Transforming small gardens with Paul Bangay

One of Australia’s highest profile landscape designers, Paul Bangay is celebrated for his exceptional skill in manipulating scale, balance, form, and colour, utilising his extensive knowledge of both the natural and classical worlds to craft gardens worldwide. He has recently turned his attention to the creation of small landscape spaces, an aspect of his work that Marshall White had the opportunity to explore.

05 September 2023

In 2018, Paul Bangay was honoured with the Medal of the Order of Australia for his contributions to landscape architecture. His career has been a balance of local and international projects, alongside nurturing his Stonefields country garden near Daylesford.

With a portfolio of fourteen books, Paul's work has evolved from the expansive, spectacular gardens he's known for, to embracing the challenges and opportunities of smaller spaces.

This shift mirrors a change in Australian living trends, with more people residing in apartments, townhouses, and terraces. Paul emphasises that creating a dream garden in compact outdoor spaces is entirely achievable.

When asked about the main considerations for clients with limited space, Paul highlighted the importance of managing expectations. "Editing their needs is critical. Often, the primary use of the garden is for outdoor dining or entertaining. However, the pursuit of beauty remains paramount in the design process," Paul explained.

One of Paul’s key suggestions is to obscure the boundaries as much as possible. "Using mirrors or deep plantings of creepers or shrubs can create an illusion of depth and shadow. Painting boundary walls in dark colours further enhances this effect," Paul advised.

Often, as our living spaces decrease in size, we demand more from our garden and the challenge becomes to cater for all things. “Small gardens are always more challenging, the lack of space, the high demands of recreational use and intense human traffic all make it difficult to create a small garden,” said Paul.

Paul Bangay's insights offer a practical and accessible approach to maximising small spaces, transforming them into dream gardens despite their size constraints.