The Melbourne International Flower and Garden Show sits on the global stage as an important event on the gardening calendar, so we went along to see what it was all about.
The weather played its part and the show was launched on a beautiful sunny day in Melbourne. As you walk into the grounds, you are struck by the size of it all, set in the pristine gardens under age-old trees. The excitement is palpable and you are surrounded by beauty in this happy place. The handy map sent us directly to one of the highlights of the show, the designer gardens.
LANDSCAPE DESIGN SHOW GARDENS
Australia’s top landscapers gather at the Melbourne Flower Show to build and present show gardens of impeccable standard. Each has a unique vision of what a show garden should interpret and what modern design is all about. The overall feeling you get from these gardens is that these designers are attuned to modern day living – especially outdoors living. Garden design takes note of the scarcity of water in plant selection while expertly combining vegetation for colour and texture. The array and use of hard landscaping materials like paving, stone, wood and glass was incredible, and produced gardens with amazing texture and form. All used some form of water feature in their designs to add a touch of tranquillity and drama.
1. The garden that won the Best on Show accolade at this year’s show featured a beautifully constructed Romanesque arch reminiscent of centuries-old aqueducts, with a combination of Mediterranean and Australian plants chosen for their biodiversity and dry climate properties. By using modern techniques, the designer blurred the lines between the ancient and the modern in this perfectly built and planted urban garden.
2 This garden was designed to improve mental health. This seems to be a trend, as many show gardens we have seen recently are focused on wellness and gardening for health. The garden is inspired by nature in the selection of materials, such as the sandstone pavers (interestingly set at an angle), and the choice of plants.
Esta historia es de la edición June 2019 de The Gardener.
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Esta historia es de la edición June 2019 de The Gardener.
Comience su prueba gratuita de Magzter GOLD de 7 días para acceder a miles de historias premium seleccionadas y a más de 9,000 revistas y periódicos.
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FIRE AND Feathers!
On a dreary winter's day, a screen of fiery and feathery leaves puts up a fight against dullness!
GET THE ladies in!
At this time of year, early-flowering shrubs vie with each other to get the most attention. We say: Trust those with female names for frills and butterflies. They go the extra mile to flower their hearts out.
Vegetable Soups and dumplings
Vegetables make the most delicious soups and classic combinations are always a winner.
Yummy sweet potatoes for your good health
Boiled, baked or braaied, sweet potatoes (Ipomoea batatas) are a delicious and healthy winter comfort food. Just a dollop of butter, a little seasoning and you are good to go.
Pretty and functional
If cooking is your main thing, you would probably be more interested in the culinary value of the three herbs and some of their varieties we are describing.
Dried Seedheads & Pods
Autumn and winter are the best times to see what flowers produce the best seedheads that can be left on the plants to feed the birds and bugs and for harvesting for dried arrangements.
SO MANY FACES and so many choices...
Whoever associated a Cotyledon orbiculata (pig's ear) with the ear of a pig obviously did not know about all the varieties and cultivars this species in the genus Cotyledon has.
COLOURFUL Cold Weather WINNERS!
If it comes to a vote, these dependable shrubs will be the top candidates for prime performance in winter and in other seasons...
What makes a garden sustainable?
It is interesting to note that the United Nations defines sustainable development as: “development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs”.
Nurturing NATURE-The Story of Kraal Garden's Transformation
Nestled within Prince Albert's rustic embrace lies a gem that is a testament to the transformative power of human vision and nature's bounty.