Stickybeak of the Week: What Two Clever Guys Did With a Concrete Garden
Melbourne artists make the most of a small garden by using all surface areas available including the walls of their home
Artists David Rozetsky and Sean Meilak moved into their suburban Brunswick home 10 years ago. At that time, the small backyard area of only 24 square metres consisted of concrete and your typical Australian Hills Hoist. Having green surroundings at home was something that was important to them both, as they grew up with fathers who loved gardening, instilling in them that it’s an integral part of a living space. Soon after moving in, Rozetsky and Meilak hired professionals to dig up the area and build their garden anew.
Garden at a Glance
Who lives here: Artists David Rozetsky and Sean Meilak and their cat, Lottie
Location: Brunswick, Victoria
Size: 24 square metres
Garden at a Glance
Who lives here: Artists David Rozetsky and Sean Meilak and their cat, Lottie
Location: Brunswick, Victoria
Size: 24 square metres
Most of the pair’s plants were inherited, while some come from cuttings or were bought as seedlings. “It’s nice buying things small and watching them grow,” says Meilak. Some plants have taken up to 10 years to mature.
With few areas in the ground available for planting, Meilak and Rozetsky tend to use a lot of terracotta pots. Almost every pot in the garden has been sourced from various nurseries around Melbourne. They particularly like to pick up new ones from Ceres and Bulleen Art and Garden. “You can do a lot of things with pots – one thing we like to do is use big ones and plant multiple things in it and create a micro climate,” says Meilak. This way you can create a big area and have quite a lot of plants in a small space.”
They started with a few potted citrus and built their collection with a combination of succulents and other hardy plants. Having more resilient plants was a decision based on the Australian millennial drought. However, as the drought subsided, they have introduced a variety of plants to the mix.
They started with a few potted citrus and built their collection with a combination of succulents and other hardy plants. Having more resilient plants was a decision based on the Australian millennial drought. However, as the drought subsided, they have introduced a variety of plants to the mix.
While there may be an abundance of hardy plants, the garden still needs to be well-tended to, especially during the warmer months of the year. Meilak wakes up at the crack of dawn every day and has a coffee before tending to the garden as part of his routine.
Throughout the garden there are bamboo trellises the duo have made. They then trained vines to grow up and create a layered effect over the trellises, which helps the space seem larger, “creating different textures gives that sense of depth,” says Rozetsky.
To make the best use of this space, they also created zones by using different coloured plants in different sections. On the right there are more purple and blue shades, including a variety of clematis. Meilak likes the way the blues complement the rust colour of the pots, and is a particular fan of the echinacea’s colour.
To make the best use of this space, they also created zones by using different coloured plants in different sections. On the right there are more purple and blue shades, including a variety of clematis. Meilak likes the way the blues complement the rust colour of the pots, and is a particular fan of the echinacea’s colour.
Towards the back of the space is an edible garden. As the small area was a challenge to design, the couple aimed to use as much vertical space as possible. Meilak and Rozetsky have used Ausreo steel mesh to grow beans and passionfruit which climb up it.
They have also mixed ornamental plants into the design and often let the vegetables grow to flower and seed, as they like the wilder look. Currently, raspberries, blackberries, pears, beans and figs are growing among various leafy greens.
Meilak says that they eat salads daily with their produce and during a season, they can grow upwards of 200 passionfruit. Most of the time these end up being giving away to friends.
They have also mixed ornamental plants into the design and often let the vegetables grow to flower and seed, as they like the wilder look. Currently, raspberries, blackberries, pears, beans and figs are growing among various leafy greens.
Meilak says that they eat salads daily with their produce and during a season, they can grow upwards of 200 passionfruit. Most of the time these end up being giving away to friends.
It was part of the garden design that as much of the space as possible be covered in green. Each surface provided the artists with a new canvas to work on.
When they first moved in, a Virginia creeper (Parthenocissus quinquefolia) was planted at the front of the house, and by the end of that summer it had grown enough to cover the whole building. “When you are in the kitchen, it feels like you are in a tree,” says Meliak. The decision to train the vine to grow up the house was again based on lack of space. “We weren’t able to have trees to shade the place or lawn, so instead the creeper gives us the green we were after,” he adds.
When they first moved in, a Virginia creeper (Parthenocissus quinquefolia) was planted at the front of the house, and by the end of that summer it had grown enough to cover the whole building. “When you are in the kitchen, it feels like you are in a tree,” says Meliak. The decision to train the vine to grow up the house was again based on lack of space. “We weren’t able to have trees to shade the place or lawn, so instead the creeper gives us the green we were after,” he adds.
The left side of the garden has more yellows and whites such as the clivias and the oakleaf hydrangeas (Hydrangea quercifolia), which are Rozetsky’s favourites.
Pot: Fitzroy Nursery
Pot: Fitzroy Nursery
While it may sound as though these two have become expert gardeners, the couple admit that they have learnt a lot through experimenting, and through letting the plants self-seed and develop naturally.
As the warmer months of the year set in, the two are looking forward to enjoying their garden in full bloom and marvelling at the transformation of the backyard from a concrete courtyard to a lush inner-city paradise.
One of the first things to go when the couple acquired the property was the concrete slab covering the courtyard floor, which was replaced with crushed blue stone which Rozetsky feels “adds a lovely texture and softness to the space and contrasts with the terracotta pots.” The crushed stone also helped alleviate the drainage problem, which is often associated with concrete courtyards.
Being a bit of a handyman, Meilak did some of the paving around the side of the house and built a small reinforced stone wall for a new garden bed. He also rendered the orange brick walls to soften the surrounds and draw more focus to the plants. After it was rendered he planted a climbing fig, which has since completely covered the wall. The space is now a much more welcoming area to retreat to on a sunny day. Lottie, their cat, thinks so too, and is a major fixture of the garden.