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Roberto Burle Marx’s private SitioRoberto Burle Marx single-handedly changed the face of tropical garden design while introducing to the world a host of amazing indigenous Brazilian plants hitherto ignored by Brazilians. In the process became an international figure. It’s intriguing to delve into his soul as an artist and plantsman to find out why his impact was so gargantuan. Continue reading
Sustainability in garden designThis is a subject that is very dear to my heart. I get quite passionate about the subject so do apologise if I offend any readers. I have been a sustainable garden advocate now for at least 20 years – well before most people even considered what sustainable gardens really meant. So I have put a lot of mental energy into working out why I think the way that I do about how we design gardens and how we manage them into the future. I was also the only owner/designer of a garden that was accredited with Ecotourism Australia for its sustainability credentials. Continue reading
Planting a dry stone wallWith seventy square metres of dry stone retaining walls in the new garden area, the effect is currently rather stark… but, no worries. The big advantage of this kind of wall is that it can be planted! I popped in six thyme plants in late spring, but it was the wrong season so only three survived the scorching summer heat. Autumn will be much a better time for successful establishment. Continue reading
The Rock Garden at ChandigarhIt started in 1965 as an illegal development on protected forest land. Its creator was inspired by Le Corbusier’s use of concrete in the city of Chandigarh, yet what he produced is folk art that stands in extraordinary contrast to Corbusier’s modernist city. For the first ten years of its life, it was entirely secret, its existence known only to the lowly government worker who was behind its painstaking creation. Today it hosts thousands of paying visitors every day, and the site and its creator receive countless awards and regular international press coverage. Continue reading
Northwest Flower & Garden Show GOLD!Our garden at the 2013 Northwest Flower & Garden Show was a contemporary outdoor space – an intimate garden for two – to get away, and become one with the space, to become a different character than our 8 to 5 selves; one that is deeply grounded in the present moment and not in the busyness of life and its to-do lists. Like good movies do, we aimed to captivate our audience and draw them in to our garden; the way you feel when you get lost in the plot of a movie, becoming the character that you are watching. Continue reading
A new garden on a steep slopeThe property we landscaped is a ‘French villa’ estate on one of the inlets into the Hartebeespoort Dam on the south-eastern side. The dam is situated north of Johannesburg and to the west of Pretoria. Water from all the small rivers in this region run into this huge dam which is quite a sight when it overflows. The climate around the dam is very different from where I live in Johannesburg, even though it is only 45km. It’s a few degrees warmer and they get very little frost and it is quite humid with all that water around them. The hillside behind is covered with natural vegetation. There are still baboons running around up there! Continue reading
Tea with designer Phillip JohnsonThere was a time when he was told that his designs would never be in demand. But Phillip Johnson, a gold-medal winning designer and the man behind this year’s Australian Garden at Chelsea 2013 has proven them wrong. Over an afternoon tea down by the Yarra River (and punctuated by a few passing trams) Phillip and I discussed how he got his start in horticulture and landscaping, his ‘natural system’ style of design including billabongs and water filtration, as well as how he intends to build and plant out his ambitious Chelsea Flower Show design. And how much he loves to hand water…. Continue reading
Australian Garden – Stage 2. Hmmm….Late last year the Royal Botanic Gardens here in Victoria opened the second stage of their much-lauded Australian Garden in Cranbourne. Until now I have been busy finishing up jobs before beginning anew, but I finally made time to go and see the second stage of the garden last weekend. Continue reading