Dry run for new design | Fiona's Garden

"There are plenty of models for dry climate, low-water gardens," I chirpily wrote at the time, "so I'll focus on one and roll up my sleeves."

Guys, I did it.

I've only tackled our front garden so far, but it's the most visible bit, that we look at and walk through every day.

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It was also the worst affected by the drought and extreme heat.

The area is roughly 20 by 20 metres, divided into an entrance path below the verandah - this I've left for the time being - with steps leading to a lawn with beds on each side.

Across the bottom of the lawn is a pittosporum hedge with a central gate into the paddock.

At each end of the hedge was an arch over a path, leading to our front drive on the right, and to the rest of the garden on the left.

The sheltering trees and shrubs were fine, but the flower beds and lawn were a desiccated disaster.

I didn't want to change the overall design as we love the view across paddocks to the bush-covered hills, but I needed to change the garden's feel - the borders of spring bulbs, peonies and roses just didn't cut it.

At that time Bill wasn't running any stock and I used to think about the garden every day when I walked our lovely kelpie through empty paddocks.

There was a vein of lichen encrusted granite rock near the surface in one paddock and I noticed how, after a storm, small wild-flowers and native grasses and tiny ferns would appear near the rocks.

This gave me my idea of a "paddock garden".

I could enlarge the borders and embellish them with rocks, while keeping a smaller central lawn.

I could use rocks of various shapes and sizes as focal points among clipped mounds of evergreens, low-growing, drought hardy perennials and fan-shaped clumps of ornamental grasses.

So, starting in March, I marked new outlines for the enlarged beds and during the next weeks dug out the old plants.

I did keep drought-hardy salvias, sedums and cistuses, but chucked out the rest.

It was exhausting but worth it for the sake of starting with a clean slate.

A local landscaper, Andrew Speed (Speed's Landscaping, Duramana) brought in the rocks with his Dingo mini digger.

I knew nothing about designing with rocks, but Andrew helped me and it was while he was dropping them in place that I had another light bulb moment.

This was to eliminate the arches and paths at the bottom of the old lawn and make two new paths nearer to the house, which would lead through the middle of the enlarged beds among the rocks and plants.

This turned out to be easily my best idea and it has completely transformed the garden's feel.

So far so good.