By Matthew Sears
When people think about their gardens, more often than not the first thing that comes to mind is the backyard and their main entertaining space as this is often the focal point of the home and outdoor space.… Continue reading
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By Lynne Testoni
A busy school with extensive grounds provides an award-winning maintenance team with many challenges, but even more rewards.
School grounds are a challenge for landscapers. Balancing education and hardiness, maintenance teams need to look after spaces that face demanding conditions and busy, energetic clients.… Continue reading
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By Gabrielle Stannus
How to select native cultivars for use in a suburban garden in Sunbury, Melbourne, close to an environmentally sensitive landscape? I spoke with ‘fellow’ Tasmanian and well-known plant breeder, Angus Stewart, for his advice.
Entering a client’s front garden recently, I may have been forgiven for thinking that I had arrived in South Africa.… Continue reading
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By Gabrielle Stannus
With a PhD in the impacts of climate on vegetation and trees and a Diploma of Arboriculture, University of Adelaide Adjunct Lecturer, Dr Stefan Caddy-Retalic is well placed to speak on the impact of climate change on our urban trees.… Continue reading
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By Gabrielle Stannus
Whilst travelling in France earlier this year, I met with landscape designer and gardener Clare Obéron in Rennes, the capital city of Brittany in the country’s northwest, ostensibly to discuss how she designs her gardens to look good during winter.… Continue reading
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By Lynne Testoni
In their Paddington Public School project, Outdoor Retreats Landscaping have vividly revitalised an educational space.
Outdoor Retreats Landscapes believes that great results come from working collaboratively, and their award-winning work for Paddington Public School in Sydney shows how well that approach has worked for them.… Continue reading
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By Gabrielle Stannus
If you have ever doubted that landscaping could be a vehicle for social change, think again. Working on Gadigal land, Wildflower Gardens for Good are making it possible for their Aboriginal workforce to build financial freedom and personal empowerment through connection to country and community.… Continue reading
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By Lynne Testoni
A careful and considered planting schedule is the key to the continued maintenance of a high-profile public parkland.
There is a lot of pressure for any company tackling a high-profile public project, but Landscape Solutions (landscapesolutions.com.au) rose to the occasion with the maintenance of this award-winning parkland for Barangaroo Point Reserve.… Continue reading
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By Lynne Testoni
The owners of this award-winning resort-style garden were looking for a way to escape and relax from everyday life – thanks to Dekker Landscapes, it became a reality.
A challenging site, an ambitious design and inferior soil – this project had it all.… Continue reading
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By Gabrielle Stannus
If you are a manager of a park or garden seeking to increase its visitation rates, have you considered installing artwork either permanently or temporarily to enhance visitor experience? I spoke with two people behind the scenes at this year’s Sculpture in the Garden exhibition at the Wollongong Botanic Garden in New South Wales, to find out their tips for ensuring public art looks ‘good’ and functions ‘well’ whilst enhancing the existing attributes of a landscape.… Continue reading
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By Georgia Warren
One of the first stages of designing a space is considering the placement of hard landscaping elements, such as decks, paths, paving, seating, and walls. Once the hardscape elements have been laid out, providing a structural “backbone” to the plan, planting can be considered.… Continue reading
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By John Fitzsimmons
As it exited pandemic times the biennial Australian Landscape Conference 2023 attracted impressive audience numbers and was another signature offering of diverse and accomplished presenters. While the 2023 theme was nominally ‘Beyond the Boundaries’ it could be argued this conference revealed just how much awareness, skill, and creativity is needed and how challenging it can be to identify ‘boundaries’ much less define them.… Continue reading
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By Gabrielle Stannus
A small footprint does not necessarily make for a boring garden, judging by the balconies I saw at the Melbourne International Flower and Garden Show recently. Given the growing number of multi-level apartment buildings that have been, and are continuing to be constructed in our urban environments, the demand for balcony gardens will not be going away anytime soon.… Continue reading
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By Gabrielle Stannus
Visiting Singapore recently, I took in a good few of its more manicured horticultural highlights, including the Singapore Botanic Gardens, and its showy counterpart Gardens by the Bay. However, seeking design inspiration of a different type, I trekked out to The Grandstand, a rather ‘unfussy mall’, to visit a landscape architecture studio seeking to rewild not only the gardens, but the hearts and minds of Singaporeans.… Continue reading
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By Gabrielle Stannus
Have you ever thought that your local creek was a little down at heel and that much more could be done to make it a community asset? I spoke with Gail Hall, Melbourne Water’s Healthy Waterways Strategy Co-delivery Coordinator to find out how creeks are being reimagined across that city, and how horticultural and landscape professionals can be part of that transformation.… Continue reading
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Fifth Season Landscapes believes that great results come from working collaboratively, and winning six accolades for their Clareville Project alone, in the 2022 Landscape Excellence Awards, proves that their approach works.
Nestled seamlessly on Clareville Beach, Sydney, the Chatswood-based team created a relaxed haven for the owners that melds beautifully with the surrounding environment, subtly blending both beach and bush settings.… Continue reading
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By Gabrielle Stannus
Keen-eyed readers may recall that I wrote Hort Journal’s Interior Plantscaping article until recently and have a strong interest in design that integrates the indoors with the outdoors. So, when I heard that a former interior architect had just received one of the Australian Institute of Horticulture’s (AIH) top awards for students, I knew I had to find out more about her.… Continue reading
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By Gabrielle Stannus
Rees Campbell is well-known in lutruwita/Tasmania for Eat Wild Tasmanian, her seminal work on native edible plants first published in 2018 and revised and expanded as Eat More Wild Tasmanian this year. Rees describes herself as a Tasmanian by birth and attitude, and she is passionate about promoting the value of the marvellous bounty found within this state’s bush.… Continue reading
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By Gabrielle Stannus
Well-known designer, Matt Leacy, is a regular media commentator and column writer. Recent TV presenting roles have seen him as Channel 10’s Landscaper to ‘The Living Room’, and Channel Nine’s ‘Domestic Blitz’ and ‘Garden Gurus’. He regularly features on ABC TV’s Dream Gardens, as well as on Channel 10’s Studio 10 and Channel Nine’s The Today Show.… Continue reading
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By Gabrielle Stannus
Most of us understand integrated pest management (IPM) as an environmentally sensitive way of managing pests and diseases in plants, be they in productive, environmental, or ornamental landscapes. IPM includes cultural, chemical, biological, genetic, and physical methods to control garden and landscape pests.… Continue reading
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