Landscape Design In Brisbane.

Every city we visit has a defined character of its own. When we think of the City of Sydney we may see a scintillating blue harbour framed by the arching Bridge and sparkling city lights. Or Perth where the wide open sandy spaces are cut by the broad Swan River. Each and every city will present a specific set of challenges for the dedicated landscape designer. The rolling hills and flood plains of Brisbane present a very different challenge to the landscape designer than the expansive desert and sandy soils of Perth.

Landmark Brisbane

IF you were to fly into Brisbane city your eye would be caught by the Brisbane River snaking its way through the suburbs, around the city and emptying into the ocean at Moreton Bay. You can clearly see the floodplain and the many creeks that criss-cross the urban sprawl. Small hills like Chapel Hill and low-lying mountains such as Mount Cootha dot the landscape that has been slowly eroded by the ponderous and powerful Brisbane River.

Brisbane was first settled in 1823 at Redcliffe, but the settlement moved one year later to the cradle of Brisbane, North Quay. However, it wasn’t until the 1840’s that the most iconic suburban dwellings in Australia began construction – The Queenslander.

The design of the Queenslander epitomises design principles for Brisbane Landscape Architects as the Queenslander copes with the same varied weather and terrain factors that any landscape architect must plan for. The most salient feature of the Queenslander design is the raised platform for living space, coupled with expansive verandahs that allow for easy indoor/outdoor living. Raising the house on stumps separates the living space from floods, pests and termites and also grants greater cooling capacity to the house. Raising the house on stumps also compensates for the fact that most of Brisbane’s building blocks are not level and can be variously affected by flood or drought. Just as the Queenslander design of home is uniquely design to cope with Brisbane weather, it takes an accomplished Landscape designer to plan a great garden in Brisbane.

It’s All In The Soil.

Brisbane has been blessed with a variety of soil types, from rich dark alluvial soils of the flood plains to deep red loamy soils gracing the many hills and valleys of Brisbane, to the most common gravelly red and yellow loam mixture that tops a hard compacted clay base.

It is a mixed blessing however as some soils, such as loamy and alluvial soils tend to be richer than their gravellier counterparts. Unfortunately the gravel soils are the most commonly found, and to be honest most of the soil in Brisbane is a little tired and lacking nutrients owing to nearly 200 years of habitation. So building up the soil is a key consideration in any landscape design plan. Building up the soil can done in a variety of ways, by adding rich mulch to sandy soils, breaking
up clay based soil for better drainage, or adding matured compost to revitalize tired earth. Other methods to build soil include completely restructuring the topography of a garden. One of the best ways to do this is with retaining walls.

In our next article on Landscape design in Brisbane join us as we explore more features of Landscape design in Brisbane. Or visit Brisbane Landscaping or My Landscape Design Brisbane or Visit the website.