In Focus: Eckersley Garden Architecture
Upon completing an apprenticeship in construction, Myles turned his focus to landscape construction, where he landed a job with one of the industry’s most respected authorities – Rick Eckersley of Eckersley Garden Architecture. It is here that Myles has spent the last twenty years crafting relaxed and tactile gardens that form the foundations of how homeowners experience the spaces they call home. Eckersley is known for its commitment to creating outdoor spaces that speak to the surroundings, whether those be architectural builds or existing landscape. Each Eckersley project seeks to mimic the nature in which it sits, championing native species and indigenous plantings alongside climate-hardy companions that will thrive in the varied Australian environment.
For the better half of the last decade, Myles, along with his co-director Scott Leung have led a studio of landscape designers that have transformed the practice into the sought-after creative team it is today. Here, Myles shares four of his most memorable projects.
South Yarra
Located on a sloping cliff along the banks of the Yarra River, this project was the result of creative clients wanting to make use of the sprawling space they had. Responding to the challenges of the site, as well as a simultaneous renovation of the clients’ boathouse by SJB, Eckersley took inspiration from the other-worldy Gullfoyle’s Volcano – an 1876 restored reservoir in the Royal Botanic Gardens Victoria. Based around the idea of low-water, drought-tolerant and climate-responsive plantings, Myles and his team brought the whimsy of the sculptural and prehistoric garden to the residential realm, utilising a succulent and grass palette that would thrive along the shale cliff edge. “We chose hero plants such as Queensland bottle tree (brachychiton rupestris), silk floss tree (ceiba speciosa) and barrel cactus (echinocactus grusonii) and planted them alongside surroundings of lush and textured species like sedum ‘autumn joy’, miscanthus ‘adagio’, Lord Howe iris – (dietes robinsoniana), senecio ‘chalk sticks’ and baby sun rose (aptenia cordifolia).” A garden that, according to Myles, was as “weird and wonderful” as the landscape that inspired its foundations.
Portsea
Home to a beautiful array of mature trees, this modest holiday home on the Mornington Peninsula already had the beginnings of an inspirational garden when Myles and his team were brought on board. “The trees, including one of the nicest ginko I’d ever seen, were planted by the previous owner, who was obviously a passionate gardener,” says Myles. “Taking on this project, we acted to simplify the garden by formulating a new layout replete with strong, yet simple underplantings and a generous new pool.” The ginko was joined by further mature plantings such as a perfectly formed crepe myrtle and an Illawarra flame tree. Myles and his team brought the garden together by adding simple block plantings of miscanthus sarabande, rhaphiolepis indica ‘oriental pearl’, plectranthus ecklonii, as well as a mini orchard of fruit trees – each allowing the existing beauty of the outdoor area to shine through.
Musk Cottage
It’s not often that a landscape designer gets to work on a project with no brief, but this was exactly the case for the garden of Myles’ mentor and Eckersley’s founder, Rick Eckersley. After a long career in design, nursery and radio, Rick wanted to transform his weekender in Flinders into a passion project of sorts, a feat that the team at Eckersley was only more than happy to encourage. “We went about building the garden at Musk Cottage over a period of 10 years,” says Myles. “We would work in town all week, then head to Mornington and chip away at the garden over the weekends.” Slow and steady, this decade-long build was the culmination of Rick’s own vision as well as an extension of the practice’s core ethos – sustainability. “This was at the forefront of the project,” says Myles. “All the plantings were drought-resistant and never irrigated, with about 70 per cent Australian natives as well as a host of additional textural components,” the bulk of which were “decided over a glass or two of wine” after a hard day’s work. Ten acres in total, Myles estimates that around 200,000 plants went in over the years, including a “road to nowhere” shaped path that was reminiscent of a Lunig cartoon, lined with lemon-scented gums planted half a metre apart. Further on, a grid of 100 ironbark gums, underplanted with Tuscan privet clipped into Japanese-style waves, or mounds, were “an homage to formality in the garden”, without taking away from its wild and natural abundance. A fire pit made from 1000 beer bottles was installed, making for the perfect perch from which to watch the sun setting over the damn. A true work of art, the sculptural, yet organic garden was covered in a mass of grasses, but one of the most special plantings, according to Myles, was the lomandra ‘little pal’, with its lime green foliage that sat underneath a pre-existing linden tree that created a stunning moment in spring. “It was full of birds, life and fun; a true passion project.”
Toorak
A collaboration between EGA and the client, owner of a company called Rhodes Stone, you could be forgiven for mistaking this suburban home in Toorak for sprawling acreage. The abundant garden was designed to be seasonal, making use of the climate year-round with deciduous and luscious plantings and abundant foliage encompassing a courtyard forged with handcrafted planks of granite from ancient Chinese laneways, imported by the homeowner. The paved area adds a sense of history to this relatively new garden, although the plantings and surroundings make it feel as if the garden has existed for just as long as its storied foundations. “This project was a truly seasonal ‘town’ garden,” says Myles. “With lace leaf maples, acer palmatum ‘dissectum seriyu’, liriope ‘royal purple’, white Christmas lilies, Star Wars magnolias and the star of the show – Virginia creeper (parthenocissus quinquefolia).” Coming to life in Autumn, where its brilliant red tendrils fall gracefully over the pergola, the leaves retreat in winter, making way for the warming sun. “The flowing tendrils of the Virginia creeper give the garden its moodiness and are a reflection of the client’s relaxed nature,” says Myles, who’s plantings also included Corsican mint and thyme, as well as nandina domestica, which is the “backbone of the seasonal planting”, thriving in the dark shade of the existing pear trees. An entertainer’s dream, this rich garden is a retreat for the mind and the soul.
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