Tiri View

Our clients had beautifully renovated the existing tiny bach at the top of this steep property in Palm Beach on Waiheke Island and they now wanted rebuild the path from the road and improve the health of the native bush. The existing bush was predominately manuka and wheki and the soil was clay, dry and depleted and in need of enrichment planting.

The steep site made planting difficult and so a local arborist was contacted who had recently felled a very old puriri tree that was covered in epiphytes, we had these branches delivered to site and pinned them into the bank creating pockets that we could then backfill with soil for planting. Carbon sequestering (?).

Steps and gravel paths lead through native bush to a seat which provides a resting point in this native garden on Waiheke Island. The recycled totara sleepers were treated with the traditional Japanese method of Shou sugi ban, a process where the timber is burnt in order to preserve it.

Stormwater had been an ongoing issue and the original path washed out each winter, our design created natural swales and directed the water under the paths and through planting that would help to process the water.

At the top of the property a level lawn was created by cutting and battering the slope and retaining the banks using stone from the local quarry, this soft approach to levelling removes the need for retaining walls and creates beautiful planted banks.