Tucked away down a quiet street in Hamilton North is the lovely, leafy garden of Alan Berry. An oasis of green and a labour of love for Berry, it took out the "Best Garden under 2000sqm" category in last year's Newcastle Garden Awards.
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Berry bought the house in September 2010. After arranging to work remotely in his role at a boutique corporate travel agency and selling his apartment in Waterloo, he moved back to Newcastle from Sydney, where he'd lived since 1984. It was a move driven by a desire to be closer to his mother who had health issues.
"I looked at probably less than half a dozen places. When I walked in, I just fell in love, because my aunt, one of dad's sisters, lived in a very similar house in Lambton. As a kid, I always loved this type of house," Berry says.
"It had what I call a 'Bunnings makeover'. The guy flipped houses. He'd done a good job and it was nicely presented."
Having always lived in apartments in Sydney, a garden was something new for Berry. "When I moved in, it [the backyard] was just a blank canvas - a Hills Hoist and grass. I gradually worked on it, but it was really in the last three years - since I retired - that I really got stuck into the garden."
The front yard, Berry notes, was largely lawn, full of weeds, with a few plants in the border gardens. He hoped to create a garden that felt private and had a sense of depth and structure, while also helping to naturally shade and cool the house. Qualities that are all evident in his now-thriving garden.
Since moving in, Berry has made many changes. In the front yard, he planted a Chinese tallowwood, a deciduous ornamental tree, as it was fast-growing and would help create shade. He notes "that was a mistake, because they are now considered a weed" but he overcomes this by regularly maintaining it. Beneath the tree are various prostrate camellias and a white flowering duranta near his bedroom.
He gradually removed the grass from the front yard and added a wide variety of plants. While gardenias, natives, a potted flowering gum, succulents, and camellias dot the left-hand side of the house.
"There were three camellias when I moved in, so I've just added to that. I didn't do it on purpose, but throughout late autumn, winter, and into spring, they all flower at different times."
A pretty and well-maintained verge garden, with a fairy magnolia, further frames the front of the house from the street in lovely shades of green.
In the backyard, Berry, who describes his approach to choosing plants as "ad-hoc", added two mop tops, various plants, and native gardenia, alongside the existing murraya and bottlebrush. He removed the grass there too - which his dog Benji "had started to kill" soon after he adopted him - and filled it with plants.
A covered outdoor entertaining area (that doubles as a car space accessed from the rear lane) overlooks the backyard, an addition Berry made alongside undertaking some renovations and updates on the house in 2017.
Potted plants, however, are perhaps the most defining feature of the garden as a whole. Berry estimates there are around 140 pots of all sizes with various plants and flowers dotted about the place. A mixture of plants started from cuttings or bought from Bunnings and local nurseries such as Heritage Gardens and Poppy's.
"Over the years, I had a lot of holidays in Cairns, and at one point I was thinking of retiring there," says Berry, who cites the laid-back city as a large inspiration for the garden.
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It's not hard to see why Berry described himself as "the potted gardener" whose style was "eclectic tropical" in his award-winning entry for the Newcastle Garden Awards last year.
For Berry, who spends at least an hour or two a day working on his garden, it is a place of great joy and serenity. He points to a cosy white cane chair overlooking the back garden when I ask him his favourite spot. "I sit there of a morning. Like today, at a quarter past six, just as it was light, with Benji having my morning coffee and probably will before I cook my dinner this afternoon with a glass of wine."
His advice for new or aspiring gardeners? "Follow your instincts. Don't necessarily go for what's on trend. Go to a nursery and get some advice and suggestions."
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