People – Harald Paech

An overgrown four and a half acre block in Oxford Falls is the resting place for much of Sydney’s historic sandstone. Blocks from buildings and structures that have made way for modern development are collected and categorised there in a system that makes sense to one man. It’s all been salvaged by the self-appointed stone custodian, Harald Paech. The characteristic, beautiful, recycled sandstone pieces that have been appearing in Spirit Level designs as seats, tables or in our feature walls, have been supplied by Harald since our earliest gardens.

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Places – Greenwich Garden

 

A garden tailored to suit the purpose of each space and the outlook of each room.

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Plant in Focus – Mexican Bush Sage

Mexican Bush Sage

Salvia leucantha

This is the kind of plant you want to hug, or in the very least, pat like a dog.

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Plant in Focus – Mediterranean Spurge

 

Mediterranean Spurge

Euphorbia characias subsp. wulfenii

A great looking plant in the garden, no matter what the season.

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Places – The Fire Pit

We believe in creating places in gardens for people to congregate, talk and take time to work things through. The fire pits we design and install have been steadily increasing in popularity with our clients but we see them as more than just a trend. They signify possibility.Frivolous or serious, they provide an opportunity for people to gather to enjoy the millenia-old ritual of fire, to enjoy time together and grow from one another’s insights.

A lit fire invites you back out into the garden to enjoy its’ winter hibernation. The bare branches of deciduous trees and the lack of bright blooms creates a different atmosphere, a sense of quiet, a bigger sense of the space. They are another way to get you involved in your garden – by being outside, and being warm and comfortable, you experience the space in a different way. Come summer, the firepit is a place to gather for social events or solo contemplation.

A well-situated, and well-designed firepit will have various incarnations over the range of seasons, now is definitely the time to rug up and enjoy the intimacy of a roaring fire in your backyard.