For decades, Shirly and Ross Pitman have shared a passion for gardening.
Growing up on an orchard in the Barossa Valley, Ross developed a love for growing and grafting fruit trees, while Shirly learned the art of gardening as a child, following her parents around their garden and developing her own patch as she grew older.
“It’s relaxation to me,” Shirly says.
“If you’re stressed or you’re feeling tired, get out and go and wander around the garden and you feel quite good again.
“It’s a real love.”
So when they recently downsized from their half-acre Salisbury Heights property to Mt Barker, they wanted a home that allowed them to feel immersed in the outdoors.
The house sits nestled among three distinct gardens, with large airy windows offering views across all three areas.
Designed by the couple’s son, Ben Pitman, director of architecture studio Parabolica, the entire concept was inspired by his parents’ passion for gardening.
“The brief for the new home was simple: create a place in which my parents could live comfortably, surrounded by their garden,” he says.
“Feeling immersed and reminded of nature across the seasons – and at all times of the day – was an important aspect of the design. “From this, the concept of a ‘garden in a house in a garden’ was born.”
As reflected in its name, Three Garden House, the home is surrounded by three distinct garden areas – a predominantly native garden has been planted around the front of the house, complementing the home’s clean lines and, as Ben says, harmonising with the local Adelaide Hills landscape.
Making meticulous use of the space around the home is a productive garden comprising vegetables, flowers, berries and 28 fruit trees, which were cultivated over many decades and relocated from the couple’s Salisbury Heights garden.
“As long-time members of the Rare Fruit Society, this part of the garden is particularly special,” Ben says.
But the most striking feature of the Three Garden House is the lush courtyard garden, surrounded by floor to ceiling windows, which provide a flood of natural light and a focal point for many of the home’s principal rooms.
“By designing the home in an inverted arrangement, the courtyard garden allows them to enjoy greenery and nature as they go about their day-to-day life,” Ben says.
“The large deck connects the courtyard to the broader garden area and is a much-used place to rest after a long day working in the garden.”
The courtyard contains a mix of carefully selected plants, as well as rock features and a fishpond, which Ben says aim to create a “sense of tranquillity and calm”.
The home was recently awarded the John S Chappel Award for Residential Architecture in the new house category at the SA Chapter of the Australian Institute of Architecture Awards and has been short-listed for the national awards, held in November.
The jury commended the home’s amenity and thoughtful design on a backdrop of growing suburbs and housing supply challenges.
It’s an observation that’s not lost on Shirly and Ross, who say the house offers a sense of “seclusion and quietness”.
“The views through the many large windows to the courtyard, gardens and surrounding gum trees never fails to amaze,” Shirly says.
“The sheltered outdoor area is a calming place to rest after a day at work in the garden. A peaceful, safe and uplifting home for our life into old age.”
