News, Latest News, Real Estate Watch Summer 2022, Landscaping MJ Walsh
When Bill and Jean Hewitt bought their Warrnambool property in 1977, the garden was at odds with the beauty of a circa 1880 house. The parsley trees were empty at the time, left to run wild and the back of the half-acre block was like a forest. The couple spent 10 to 15 years redeveloping their front and back yards, planting a variety of plants, such as roses, pines and pepper trees — because all the cozy homes have pepper trees, Bell said at the time. Decades passed and the effort required to maintain gardens became demanding. “I love being in the garden, but now the mind is ready but the body kind of gives up,” laughs Jan. You still want to live in the garden, but you don’t want to keep it for seven days a week,” Bell says. “So we decided about five years ago that we needed to reduce it to a state that could be easily maintained.” And so began the landscaping project that finally ended in Time for the Hewitts to enjoy their new garden this summer. The initial brief was for a simple, easily tended garden that matches the house, and is in the Warrnambool Historic Register. It’s near the beach, it’s in the middle of a sloping block and these two factors must also be taken into account. After “A few False Begins” they finally contacted Carlisle River landscape designer Lisa Stafford, who produced a design that reflected their needs. Michael of MJ Walsh Landscapes was then hired to bring Lisa’s design to life and after a pause caused by COVID, work finally began this year in April. Adjusted The backyard design is a bit off (including Jean’s request for fewer steps in the backyard), but Lisa’s design is largely kept to the front of the property.The house was on top of a hill no one had seen in 30-40 years,” says Michael. We opened it… and they tried a make the house feature and show its beauty.” A clean slate was needed in order to create a traditional English-style garden, and so the heavy machinery was rolled. Arborists removed all the trees – not even a beloved peppercorn survived the cutting (so far its root system was interfering with plumbing). “Destroying everything was an engineering feat in itself,” Bell says. “Once it started it was a little fun to see.” Bell applauds Michael’s approach, which made the process less difficult. “Michael destroyed the place and then quickly worked to get him to a point where we could see where he was going, instead of leaving us a tip location for months,” Bell says. “He rolled quickly in the meadows (kikuyu grass), although most people probably did in the past. Looking back, once we were there, we could start to see what the whole thing would look like.” The front garden is now completely formal; Straight lines and sweeping lawn, with replanting of weeping pine and cherry trees. New plants were obtained from the Pearson Arboretum in Warrnambool, where Phoebe Clements suggested a number of cultivars that were easier to source and more environmentally friendly. The asphalt circulation circle at the front of the house lacks character and has been replaced by blue paving slabs. The paving stones and driveways were obtained from Bamstone in Port Ferry, while the bluestone pitchers were obtained from Portland. This story is from the new edition of Real Estate View this summer. Click here to read the entire post online. DC pears and Magnolia Teddy Bears line the driveway and continue through the house in the backyard. There is a box fence in front of the veranda, while young plants serve as borders and ground cover. Jan admits that the rocks that adorn both the front and back yards took some getting used to. “I can’t imagine anything else out there now,” she smiles. Using rocks from a local quarry, Michael used the rocks decoratively to create retaining walls, an alternative approach that embraces natural materials. The backyard was also enlivened with tulips, pittosporum, lavender, star jasmine and citrus trees. The final piece of the puzzle is the stately sandstone wall, which was built according to Heritage Victoria requirements. One of Michael’s favorite aspects of the design, any sandstone on site was decorated, with additional pieces sourced from other Warrnambool buildings, including an old hotel. The transformation has been remarkable, not only for Bill and Jean, but also for the locals who watched the new park take shape. “Every time I’m up front, someone winks their head in front of the gate and says they are amazed at the difference it has made and how great it looks.”
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When Bill and Jean Hewitt bought their Warrnambool property in 1977, the garden was at odds with the beauty of a circa 1880 house. The parsley trees were empty at the time, left to run wild and the back of the half-acre block was like a forest.
The couple spent 10 to 15 years redeveloping their front and back yards, planting a variety of plants, such as roses, pines and pepper trees — because all the cozy homes have pepper trees, Bell said at the time.
Decades passed and the effort required to maintain gardens became demanding. “I love being in the garden, but now the mind is ready but the body kind of gives up,” laughs Jan. You still want to live in the garden, but you don’t want to keep it for seven days a week,” Bell says. “So we decided about five years ago that we needed to shrink it down to an easily maintainable state.”
And so began a landscaping project that finally ended just in time for the Hewitt family to enjoy their new garden this summer.
The initial brief was for a simple, easily tended garden that corresponded to the house, and is in the Warrnambool Historical Register. It is located close to the beach, it is in the middle of a sloping block and these two factors must also be taken into account.
After “a few false starts” they finally contacted Carlisle River landscape designer Lisa Stafford, who produced a design that reflected their needs. Michael from MJ Walsh Landscapes was then hired to bring Lisa’s design to life and after a COVID pause, work finally began this year in April.
The backyard layout has been modified slightly (including Jean’s request for fewer steps in the backyard), but Lisa’s design has been kept largely at the front of the property. “The house was on top of a hill that no one had seen in 30-40 years,” Michael says. “We opened it up…and tried to make the house feature and show off its beauty.”
A clean slate was needed in order to create a traditional English-style garden, and so the heavy machinery was rolled. Arborists removed all the trees – not even a beloved peppercorn survived the cutting (so far its root system was interfering with plumbing). “Destroying everything was an engineering feat in itself,” Bell says. “Once it started it was a little fun to see.”
Photo: James Cole Creative
Bell applauds Michael’s approach, which made the process less difficult. “Michael destroyed the place and then quickly worked to get him to a point where we could see where he was going, instead of leaving us a tip location for months,” Bell says. “He rolled quickly in the meadows (kikuyu grass), although most people probably did in the past. Looking back, once we were there, we could start to see what the whole thing would look like.”
The front garden is now completely formal; Straight lines and sweeping lawn, with replanting of weeping pine and cherry trees. New plants were obtained from the Pearson Arboretum in Warrnambool, where Phoebe Clements suggested a number of cultivars that were easier to source and more environmentally friendly.
The asphalt circulation circle at the front of the house lacks character and has been replaced by blue paving slabs. The paving stones and driveways were obtained from Bamstone in Port Ferry, while the bluestone pitchers were obtained from Portland.
This story is from the new edition of Real Estate View this summer. Click here to read the entire post online.
DC pears and Magnolia Teddy Bears line the driveway and continue through the house in the backyard. There is a box fence in front of the veranda, while young plants serve as a border and ground cover. Jan admits that the rocks that adorn both the front and back yards took some getting used to. She smiles, “I can’t imagine anything else out there now.”
Obtained from a local quarry, Michael used rocks both decoratively and to create retaining walls, an alternative approach that embraces natural materials. The backyard was also enlivened with tulips, pittosporum, lavender, star jasmine and citrus trees.
Before the photo submitted by Bill Hewitt
Photo: James Cole Creative
The final piece of the puzzle is the stately sandstone wall, which was built in line with Heritage Victoria requirements. One of Michael’s favorite aspects of the design, any sandstone on site was adorned, with additional pieces sourced from other Warrnambool buildings, including an old hotel.
The transformation was remarkable, not only for Bill and Jean, but also for the locals who watched the new park take shape. “Every time I’m up front, someone knocks their head at the front of the gate and says they’re amazed at the difference it’s made and how cool it looks,” says Jan.