including nikau palms, westringia, hen and chicken ferns, hibiscus, cordyline negra, tractor seat plants, bird of paradise, frangipani, heuchera, coleus, as well as bedding plants for colour! 

The plant establishment was carried out in December, which was the start of a record-breaking long, hot, and dry summer up North. “It was challenging to get the plants and lawn established in these conditions,” confesses Jason. “We had to set up shade structures for some of the more delicate specimens.” But that wasn’t the end of it. As the high temperatures also became a challenge during the laying of the concrete patio, resulting in an uneven finish with some discolouration of the oxide.