• 17 Nov, 2016
• Author: Rossgardentours

Garden Design Fest Victoria Opens its Doors

As springtime garden viewing peaks in Victoria this week, we finish up a brilliant season tootling around the best gardens in Australia. Sandra is on the road, literally, finding new and exciting places, to hopefully share with you one day. Today she shares her favourites from last week’s Garden Design Fest.

“There’s something tantalizingly voyeuristic about visiting private gardens, it’s a privilege to be allowed through the gates. I saw an amazing collection of different gardens in Melbourne and Mornington Peninsula last weekend with Garden Design Fest. These private designer gardens rarely open, but this weekend flung their doors wide for Rotary.”

Sandra’s favourites:

1. I loved the windswept pathways of garden designer, Rick Eckersley’s garden at Musk Farm. Painterly. Textural and inviting. And a wonderful reminder to keep things simple and to walk natures trails with an open mind. A garden that fills the soul.

2. An elegant timber obelisk brought this garden into focus, adding an exclamation to the layers of contrasting foliage. Surprisingly this garden flourishes built on top of a garage.

3. Shrewd combination with a favourite of mine for shady nooks – the soft and oak shaped foliage of the oakleaf hydrangea! Here it teams with the glossy elephant ears of the round bergenia contrasting with a striking agave, all nestling cosily into the front steps and a spillover pink pigface succulent.

4. Aussie gravel garden, designed by Sandra McMahon , at the entry with crushed gravel path makes a triumphant vignette of adorable native florals. The charcoal stained timber house and stone chimney set the texture and detail off perfectly. Three matching pots in different sizes tied the wildflowers together… love their rustic look. Flannel flowers were a knockout!

5. Form, function and modernity shone in this garden designed by Steve Taylor. Off centre fire pit complements clean strong lines of the swimming pool, platform bench seating and the soldiers of rustic railway sleepers. Loved the miniature blue chalksticks (Senecio serpens) behind the pool fence, a tight and colourful plant choice with the stacked logs under bench reinforce the cosy theme.

6. Brilliant architectural focus for this grass garden at Musk Farm, spotted with red kangaroo paws and backed with glossy Green Goddess lilies. Note the beautiful blue Wigandia in top right.

There will be another set of Victorian gardens opening November 19 and 20 in regional Victoria: Euroa, Bendigo, Geelong, Macedon, West Gippsland and Ballarat. Check out www.gardendesignfest.com.au for more details.

Travel with us next year on our ‘Inside Victoria’ Garden Tour where we will select the best of the best to visit. For more information call Royce or Roslyn on 1300233200