Widening the steps and moving the pair of box plants started to create a more gracious flow through the changes of level.

The garden was shady and somewhat dark so we replanted, removing evergreen 'blobby' shrubs and introducing light in the form of silver and pale evergreens (Astelia chathamica and Pittosporum tenuifolium 'Variegatum', Pulmonaria off. Sissinghurst White'). White flowering shrubs such as Philadelphus coronarius 'Variagatus' and Amelanchier lamarkii echo the palette.

The cool white theme is punctuated with rich, warm notes of plum in statuesque Allium sphaerocephalon, Astrantia major 'Claret' and the ground cover, Heuchera 'Pewter Moon'

Iris (ger. Jane Phillips, Pallida Pallida) and Libertia grandiflora provide uplifting vertical shapes which, together with the tall, gently moving screens of Stipa gigantea and Verbena bonariensis give a strong sense of textured structure to the terraced spaces.