Kaye Strain loves pottering in her garden. ‘I'm having so much fan,’ she says. ‘I am so happy I discovered gardening.’ She's serious about her new-found passion, a pursuit inspired by the recent revamp of her garden by Richard Unsworth, the director of plant emporium Garden Life.
The garden is on a rocky, sloping site perched on a hillside, with poor, sandy soils, exposure to southerly winds and a 10-metre incline from the street to the front door. Not ideal conditions for garden-making, but despite that – or thanks to it – Richard has created a textured, thriving wonderland that sits seamlessly in the landscape.
Kaye bought the property in 1993, drawn by the water views and the original ‘50s-era weatherboard home nestled into the bush. Early on, she enlisted…