The Brief
The backyard had the bones of a nice space: a timber deck under a pergola frame, a shed, enough room to do something with. But it had been let go. Overgrown, unplanted, no defined paths, no logic to the layout. The owners wanted it sorted properly, not just tidied for the sake of it, but redesigned.
What We Did
We started by stripping the whole site back to clean ground, laying heavy-duty weed barrier across every garden bed and open area before anything else went in. That's the unglamorous part of the job, and it's also the part that makes everything else last.
Natural slate stepping stones were set through the main garden zone, giving the space flow and directing movement from the deck out through the beds. In the side passage, we laid dark rough-cut slate pavers in pairs through pea gravel, running a clean line from the gate to the shed door. Both paths work with the planting rather than cutting across it.
The planting itself was the main event. We went coastal and architectural: Agave, Aloe, and Aeonium for the structural anchors: bold, drought-tolerant, zero-fuss in a New Brighton garden. Heuchera and low groundcovers fill in between with colour and texture without needing constant attention. Every plant was chosen for the conditions here: salt air, sandy soils, full coastal sun.
All beds were finished in dark organic mulch to lock moisture in and keep weeds suppressed between maintenance visits. The pergola frame was already in place, we tied the garden design into it so the deck zone reads as a defined outdoor room rather than a leftover patch of timber next to a garden.
The Result
A garden that looks intentional. Every zone has a purpose: the deck area under the pergola for sitting, the stone path for moving through the space, the beds for year-round interest without year-round weeding.
The planting will fill in and get better with time. The groundcover and slate will stay exactly as they are.
Project Snapshot
| Location | New Brighton, Christchurch |
| Services | Site clearance, weed mat installation, architectural planting, stone pathway, pea gravel groundcover, mulching |
| Planting | Agave, Aloe, Aeonium, Heuchera, low-maintenance groundcovers |
| Pathways | Natural slate stepping stones + pea gravel; dark rough-cut slate through side passage |
| Climate | Coastal: drought-tolerant, salt-tolerant species throughout |
