A paradise escape is as close as your own backyard

Shannon Chisnall came up with the name Paradise Landscapes after a trip to Hawaii left him inspired. People are always looking for an escape, a slice of paradise — and, seeing that many of the plants growing in Hawaii would also thrive in New Zealand, Chisnall saw an opportunity to give people that paradise escape in their own backyard. 

His love for landscaping started young, discovering a passion and talent for growing healthy plants at his school’s calf club. At high school, he took a horticulture course, continuing with a higher level course at Manukau Polytechnic. Following graduation, he completed a landscape design course, and put his skills to work at local nurseries and on the job with several well-known landscape contractors. 

In 1999, Chisnall branched out on his own to start Paradise Landscapes. “I was motivated to work for myself. Working for others, you always see things done not quite how you want. Sometimes I like to spend extra time getting things just right. Like for example, when placing rocks. I think a garden should look like it’s always been there, and the house has been built amongst it. It should look like the setting was there first, not the other way around,” Chisnall told Design & Build Franklin magazine.

With the name Paradise Landscapes, it’s fitting that one of Chisnall’s specialties is coastal landscapes. As many of these properties have impressive views, the landscaping challenge is not only about the home’s immediate surroundings, but those further afield, too. 

“We’re ensuring there are plants that thrive, with texture, colour and form incorporated, while also framing and maintaining the view,” Chisnall says. 

Coastal sites provide a small challenge, as soil composition and weather conditions can restrict plant and material choices. 

“Some sites will have sandy soil, others will have clay, so we need to take all the conditions into account to see what plants will do well. Generally we find that a lot of New Zealand natives do well — muehlenbeckia, pseudopanax, and coprosma ground cover work in a lot of situations.”

Hardscaping elements require careful consideration to ensure longevity, particularly with the risk of damage and rust from salt spray. Hardwoods, stainless steel, and stone are ideal for these situations, and feature prominently in Chisnall’s designs.

A recent project overlooking the Waitematā Harbour — and in the distance, Rangitoto — showcases Chisnall’s knack for balancing beautiful, thriving, outdoor living spaces with breathtaking views.

“It was a steep, difficult site, so we built hardwood stairs down to a deck, and surrounded those with hardy, yet attractive, natives. In other areas we used flat stones to create a path, with selleria ground cover growing around them,” Chisnall explains.

The result is a garden rich with colour and texture, an opportunity for the owners to escape into their own slice of paradise and leave the outside world behind for a while. And, satisfactorily, it is the realisation of what Chisnall set out to do all those years ago. 

Learn more about Paradise Landscapes.