Bushfire
Gardening World Cup, Nagasaki, Japan 2011
This garden tells the symbolic story of bushfires and the devastating impact they have on local communities in Australia. Australians love the bush, and many city dwellers escape to the bush to connect with nature and find peace, away from the bustle of work and city life. However, the bush is a volatile environment. Hot summers are conducive to destructive fires that can wipe out local communities and forests, such as was seen in the Black Saturday Fires of February 7th 2009.
Out of this destruction however, comes regeneration and new life. Australian plants have adapted to bushfires and in fact in many cases need them for regeneration. Heat explodes woody seed pods, releasing seed, and smoke aids in germination. With new life, plants and trees flower again, and peace is once again restored to the bush.
A small shade structure provides somewhere to sit and enjoy the garden, shaded from the hot summer sun. The low garden feature walls reflect fire in colour, but also as a sculptural way of depicting how wind change can influence the direction of fire through the bush. The water feature is symbolic of the rivers and helps to create a calming cool atmosphere to an otherwise sunny, dry environment. All plants used in this garden are Australian native plants.
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