The Collaroy Plateau Dream – an award-winning area from NBG Landscapes Australia – has shown you don’t have to start from scratch to create an innovative and family-friendly garden packed with functional spaces.
NBG Landscape’s ‘The Collaroy Plateau Dream’ garden has won Gold and Best in Category (Residential Construction) for projects between $200,000 and $300,000, and Silver in Residential Design for 200m2–500m2 in the 2025 TLA Landscape Excellence Awards.
The secret to this garden’s success lies in its designers’ ability to blend old with new, taking cues from existing curves to deliver a landscape that feels both structured and settled in its surroundings.
The brief
The brief was to transform the large, under-utilised garden into seamlessly connected multi-functional zones. The idea was to create a space designed to entice the kids away from their electronic devices, invite extended family and friends to relax and unwind, and allow use as a year-round entertainment zone.
Although the setting of The Collaroy Plateau Dream was an advantage, the existing design didn’t utilise the space to its full potential. The family wanted a garden that would welcome guests from the moment they stepped inside the front gate, a private oasis protected from the gaze of passersby, and spaces to relax, entertain, and coax the kids outside, inspiring a love of the outdoors.
The brief required NBG Landscapes (nbglandscapes.com.au) to work with the existing infrastructure as much as possible, retaining hard landscaping as well as a large pool, but to reimagine those assets into a space that allowed them year-round use, with clearly zoned areas for play, entertaining, connection and escape.
Starting with protecting the established palm trees, which provided privacy along the boundary, and a large melaleuca tree, the design needed to overcome the challenges of a disconnected layout and a front entry that hoarded wasted space and offered no sense of identity or privacy.
Scope of work
The design concept captured the value of the existing landscaping, leveraging the curved pool to create a soft and natural design ethos. The aim was also to maintain some key features, including an existing deck, with a practical connection between the indoor and outdoor spaces.
Taking inspiration from the curved pool, the team incorporated soft, natural edges throughout the garden, using polished concrete as a consistent structural base to bring practical and functional zones to life. The pool fence used a mix of glass panels and white posts, providing an uninterrupted view, while encouraging plants to spill across the fence, connecting the entertaining and play zones with the pool area. For designer Ivan Parker, this was a first, and combining the new structure with the curved design created complexity for the construction. He noted, “You can’t really use a formula with curves. You really need to be in the space setting them out in a way that gently leads you through the space”.
Introducing structural elements to accentuate the organic curves was key. Boundary fences clad in sandstone were mixed with a simple batten design, crazy paving replaced structured pavers and blended with the cobblestone, and a feature seating area softened by curved polished concrete and a sleek benchtop incorporated a built-in barbeque and smoker.
The Collaroy Plateau Dream works included installing a fire pit, adding a spa to the pool area, an outdoor shower, and installing both path lighting and feature lighting to enhance the design elements and encourage use day and night.
The star of the show was the large, polished-concrete day bed that worked seamlessly with the bench seating and entertaining areas.
Challenges
Retaining and building on the garden’s curved elements was a win, but constructing curves added both cost and time to the build and required specialist skills.
The key challenge, however, was retaining and protecting existing elements of the garden, particularly the mature melaleuca tree and boundary palms. The benefits of this effort paid off in the final result, providing an established feel to a garden that’s often lacking in new landscapes.
The plantings
A wide variety of plants were used, all designed to enhance the garden experience.
Splashes of colour were provided by Santa Barbara (Salvia leucantha), Magenta Glory (Bougainvillea) and Bush Zest (Anigozanthos humilis x flavidus), softened with a collection of spilling groundcover plants such as Cousin it (Casuarina glauca). Ornamentals like Cape Jasmin (Gardenia augusta Florida) introduced scent to the space. Finally, a few edible plants were added to engage the children, with both rosemary and strawberry plants nestled in the garden.
The result
The result is a stunning garden built in sympathy with its surroundings, existing structure and the lifestyle dream of the area. The new structures and materials blend with the existing assets, creating a garden that caters to the many needs of this busy family.
Extending the use of sandstone from the fence, the front entry was given a sense of welcome and privacy with a hand-constructed curved bench seat. The consistency of construction creates cohesion and connection throughout the design, with stone crazy paving linking the front entrance to the pool area.
The plantings layer colour, texture and style to create shade and privacy, particularly in seating areas around the pool. Plantings around and under the curved concrete bench seat soften the appearance of the structural materials and create a sense of elegance that is continued in the mid-century style concrete cook zones.
The design seeks to entice family and friends outside, creating a garden almost impossible to leave.
About the awards
The 2025 Landscape Excellence Awards dinner, sponsored by Glazed Co, took place on November 7, with the industry celebrating and showcasing outstanding levels of complexity, quality of workmanship, management prowess, innovation and creativity to the wider landscape community.
The awards provide members of The Landscape Association and their staff with recognition for excellence in landscaping projects.
For all the 2025 winners, visit The Landscape Association’s website or social media accounts.