By Gabrielle Stannus
From the sawtooth foliage of Banksia prionotes to the scarlet flowers of the Tasmanian waratah (Telopea truncata), the Protea family has it all when it comes to adding colour and form to a public landscape or private garden.… Continue reading
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By Gabrielle Stannus
When we talk about urban landscapes, our attention is often focused on trees and large shrubs. However, much like our natural environments, our designed parks and gardens also would not get by without their ‘understorey’. Taking a stroll around the Inveresk Precinct in Launceston recently, I was reminded of the very important role that plants closer to the ground play in our public landscapes.… Continue reading
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By Lynne Testoni
This newly refreshed and award-winning garden surrounds a significant house, creating a spectacular combination of architecture and landscape.
It can be a challenge to renovate or refresh an iconic landscape design, as expectations are high and pressure can be intense.… Continue reading
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By Gabrielle Stannus
These days you do not need an entire orchard to grow fruit. This is fortunate as our population is becoming increasingly urbanised and the quarter-acre block is almost a relic of times gone past. We are living on smaller blocks with little or no outdoor space, with potential growing area often restricted to less-than-ideal growing environments, e.g.… Continue reading
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By Gabrielle Stannus
Are you the only one in your circle who is not yet using AI? Are you wondering how it may be incorporated into your horticultural or landscape design business? Generative AI may be able to help you create text or images to use in your business operations (administration and marketing) or design (content and visualisations).… Continue reading
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By Lynne Testoni
Maintenance of this award-winning garden has been a labour of love for the landscapers involved.
It takes a lot of work to maintain a beautiful garden full of mature plants and lush greenery, especially when there are tricky access issues involved.… Continue reading
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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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