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Theme / Concept of the Garden:
The concept of this garden is to demonstrate how Australian gardens, whilst drawing on the unique characteristics of Australian materials and the natural colours of Australia, is still heavily influenced by garden aspects and plants from many regions of the world. This is not a native garden.
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Description of the garden:
The brief for this garden was to modify and enlarge the winning show garden from the Melbourne International Flower and Garden Show 2003. The original area of garden from the Melbourne Show has become a sunken area for Chelsea.
Two more areas of garden have been added, garden beds have been enlarged, the planting scheme has been changed, and minor adjustments have been made to make it a garden suitable for the standard expected at the Chelsea Flower Show.
A feature of this garden is the architectural firewood stack wall. Providing a warm rustic backdrop, the colours of the wood support the foliage and flower colours of the native and exotic plants to display the many varied natural colours of Australia.
The nucleus of the garden is the timber lounge and coffee table area from which extends retaining walls made out of rammed earth. This provides an eco friendly, modern finish to the split-levels of this garden. Specially made bluestone coloured bull nosing caps the wall and specially formulated pavers frame the lawn. Noise and movement in the garden are added using a cascadingblack stone pyramid water feature.
Oiled slabs of red gum detail the lawn in the sunken garden and help to subtly lead the eye back to the open roofed lounge room. To the right, an interesting fence detail of mini orb and charcoal coloured timber posts help to add a point of interest in the vertical plane. A barbecue brings realism to the garden.
Stepping up out of the sunken garden, a long timber Pergola creates a vista to the left, framed by a mix of native and exotic plants used in perennial border fashion. A detail swale of impregnated Mansfield River pebbles helps to soften any harsh square lines in the paving.
A private space leads along the back of the garden, which is viewed discreetly through a window in the firewood stack feature wall behind the lounge. Stepping-stones take the eye slowly to a rectangle pyramid black stone water feature in an area dominated by an informal screen of snow gums and a rusted steel cladded back wall.
Rustic steel pots with a mix of native and exotic plants help to finish of the garden and add some personality to the space.
The result - a uniquely Australian inspired garden, which demonstrates our influences from other regions of the world.
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Aims and objectives in creating this exhibit:
As much as Australian food & fashion has many international influences, so too does Australian design. The aim of the garden is to demonstrate the unique characteristics of our own style of design, which is heavily influenced by our colours of nature and our lifestyle as well as design and plant influences from many regions of the world.
Consequently, I have designed what I interpret as an Australian garden with exotic influences. Firewood stack feature walls, rammed earth retaining walls, details of jarrah, red gum and natural stone, all combine with exotic and native plants to create something I think is a true reflexion on our approach to design. This is not a native garden!
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Designer's notes:
The standout material features of the garden will include:
- The rammed earth retaining walls will be made by a craftsman who is flying out from Mansfield in country Victoria, Australia. The walls will be constructed in Northhampton and trucked down to the site.
- The feature walls are of stacked Eucalyptus firewood was a very popular feature at the Melbourne show and many people commented on the wonderful scent of eucalyptus oil. The wood will be cut from dead branched and dead trees. No trees will be sacrificed. The firewood will be given to a UK charity approved by the RHS.
- The mini orb feature side wall will evoke the feeling of the Australian bush as will the rusted steel sheet back wall.
- Unique Jarrah timbers from Australia will be used for the furniture which is being made by Matt Heritage Design in Bendigo, Victoria.
- Pavers are being specially made by Cast In Stone Pavers of Victoria, Australia using crushed granite from a quarry on Victoria's beautiful Mornington Peninsula.
- Lighting will be installed by a key Australian lighting expert who is flying in to fit out the garden.
- Rusted steel pots being made by Melbourne company Steel Living will evoke the rustic feel of Australia.
- Black stone water features will be shipped from Australia.
- All materials other than consumables will be shipped in a container from Melbourne, Australia leaving early March.
- Tools used during construction will come from Australia and some of them will be uniquely Australian such as our wheelbarrows made by a local Melbourne manufacturer, Sherlock.
- The construction team will be all Australian.
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The standout colours of the garden will be:
- Rich earthy colours from the rammed earth walls mixed with the warm orange/ blood red colour of Eucalyptus firewood.
- Clean silver colours of the mini orb side wall offset the rusted steel pots and back wall.
- Lots of rusted steel, mixed with shiny steel, charcoal timber paint finishes, rich exposed natural Australian timbers a very warm, rustic, homely feeling to this 'comfy garden'.
- Plant colours will range from the grey-green of Eucalypt leaves, mixed with silver, burgundy and green foliaged plants. Grasses of brown and blue colours as well as green native and exotic grasses will blend with the shrubbery to create an Australian feel to the planting. Although roughly half the plants will be exotic, they will still reflect the feel of Australia in either their foliage colour or their hardiness to hot, drier conditions.
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Key plants to look out for:
- Feature Australian plants will include the red flowering bottle brush (Callistemon citrinus 'Splendens'), a dwarf form of the Kangaroo paw (Anigozanthos Cvs), the Australian cordyline (Cordyline australis 'Red Star') with its spiky burgundy foliage, as well as a variety of Australian wild flower plants used in feature pots.
- Shrub forms of Eucalyptus gunnii which are kept to a manageable size by regular pruning will also feature in the beds.
- Two feature trees will include the snow gums (Eucalyptus pauciflora subsp. niphophila). These trees are multi stemmed and are a wonderful showy tree not attaining the huge heights of many other species of Eucalyptus sp.
- The only exotic feature tree will be a Zelkova serrata at the back right hand corner of the sunken garden.
- Exotic plants will include the silver foliage Artemisia 'Powis Castle', Helichrysum thianschanicum 'Icicles', Convolvulus cneorum and Euphorbia 'Wilcot' Silver Swan.
- Burgundy coloured exotics will include Cotinus 'Grace' and Berberis x ottawensis 'Superba'.
- Grasses will include the brown Carex buchananii, the blue Festuca glauca 'Elijah Blue' as well as the greener forms of Pennisetum alopecuroides and Miscanthus sinensis 'Gracillimus'.
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Designers summary:
- I am keen to display an Australian style of garden using Australian materials and plants mixed with exotic species. The aim of the planting scheme is to show how effectively Australian plants can be combined with exotics. It will also showcase the range of Australian plants commonly available to the UK market.
- Plants will reflect the feel of Australia, whether it be their origin or their foliage colour. The plants used in the garden are personal favourites of mine and have a quality of hardiness which suits the climate of Australia.
- All plants are tolerant to Australian conditions and would suit being used together in a 'real' garden planting conditions of hot, sunny, dry conditions.
- Due to quarantine restrictions we are not able to ship any plants from Australia. All plants are available and have been sourced in the UK and will grow in England's climate.
- Whilst being a uniquely Australian garden, the garden will show plant and design influences from many regions of the world.
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