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The winner of the Melbourne International Flower and Garden Show’s highly anticipated ‘City of Melbourne Award of Excellence/Best in Show’ category has been announced as ‘əskāp’, a garden designed by South Australia’s Rob Cooper of Distinctive Gardens. The garden was also awarded the ‘Horticultural Media Association Award for Best Use of Plant Life’.
Ecstatic and exhausted at the same time, Rob hopes his win will help the movement to more organic gardens, featuring the incredibly unique qualities of Australian plants.
Rob’s garden əskāp is both welcoming and intriguing. It’s lush and colourful with a seamless combination of sleek, contemporary structures and the wild, uninhibited behaviour of native plants. Mass plantings of vibrantly yellow-orange banksia ‘Little Candles’ sweep along the front, interrupted by the startling installations of mallee root art, a rugged sculptural component that is organic as well.
Tall, waving grasses sweep along and through the metal floating steps that lead up to a cantilevered pavilion from which you can gaze down on a firepit surrounded by bluestone and slate paving, cushioned by scattered clumps of native plants. “The grasses were chosen for their height, textures and colours,” says Rob. “Each plant has its own character.”
A reflection pool running under the steps fits in with Rob’s desire to create a garden that helps people slow down and reconnect with nature. The soft, billowing grasses framing the structures’ strong lines and the random placement of hardscape features – “Just as they are found in nature,” Rob says – achieve his desired balance of “structure and flow”.
Apart from the lushness and texture of the plantings, Rob’s favourite component is the 25-year-old glory vine, or ornamental grape, that scrambles along the roof of the pavilion.
More Show Garden winners
Nostalgia
Paul Pritchard Landscapes
The team at Paul Pritchard Landscapes collaborated with Dementia Australia to create ‘Nostalgia’, a garden that invites visitors to reflect on their own memories and past experiences. Paul says his favourite plant in the garden is the Persicaria amplexicaulis, which has long-lasting blooms and the continuous colour it provides from summer through to autumn.
Awards:
- Mark Bence Construction Award
- Gold
In Ratio with Africa
Matt York
Matt York’s experience working on gardens in Kenya, Nigeria and Ghana inspired ‘In Ratio with Africa’, a garden that celebrates the connections between African and Australian garden design. Two key plants Matt loves in this garden in clude the Baobab (Adansonia digitata) and the Queensland Bottle Tree (Brachychiton rupestris).
Awards:
- Silver Gilt
ODE
Candeo Design
Brent Reid, founder of Candeo Design says his garden ‘ODE’ is designed to pay homage to all of the mentors and friends who have shaped his journey in the landscape industry. He says he made the garden “as a thank you [to the people I care about] for their mentorship, friendship, help and support.” The feature he loves most about this garden is the Australian Bluestone pavers from Bamstone.
Awards:
- Silver
Doable
Jason Hodges
True to form, Jason Hodges’ ‘Doable’ showcases that you don’t need a huge budget or the most expensive materials to create an impactful, functional garden. He says anyone can replicate this garden at home, starting with smaller plants and allowing them to mature over time. His favourite plants in the garden are the Buxus Balls, which he’s been growing to feature in this garden show for the last 15 years.
Awards:
- Silver
Yutori
Christian Jenkins & Bailyn Jenkins
‘Yutori’ is a Japanese word that means intentionally slowing down to appreciate the beauty of nature and life. Designed by Christian Jenkins and Bailyn Jenkins of Christian Jenkins Landscape Design, this garden is designed to encourage visitors to slow down. Christian says the combination of cycads, Japanese maples, bamboo, black pines and hoistas is one of his favourite elements of this garden.
Awards:
- Silver
Between Moments
Ben Hutchinson Landscapes
Ben Hutchinson’s ‘Between Moments’ invites exploration and reflection and is designed to be a holistic retreat that nourishes the mind and body.
Awards:
- Silver
