Heritage and Character Housing - Townsville City Council

Far Left: Dense plantingto garden areas servesto hide the house andmay cut off breezes.Left: The old frangipaniof the original gardenhas been retained.New plants – palmsand ixoras do not fullyscreen the houseThe Edwardian garden style of the 1920s and 1930s enriched thegarden for more outdoor pursuits, tennis, teas and garden parties,with structures such as trellises, screens, arbours and pavilions andthe contrast of softer planting to structured paths. These gardenstyles are all present in gardens today.Indigenous plants were not common in gardens before the 1970s.Trees included Leichhardt trees, the black bean, Moreton Bay fig,silky oak, flame trees, and hoop and bunya pines.Recent designsThe contemporary wish for shade in the garden and reduced lawnmowing has brought denser planting closer to the house. Thetraditional garden design was more open than this. Rather thanscreen the house, consider having the front garden in a traditionalopen semi shaded style, with fuller planting to the side and reargardens.Guidelines for garden restorationThe garden should be planned and laid out after an assessment ofthe age and style of the house. Use photographs of your garden, orsimilar gardens in conjunction with remaining paths, edges, trees,shrubs and features to guide you. In the typical front garden, shrubplanting will generally edge the house and fences, a simple concreteor gravel path will divide a lawn, and one or two trees, such as afrangipani, black bean or calophyllum, will frame the view of thehouse and shade part of the garden and path.PathsThe traditional front path should be of simple design, clear to thevisitor. For the typical workers cottage the path is frequently in adirect line from the front gate to the stairs. The path can be offset,curving or staggered where the slope of the land, trees, or a largersize garden lead to this option.