Heritage Stone Paving Restoration | Toorak Gardens, Adelaide
Construction by Desert Flower Landscaping | Design by Design by Dale
A front garden restoration in Toorak Gardens, Adelaide, where nearly 90-year-old drystone walls were sensitively restored and repurposed, and time-worn slate paving was hand-relaid to lead visitors on a new journey through family-friendly, functional garden spaces.
A GARDEN WORTHY OF A CLASSIC TOORAK GARDENS HOME
The front garden of this charming 1930s home in Toorak Gardens was in need of an update. Dale was asked to revive and enhance the space to create a more appealing and practical garden, while retaining all the charisma of the original. The result balances everyday function for a young family with the character and history the home deserves.
HERITAGE STONE, RESTORED & REPURPOSED
Our favourite element of this project is the beautiful local stone, restored and repurposed throughout the landscape. The unique stone was originally part of low drystone walls built nearly 90 years ago, sourced from a now-disused local silver mine quarry.
During construction, the stone was sensitively removed, refreshed and relaid by hand using the traditional drystone wall restoration method. It's now a stunning decorative feature of the garden, carrying the site's history forward into its new design.
A JOURNEY THROUGH THE GARDEN
Dale's design relocated the entrance gate and rerouted the old slate paving, creating a sequence of family-friendly, functional spaces for visitors to move through. The path leads past a quietly bubbling water feature, on to a new sitting area with a fire pit, before arriving at the front door.
The old, time-worn slate paving was lifted and cleaned before being re-laid - a labour-intensive process, but one that preserved the character of the original materials.
LAYERED, SEASONAL PLANTING
The planting throughout the garden is layered and richly textured, combining a variety of contrasting foliage colours alongside a selection of flowering plants for seasonal colour. Together with the retained mature trees, it gives the garden a settled, established feel that belies the extent of the works.
A CONSIDERED, SUSTAINABLE REVIVAL
Rather than stripping the garden back and starting again, the design works with what was already there - restoring, relaying and retaining materials and planting of genuine heritage value.
HAVE YOU GOT A HERITAGE-STYLE PROPERTY THAT NEEDS LANDSCAPING?
Desert Flower Landscaping designs and builds gardens across Adelaide, Toorak Gardens and the eastern suburbs - including sensitive work on heritage properties, where we take care to restore and repurpose original materials wherever possible.
View more of our garden design projects to see how we bring character and craftsmanship to life.