Randwick — Zen Courtyard Garden
Location: Randwick, NSW 2031 Council area: Randwick City Council Project type: Residential
Completed: August 2020 (trellis return visit October 2020)
Services: Garden design and planning, weed spraying, site preparation, plant installation, horticultural maintenance, stepping stone placement, mulching, trellis installation
The Brief
A residential property in Randwick with a walled rear courtyard that needed a complete transformation. The brief was to create a calm, low-maintenance garden that worked with the existing render wall and established tree — something with a considered, zen-like quality rather than a dense planted look.
The Site
Randwick sits on Hawkesbury Sandstone country with sandy, free-draining soils typical of Sydney's eastern corridor. The courtyard had an established tree providing partial shade across much of the space — a constraint that shaped every planting decision. The walled render boundary offered an opportunity for vertical softening that we wanted to make the most of.
What We Delivered
The design centred on restraint — a limited palette used in rhythmic repetition to create a sense of calm and deliberate intention.
Ground plane:
Plantation woodchip mulch was applied throughout at depth, suppressing weeds, retaining moisture, and giving the garden its warm, textural base. Lava stone stepping stones were placed through the bed to provide a practical pathway without interrupting the soft, naturalistic feel of the space. A Lotus birdbath was positioned as the garden's focal point, anchoring the space beneath the existing tree.
Planting palette:
Liriope — strappy, shade-tolerant grass massed through the central bed in consistent rhythm. An excellent performer under established tree canopy, requiring minimal intervention once settled in.
Ophiopogon japonicus — a finer-textured companion to the Liriope, used as a low strip planting along the front border. Both species handle the dappled light conditions in this courtyard without issue and stay tidy through Sydney's full seasonal range.
Trachelospermum jasminoides (Star Jasmine) — installed as climbers against the render wall to soften the boundary with foliage and seasonal fragrance. Star Jasmine is one of the most reliable wall climbers in Sydney's Eastern Suburbs — tolerant of both sun and shade, performing consistently on render and masonry surfaces, and delivering a light fragrance when in flower.
Raphiolepis intermedia — positioned toward the boundary for structure and evergreen screening. A tough, compact shrub that suits the sandy soils of Sydney's eastern corridor and holds its form without heavy pruning.
Dichondra argentea 'Silver Falls' — planted at the front bed edge for its cascading silver-toned foliage. Drought-tolerant and low-growing, it adds soft texture and tonal contrast against the woodchip mulch.
Alternanthera dentata — deep burgundy foliage plants through the front border for year-round colour contrast without the maintenance demands of flowering annuals.
Return visit — trellis installation (October 2020):
Two months after the initial planting, we returned to install a stainless steel wire trellis system on the render wall. This two-stage approach was deliberate — waiting until the Star Jasmine had established
and shown its natural growth direction allowed us to position the wire supports precisely rather than guessing from a bare wall.
The system used eyelet screws and wall anchor plugs fixed into the bricks, with stainless steel wire run horizontally and secured with galvanised wire clamps and tension fittings. The result is a clean, permanent support structure that becomes virtually invisible once the jasmine covers it — no timber battens, no plastic trellis panels, no visible hardware from a distance.
The Result:
A low-maintenance, four-season courtyard with genuine design intent. The woodchip ground plane, the rhythmic grass planting, the climbing jasmine trained on bespoke wire, and the birdbath focal point work together to create a space that reads as considered and calm. The shade-tolerance of the chosen palette means the garden performs consistently through Sydney's summers without ongoing irrigation beyond the establishment period.
