Seasoned gardeners in the Newcastle and Hunter Valley region will tell you that you don’t need ocean views to notice the effects of living close to the coast on your garden.
Whether you’re building a new home with Vision Homes or live in an established home lacking the garden of your dreams, we’ve written this guide of our best landscape design tips and ideas for coastal homes. From why your plants suddenly die to what to plant in the first place, here’s all you need to know to create a beautiful, resilient garden in Newcastle and the Hunter Valley.
Why Coastal Landscape Design is Unique
Living in a coastal environment means your garden will likely have poor sandy soil that doesn’t retain moisture and nutrients. Your plants are also constantly exposed to salty air and harsh winds, and you may face challenges like gardening on erosion-prone slopes.
Newcastle and the Hunter Valley’s climate is humid subtropical, with the Pacific Ocean having a large influence. Traditional landscaping techniques that work well in other parts of the country might cause your garden to struggle, and plants may fail to thrive or suddenly die, even once established. Adopting climate-appropriate landscape architecture and design will add to the functionality of your garden and ensure its sustainability and resilience in the face of these harsh conditions.
A resilient and well-presented garden enhances the coastal living experience and helps homes integrate with the coastal landscape. A beautiful, low-maintenance garden also adds a lot of value to your home.
Key Considerations for Coastal Landscape Design
When designing a landscape for a coastal home, sustainability is key. Here are some things to consider during the planning stages before the design process begins.
Conduct a site analysis
Consider the natural flora and fauna of your specific area, the path or the sun in all seasons, your soil type, the architecture of your home and how your garden could complement it, any privacy issues with neighbours and the water requirements of your garden and how you will fulfil these.
Define your garden goals
A good garden design will combine hardscape for functionality and softscape for aesthetics. Are your swimming pool and garden structures best softened with plants? Is there enough space for the kids to play? Will lighting around your entertainment space help your guests better enjoy nighttime views? Be clear about what your garden is for and how you will use it.
Choose salt-tolerant and drought-resistant plants
When living by the coast, salt from the air is also deposited in the soil, building up over time. This is why plants that can resist the adverse effects of salt do best in a coastal landscape. Drought-tolerant plants are a sustainable choice because they thrive in full sun and will adapt to poor soil conditions.
Improve your soil before you start and as you go
Check if your soil is hydrophobic, add compost, manure and ground rock dust before planting, install an irrigation system and group plants with similar water needs together.
Plant living windbreaks
Protect your plants and improve the functionality of living zones with windbreaks, or shelter belts. Trees and hedges can prevent erosion and help establish biozones in your garden for added resilience.
Manage water with innovative systems
Features like permeable pathways encourage water to infiltrate through the pavement surface to the ground below, keeping the water in your garden. Along with other measures such as rain gardens, this can help manage stormwater runoff and reduce erosion.
Don’t forget the nature strip
The City of Newcastle encourages residents to plant street gardens to beautify the region, create habitat, encourage biodiversity and foster great relationships between neighbours. They even provide a helpful list of suggested species that can be planted throughout your garden.
Best Plants for Coastal Gardens in the Hunter Valley and Newcastle
The style of garden you desire will determine which plants you choose to some extent. However, gardening is all about being creative and one of the best ways to create something unexpected is to choose versatile native plants that will thrive in coastal conditions. There’s a misconception that native plants can be hard to care for (or that they don’t require any care) or that a garden filled with native plants gives a particular aesthetic. However, this couldn’t be further from the truth. Native plants can be used in elegant modern gardens, cottage gardens, and even lush tropical gardens.
The Australian Plant Society NSW has fantastic resources for choosing the best native plants for the Hunter Valley and Newcastle, including some that only grow in the Hunter Region, such as Prostanthera cineolifera (Singleton Mint-bush) and Grevillea virgata (Nerong Grevillea).
Hunter Indigenous Plants is another great local resource for more information on local native plants.
Using plants indigenous to the region in your garden means they have a great chance of thriving because they are optimised for your bioregion, won’t become weeds in native bushland and encourage biodiversity by providing habitat for native animals and insects.
Native Plant Selection
When choosing native plants for your garden, think outside the box. For a cottage garden, you might choose Epacris microphylla, commonly known as coral heath. This small shrub has long-lasting, dainty white flowers and grows well in sandy soils with good drainage. In a modern garden, why not embrace native grasses such as Themeda australis (Kangaroo Grass) that create movement with coastal breezes and visual interest with their copper-purple flower spikes.
For formal gardens, Westringia fruticosa (Coastal Rosemary) is compact and easily shaped, while the Cordyline stricta (Slender Palm Lily) is an ideal choice for a lush, tropical garden oasis.
Trees in Newcastle can also provide you with more advice on appropriate species for your Newcastle and Hunter Valley garden.
Low-Maintenance Options
While native species, especially those indigenous to the Hunter Valley and Newcastle regions, will do best in your coastal garden, it doesn’t mean they are the only types of plants you should choose.
There are plenty of other plant species that will do well when exposed to harsh conditions. Good plants for coastal locations typically have silver-grey foliage to deflect the sun, slender grass-like leaves that can cope with strong winds without being torn to shreds, plants with thick, fleshy leaves that won’t dry out quickly (like aloes) or those with naturally low form.
Design Inspiration: Coastal Landscapes in the Hunter Valley and Newcastle
Get inspiration for your own coastal landscape with these spectacular projects from local landscape design services.
Octopus Garden Design 1
Permeable garden steps allow rainwater to reach the under-planted native violet in this lush, tropical-style garden by Newcastle-based landscape experts at Octopus Garden Design. This garden also incorporates hardy non-natives like strelitzia and bromeliads.
Octopus Garden Design 2
The edges of this swimming pool are softened with low plantings and smart lighting solutions in another project by Octopus Garden Design.
Jason Reading Landscapes
This New Lambton Newcastle home was completely transformed by Jason Reading Landscapes using durable hardscape elements for outdoor seating and entertaining combined with a mix of hardy, non-native plants.
Finding the Right Landscape Designer for Your Coastal Property
A well-designed garden for your Newcastle or Hunter Valley home should help accentuate the natural beauty of the coastal landscape. Engaging a qualified landscape architect is an investment in your home that will pay off in the long term and may help you achieve all that you are after for your dream garden.
As a local business ourselves, Vision Homes likes to support other local businesses, so why not reach out to a Newcastle or Hunter Valley-based landscape professional who can help you make the most of your coastal property?
Local landscape designers have intricate knowledge of the unique conditions of the region and are best placed to provide you with expert service. And if you’re looking for a home to complement your dream coastal garden, get in touch with local Newcastle and Hunter Valley builder Vision Homes today.