Old World Gardens

Old World Gardens

Garden Design

Garden Design Blue Mountains

Good garden design in the Blue Mountains has to do a bit more heavy lifting than it does elsewhere. It’s not just about how a space looks on paper — it needs to cope with frost, wind, clay soil, steep grades and, for a lot of properties, bushfire asset protection requirements. We design gardens that tick all those boxes while still looking like somewhere you’d actually want to spend time, and we do it for clients right across the region, from Mt Victoria down to Glenbrook.

We’re based in Lawson, which means we’re designing for these exact conditions every day, not occasionally popping up from Sydney to have a go at a mountains garden. That local knowledge shapes everything about how we approach a design — the plant palette, the materials, the way we handle levels and drainage, all of it.

Our garden design process usually starts with a proper conversation about how you actually use, or want to use, your outdoor space. Some people want a low-maintenance garden that looks tidy without demanding weekends of upkeep. Others want a productive space with room for vegetables and fruit trees that can actually survive the frost. Some are after an entertaining area, a kids’ play space, or simply want to make sense of a sloped block that’s currently just an eyesore. We take the time to understand what you want before we start sketching anything.

From there we look at the practical stuff — soil type, drainage, sun and shade patterns through the seasons, frost pockets, existing trees worth keeping, and any bushfire requirements that might affect plant choices or clearance zones. Blue Mountains blocks can vary hugely even within the same street, so we don’t rely on generic plans. Each design is built around the actual site.

Plant selection is a big part of what makes mountains garden design different. We lean towards species that are genuinely suited to the local climate — hardy natives, cold-tolerant exotics, plants that’ll cope with the swing between summer heat and winter frost without constant fuss. We can absolutely include more delicate or exotic plantings if that’s what you’re after, but we’ll be upfront about the extra care they’ll need to survive up here.

We also design with the hard landscaping in mind from the start — retaining walls, paths, seating areas, water features, fencing — so the whole thing comes together as one cohesive space rather than a garden with a few disconnected features scattered around it. And because we do the design and build work ourselves, what ends up on the plan is realistic and buildable, not something that looks great as a drawing but falls apart against the actual site conditions.

If you’re planning a new garden or a redesign anywhere between Mt Victoria and Glenbrook, get in touch. We’ll come out for a look, talk through what you’re after, and put together a design that actually suits your block and your budget.