Coastal Garden Design

With years of experience designing and building coastal gardens Think Outside Gardens can provide considered solutions to the challenging Australian coastal conditions. Discover the coastal projects that Think Outside Gardens have delivered in Sydney. We hope this will give you some inspirational ideas on how to build your new coastal garden or read on for an insight into our coastal garden design process.

The Australian Coastline is a uniquely harsh and yet strikingly beautiful piece of our landscape. Not to be confused with a tropical garden, Australian Coastal Gardens aren’t lush, and overgrown, they’re subtle and strong-willed and typically Australian in nature. Coastal Gardens in Australia need to be designed to survive the salty air and dry resilient environment. Australian native coastal plants have adapted to survive the harsh Australian conditions and are the key ingredient to your beach inspired Garden. To get a good idea of what plants are indigenous to your area, try contacting your local council for a list of plants are that are found in your local coastal zones.

By bringing all of these elements into your coastal garden design you’ll be left with a beautiful coastal space that uses those harsh elements to accentuate the natural raw beauty of the Australian Coastline. Don’t forget to use suitable native plants and hardy materials that reinforce the style and will survive in the salty air. This will allow you to spend many years to come relaxing in your very own coastal retreat, and less time maintaining the look. If you stick to these kinds of materials, well designed coastal gardens will age and weather naturally over the years, adding to the gardens overall ambience and style.

Picking the right building material for coastal design is also key to ensure you’re fitting the look but also using materials that can withstand harsh Australian conditions. The building materials you choose are likely to deteriorate three times faster in the salty air, so choose hardwoods like spotted gum or blackbutt for their fire & moisture resistance, galvanised or stainless steel fittings and UV resistant paints and fabrics to prevent fading. If you’re planning to use paving in the outdoor areas, sticking to pale colours helps to reflect the heat making them more comfortable to spend time on during those hot summer months.

If you’re looking to improve longevity and reduce your environmental impact many builders are now recommending decking material made from recycled plastics over natural timber in coastal garden designs.

The Eko Decking designer series is a great example of composite decking that can handle the coastal conditions a lot better with almost no maintenance required, whereas timber decks tend to deteriorate much quicker on the coast and require re-oiling far more often than the recommended once every six months.

Beautiful coastal gardens often incorporate raw natural materials as features throughout to complement the rugged nature of the landscape. Large sandstone blocks, granite and/or large planters with seasonal coastal flowers, placed throughout the garden to give an earthy, coastal feel. These features give subtle detail to your garden that draws you into the garden or can be used to gently guide guests in an intended direction. Entertaining or dining areas, seating, fire pits, or even something as simple as a few well-placed loungers can help to invite your guests into the outdoors and expand your useful living area.

Our Projects

Coastal Garden in Palm Beach

Seaside Rooftop in Bondi

More Projects