RARE EARTH PARADISE

BE WOWED BY HOW UNIQUE AUSSIE DESIGNERS CAN BE!

The rains are uncertain but the sky is huge and blue - one of two factors that set modern Australian gardens apart. The other is the colour of our foliage. Blue-green, yellow-green, silver or grey, soft bronze, rich rust – it explodes against the horizon, especially as the blue sky emerges from a golden sunrise and fades into brilliant reds and golds at sunset. Modern Australian garden design – both here and overseas – exploits these colours and climate and boosts diversity by mixing natives and plants from around the world to suit.

RAINFOREST RULES

Modern Australian garden design explores our identity and culture. It knows our rains are sporadic and highlights the varied architecture of our plants.

1 GO BOLD AND GOLD

The devastation of bushfires close to his home inspired designer Jim Fogarty to create this garden, called ‘Bushfire’, for a Garden World Cup. See how the bold ochres explode against the soft grey foliage – representing gentle regeneration.

2 PALMY AND PRETTY

Weave lush temperate rainforest plants, such as the cabbage-tree palm, native cycad (Macrozamia communis) and grass tree, in your garden adjacent to grevilleas. Then, imagine the pebbled path is a dry creek bed!

3 HEART OF AUSTRALIA Ditch some of your lawn – the red gravel doesn’t need maintenance and the dots of kangaroo paws and silvery cushion bushes (Leucophyta brownii) won’t get strangled by grass runners. Imagine the water feature is a billabong!

4 SAY IT IN RED

Use richly coloured red sand or gravel as mulch and to help showcase the plantings of the cut-leaf daisies.

WHAT’S OLD IS NEW AGAIN