Cameron Heights Customer Vision

• Customer had a new home which had traditional style mixed with a little modern.
• They wanted to have a garden that looked abundant and full whilst keeping maintenance as simple as possible. 
• The overall concept should develop a slightly Rockies feel through boulders, rock and flagstone. 
• There were great views of the river valley that should be emphasised but there were also views of a water management plant that should be hidden.

The Challenges

• The garden was a walk out and the slope and one side would generate a lot of run off in heavy weather. The existing wing wall on the other side would need to be extended to ameliorate the slope. 
• The front of the house was quite narrow but long. It was going to be difficult to find a flow for the beds that connected the 2 halves of the front garden. 
• Because of the length of the seating areas on the deck it was going to take multiple trees to help block out the water treatment facility whilst not looking too dense in one particular area.

The Design

• The driveway was curved but after that there wasn’t much to respond to. So, long graceful curves were used to spur off the driveway and create lawns and beds in the front garden.
• To emphasize the graceful lines of the lawn in front 4 rows of pavers were used to create a mowing edge that delineated lawn from beds with structure.
• The beds would use geometric boulders to give that Rocky Mountain feel whilst keeping it somewhat modern. 
• The beds would then curve in to the rear whilst retaining their long graceful lines. Curves were kept to a minimum to make mowing easier. 
• A dry creek feature was installed to help water flow quickly off site. This creek was punctuated with large boulders to give some mass. 
• The flagstone patio was sited next to the creek bed to give some interest to the area. 
• Large Colorado spruce were used judiciously to create visual barriers from the water treatment works. These were then surrounded by larger deciduous trees in pockets so as not to completely block the view.
• A low boulder wall extended from the existing wing wall to enable a more gradual slope for access.