Argyle Well is located in Millers Point on Gadigal Country.  The site is located in a fine grain area of the city with Barrangaroo to the West and the Observatory to the South, a reminder that the private garden can be a stepping stone in connecting biodiverse places in the city.

The historically significant terrace was built in 1842.  My clients acquired the depilated boarding house in 2016.  The rear garden was narrow with hard paved surfaces, the walls and reflective roofs made the space hot and unfriendly.  There was no vegetation or canopy on site.

Welsh + Major’s concept was to restore the terrace back to a home and to create a new garden pavilion to be enveloped by garden. This was a fantastic opportunity to bring permeability, softness and biodiversity to the site.  

The garden’s biodiversity objectives included:

• Creating a green roof to the new garden pavilion

• Creating a biodiverse garden for the clients to view and to be emersed in

• Creating a green wall with climbers to create a cooler microclimate
  

The green roof viewed from the rear of the terrace gives the illusion of a larger rear garden on the compact site.    Soft native grasses and cascading groundcovers envelop the roof of the pavilion. The native geranium which attracts butterflies was left to flower and seed.  Hundreds of self sown geraniums spontaneously started popping up which was a beautiful process with some taming.

The private garden created, opens out from the new pavilion, removing paved surfaces, a small permeable lawn was introduced for an open circulation space.  A sculptural folding concrete bench and seat creates a place to sit and gather in the garden.  The hot Western facing brick wall was transformed by introducing various climbers, providing a mix of textures while cooling down the space and providing opportunities for insect habitat. 

A salvaged frangipani was introduced to site, a memory of the species arriving to Elizabeth Bay in colonial times   The frangipani gives a cool microclimate to the courtyard garden in Summer and let’s the warm sun through in Winter.  

A water feature, planted with water plants provides the tranquil sound of water.  Native fish swim around to control mosquito lavae, and the water feature gives a place for birds to bathe.  

The planting strategy was to introduce biodiverse planting, but to also tell a story about the layers and history of the site. An eclectic mix of native planting reminiscent of the site before European settlement was combined with historically significant exotic plants bought to Australia during colonial times.  The mix of planting to encourage pollinators.

Country: Gadigal Country of the Eora Nation

Completion: 2021

Architect: Welsh + Major 

Builder: AJ Bristow & Sons Pty Ltd

Photos: Anson Smart 

Landscape Construction: Impressions Landscape

Garden Care: Impressions Horticulture