Grow Beauty

Xanthe White Design works across a variety of public & private landscapes, each with unique design solutions & aesthetics - but the common factor in all - is beauty.

As designers & gardeners working with the earth, beauty is an essential element in our work. Understanding how to arrange an array of plants to create form & composition is an art; a puzzle that is customised to each space, place & person.

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Customised design

Everyone's relationship with a garden is unique. Some of us need our gardens tamed and set back, while others are quite comfortable with a plant reaching across the path and brushing an ankle. Some are seduced by colour or the pleasure of food, while others want something unruly and wild. We like to play to each individual’s boundaries to create gardens that are as restrained or flamboyant as the people they are designed to engage.

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Native flora and fauna

As New Zealanders we have a unique palette of plants and a diverse biosphere that means the New Zealand garden is distinct from any other. We also have a unique relationship and a passion for restoring the wild that leads the world in its thinking. The integration of these plants into our garden spaces creates opportunities for the preservation of plants that are sitting on the brink in their natural habitat but will thrive in our gardens such as kōwhai-ngutu-kākā (Kaka beak) and para (King fern).

See more: Native Courtyard Garden
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Art and craft

Beauty is greatest when an artful composition sees what is present before imposing a new regime. The art of gardening is not about imprinting upon a space but instead drawing from the elements that exist already. It's the weaving together of old ideas and new that makes a composition harmonised. No garden is still, it is shifting with the seasons, with time constantly in flux. Great design understands this fluidity of life and moves with it.

See more: Maungawhau Garden
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SEAMLESS TRANSITIONS

Selection of material that relates to both architecture and location is essential in creating gardens that interlock with their surroundings and don't stand garishly in the landscape. Local stone, recycled brick, customised seats and steps help to create spaces that are designed to create a sense of seamless transition between house, neighbourhood, people and landscape.

See more: Volcanic Garden

Spot's Garden

A colourful, crafted garden inspired by a beloved family member, Spot the Dalmation.

See more: Spot's Garden
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The garden that followed them home

It is a rare and special occasion that the relationship between client and designer is transported from one garden to a fresh new canvas. With trust well established the opportunity to work together to layer a garden slowly over a series of growing seasons results in a garden that balances simplicity with discovery.

See more: Point Wells garden
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A riot of colour

This flowering perennial garden is overflowing with colour. It dies back in winter to reveal the ‘bones’ of the garden - such as clipped Corokia balls - but it is not dormant for very long before fresh Spring growth emerges. This period of stillness was a conscious design decision, in a garden which is so abundant throughout the rest of the year.

See more: Parnell garden
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"Beauty in a garden is fed by light, bringing life through sustenance, with such visual delights as sun filtered through wavering leaves, or the silhouette of harakeke against a western evening sky"

— Xanthe White

About us

Xanthe White Design is a landscape studio working across a wide spectrum of landscape projects in both New Zealand and Internationally. Works include residential as well as community spaces, with an openness to the process of creative collaboration.

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Contact

Get in touch

If you are looking for help with your garden or design project we would love to hear from you. We specialise in landscape projects big or small. Please get in touch via the form below or visit the contact page.

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XANTHE WHITE DESIGN
Auckland Studio
Phone: 09 815 1187
Email: info@xwd.co.nz

XANTHE WHITE DESIGN
Wellington Studio
Phone: 04 801 9050
Email: wellington@xwd.co.nz

© Xanthe White Design