feature garden Left: New raised planter beds and seats flank the existing fireplace and are finished in Resene Tapa. Below: Kangaroo paw in bloom. Bottom: The fireplace and barbecue sit at opposite sides of the new paved area, which suits Dave’s sense of order. top tip To keep concrete walls and surfaces looking smarter for longer, use Resene Aquapel (waterborne or solventborne) or Resene Concrete Clear. area, a series of raised garden beds and new seats to anchor the existing fireplace, and new planting. Everywhere you look, there is something to catch your eye, yet as a whole, the garden is restful and orderly. The icing on the cake came at the end of their first meeting when Dave mentioned he had a family heirloom in the form of a 100-year-old riveted bench seat. It was a bit broken and he didn’t know what to do with it. It’s now a focal point of the garden, repainted in Resene Pioneer Red and with a special alcove in the raised planting beds for it to sit. Says Dee: “I chose that particular deep brown-red because it’s quite manly and it’s the type of red you see quite a bit in New Zealand; it’s quite kiwi.” The red bench is off-set by the walls behind it painted in Resene Tapa, a smoky understated warm grey. That same colour has been used on all of the boundary and planter bed walls, except the ones Resene Tapa Resene Pioneer Red 75