With home land sizes getting smaller, and the rise of apartment living, our outdoor living spaces have never been more important.

The quintessential Australian lifestyle is renowned for indoor/outdoor connection in our homes, especially in Summer when weekend barbecues are high on our agendas… yet landscaping is often an afterthought when we’re renovating or building — left to the last minute so our outdoor areas are never truly optimised, and sometimes even completely abandoned.

From soil types to varieties of plants and climate, it can be a daunting task tackling your landscaping design. So, we’ve picked the brains of expert landscape designer Paul Alexander, who is renowned for creating unique, AHHHMAZING garden designs — to get his top landscape tips for everything from selecting plants, common landscaping mistakes to avoid, and how best to allocate your landscaping budget… #letsgo

From Furniture Design To Landscaping

Paul Alexander’s Melbourne-based landscape design studio is renowned for its cutting-edge, highly personalised landscape designs, that blend architecture, art and design seamlessly.

Paul always had a passion for art and design which led him to study industrial design at RMIT in Melbourne. After working as a designer in the furniture and exhibition industries, Paul realised that landscape design was his true passion, and 10 years on, has grown to be one of the leading landscape designers in Australia.

Paul’s Top 5 Do’s + Don’ts For a Low Maintenance Garden

Do choose the right plant for the right location.

Do choose plants that don’t have too many known pests or diseases.

Do plant more plants than suggested on plant tags as dense planting will conceal and deter weeds.

Do choose plants that are robust and don’t require too much attention.

Do choose plants that require a similar maintenance regime, for example, if you have a formal garden with hedges, this is one type of maintenance.

Don’t confuse natives as low maintenance if you want a tidy garden.

Don’t forget to mulch at least 50mm thick as this will reduce weeds.

Don’t be afraid of deciduous trees — they drop leaves once a year while evergreens can sometimes drop a lot of leaves all year round.

Don’t include raised garden beds next to the paving. This prevents fallen leaves finding their way back into garden beds and becoming more mulch.

Don’t use weed matt. Remove all weeds when prepping your garden and then keep mulch 50mm thick.

Common Landscaping Mistakes To Avoid

If you’re looking to complete your own landscaping project, Paul’s list of common landscaping mistakes is GOLD! Here are the landscaping traps to avoid to save time and money, that will also make your landscape budget go further.

Following a trend that isn’t appropriate for your home or location — The best gardens complement their location, and don’t conflict with the home’s style or architecture. When designing your garden, research and try to find images of gardens you like that are similar in style to your own home. Talk to people at nurseries or engage a professional designer to help you determine whether what you like would be suitable for your property.

Not having a plan — Think about what you are trying to achieve and get it down on paper, even if it’s just a simple sketch. Not having a plan can cost a lot of money when you build your garden and then realise it doesn’t look how you imagined it would. Engaging a professional will help to refine your ideas and bring them to life.

Cutting corners — While it can come as a shock just how much landscaping can cost, don’t cut corners. Your garden will grow so much better if you invest in your soil by spending the money to test it and find out what it lacks and take steps to improve it. Your plants will love you and show their appreciation by growing so much quicker and healthier.

Planting small trees — Paul advises his landscape design clients that they can substantially adjust their planting budget up or down by starting with small plants or investing in more advanced stock. Paul recommends planting more advanced trees where possible, as these will take a lot longer to establish than most plants. Small trees generally taking 5-10 years to grow larger.

3 Things To Consider When Choosing Plants

Browsing a nursery or garden centre can be overwhelming with the sheer amount of plant and tree options available. When looking for plants for your garden or outdoor area, these are Paul’s top recommendations…

1. Choose the right plant for the right location — It might sound obvious, but considering what type of plant is appropriate for a particular climate or region is key, as well as any microclimates that can exist within a site. For example, a garden in a warm, sunny climate will likely also have South-facing garden beds. (In Australia or the Southern Hemisphere, South-facing gardens or aspects are generally darker and cooler, especially in Winter, experiencing similar conditions to North-facing gardens or homes in the Northern Hemisphere). This garden orientation can experience shadowing from buildings, or large trees and plants, creating a cooler, shadier microclimate pocket. When choosing plant species, check the label to determine if it’s a suitable plant for the desired location.

2. Create a planting palette — Once you have an idea of what sort of plants are suitable, choose plants that work well together and complement each other, while providing subtle contrast in leaf colour and texture. You can also use flowering plants to create interest and seasonal change, but Paul advises that the underlying success of a garden is usually based on cohesive foliage that is on display all year round, rather than flowers. Paul recommends keeping your plant palette simple and using plants in repetitive clumps to create an overall sense of calm.

3. Create layers with different height plants — We love to layer plants so your eye travels over the garden. Consider your backdrop, and use taller screening planting along boundaries, introduce lower-level shrubs in front, followed by low ornamentals or ground covers. A beautiful way to create height layers is to underplant any tall trees which also softens the look.

A New Type of Pool Fence

If you’re lucky enough to include a pool in your outdoor landscaping design, you’ll LOVE Paul’s alternative to the standard pool fence. What Paul describes as a ‘pool isolation moat’ as opposed to a traditional fence is something his studio is known for (and a design feature we ABSOLUTELY LOVE).

Paul explains more on this concept…

Essentially, the concept is to give the illusion that there is no barrier or fence around the pool, enabling a seamless connection between the pool and the greater landscape.

The most important thing to consider is that no matter what, the inclusion of a pool must comply with the Australian standard for pool isolation so it’s important to have a good understanding of the requirements. While we create the illusion of no barrier, we are very careful to create one that ensures the pool is fully compliant and safe before anything else.

The key thing to remember is that the standard refers to a barrier and not specifically a fence. In all states of Australia except NSW, the wall of a pool can form part of an isolation barrier provided it is a minimum of 1.2m high above the associated ground level and is compliant with all associated NCZ (non-climb zones).

For a pool isolation moat, we use the pool wall as the barrier but often excavate what is effectively a trench (or moat) alongside the pool to include some retaining and introduce some non-climbable planting in the trench which results in a complying pool isolation barrier that almost entirely disappears. This type of barrier is difficult to orchestrate and to ensure it is compliant so it’s important to engage a professional who has a complete understanding of the code.

Top Low Maintenance Plant Species For Screening Neighbours

A common landscaping issue for residential homes is creating between neighbours and the softening the look of walls and neighbouring fences. #wehearyou… so here’s Paul’s top low-maintenance plant/tree picks, for screening plants that provide privacy…

• Laurus Nobilis 'Miles Choice'

• Waterhousia Floribunda

• Murraya Paniculata

• Viburnum Suspensum

• Bambusa Gracilis 'Slender Weaver'

Want to learn more about Paul Alexander and his work?

• Paul Alexander Landscape

• Follow @paul.alexander.landscape on Instagram