62 | CONTRACTING Lakes Landscapes Small firm - big success The Lucy’s Way design frames the home’s extraordinary view of lake and mountains. Ange Davidson Virginia Wright Bob’s Cove project a success at all levels Letting the landscape speak for itself is a winning formula for Lakes Landscapes in Wanaka, who picked up two awards at this year’s NZ Registered Master Landscape awards for Landscapes of Distinction. The project, Lucy’s Way, earned the company a gold in Construction and a bronze in design. Overlooking Lake Wanaka in Bremner Bay, Lucy’s Way project sits on 2000 sqm of lake front property. The strong yet simple landscape design frames the extraordinary view of lake and mountains. “Lucy’s Way is a big house on a big section,” says Chris Jones, owner of Lakes Landscapes. “We’ve broken the project up into different zones such as the main entertaining area which has schist walling and glass balustrades to maximise the view. There’s an intimate internal courtyard which is a really nice setting in the cooler months and there’s the big lawn which is terraced down towards the lake. We’ve kept this very simple to let the view do the talking.” The front entrance has classic schist walling and big wide steps which welcome you into the front door and mirrors the wide-open space of the lawn on the other side of the house. “It is a pretty amazing place, and the awards really help to showcase your work and that you’re up there with the top landscapers in the country,” says Chris. Having completed a degree in Horticulture at Lincoln University, before travelling overseas, and returning home to a position in a corporate office, Bryce Coulter still found himself designing gardens for other people, but it was the Christchurch earthquakes that spurred him to change. “I had one of those ‘what am I doing’ moments, and it was quite a healing process actually going out and helping other people with their gardens,” says Bryce. He launched his business Green Therapy with the idea of helping people to recreate their garden sanctuary, somewhere they could relax and reconnect with others. To start with they were primarily working in existing gardens doing tidy-ups and maintenance, but they soon expanded. “We quickly discovered that there were lots of good landscapers, lots of good designers but there was a massive gap in planting knowledge so we started fixing up mistakes in planting and gradually morphed into a landscaping business.” As far as Bryce is concerned there are only two rules: get the soil right and then put the right plant in the right place. “But those two fundamental rules are often broken because people will often put sun-lovers in the shade or vice-versa, and people put big plants in small spaces or small plants in big spaces.” From primarily fixing these basic mistakes Green Therapy gradually evolved to fill a more creative gap in the market. “The artier side where you’re combinating plants to match colours, to contrast forms and textures, bringing in seasonal changes and “The clients were fantastic to work with and it was great to help them create such awesome spaces.” Chris’s team spent a year working on Lucy’s Way in various stages and worked with builders for the decking and contracted stone masons for the walling and fireplace. “You create a relationship with your clients and often stay in touch. People come to appreciate their gardens more as they grow and fill out over the years,” he says. Wanaka’s harsh environment dictates much of the plant selection and natives such as red tussock blend in with the natural scenery. Chris’s background in horticulture and a degree in design are a perfect mix of credentials to bring these design elements into harmony. Spring and summer are usually the busiest time of the year for the small company when installing lawns and planting becomes a priority. Chris started the company seven years ago and employs a team of six. The work is showing no sign of slowing down. “We do a bit of everything at Lakes Landscapes from smaller jobs to the larger scale projects where expertise in landscape design is a big factor when creating these masterpieces. “It’s nice to get the recognition from the Landscape awards. It encourages you to be the best you can and be up there amongst the bigger companies. Green Therapy scents near entrances and so on,” explains Bryce. Bryce built a strong and close-knit team with seven full-time staff from a variety of countries with an equal variety of skills and hands-on experience. What began in Christchurch and the Canterbury Region expanded into Queenstown when a job done for family caught the attention of neighbours and word about Green therapy began to spread. If they have their own rule of thumb for how they approach a garden it’s that they work on form, foliage and structure first. Form might involve contrasting upright ornamental grasses with the rounded forms of hebes or small shrubs; structure may mean planting a buxux hedge, or border of hebes that colour up in winter and appeal to the eye when other plants may not be at their best. But always having conferred with their client about personal likes and dislike. “They might just want a palette of greens which is very restful, and not everyone likes pink for example, they tend to love it or loathe it. We always want a basic set of plants that are looking good all year round and then we make sure we’re building a garden that when you look out the window you’re seeing things changing and evolving with the seasons.” It’s a winning formula, as Green Therapy discovered when to their surprise they walked away with the Supreme Award from this years Registered Master Landscaper Awards which they’d entered for the first time. The entry was for the Bob’s Cove Retreat Project, on the road from Queenstown to Glenorchy. Bryce and his team have been part of from its beginning five years ago, working closely with others, in what Bryce describes as a project where “everything came togethLAKES LANDSCAPING Proud supply partners to PLACEMAKERS WANAKA | 8 CONNELL TERRACE | (03) 443 0080 Pleased to be associated with Lakes LandscapesWanaka Landscape Supplies Hiab Hire Bulk Aggregates Allied Fuel Stop Tip Trucks UPPER CLUTHA TRANSPORT Wanaka Ph: 03 443 7833 E: wanaka@uct.co.nz W: www.uppercluthatransport.co.nz Phone (03) 381-1395 180 Ruru Road, Bromley, Christchurch info@gardeningsupplies.co.nz www.gardeningsupplies.co.nz At Pearsons you will find a range of popular garden supplies including: • Topsoil • Garden mix • Sand • Stones • Pebbles • Landscaping bark • Crushed shell • Gravel • Compost which can be purchaced in either bulk or bagged, delivered to your door or drop in and see us. So if you require a DIY load for your home or a large bulk volume to complete a commercial landscaping it will be available here at Pearsons Landscape Supplies.
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