THE AUSTRALIAN GARDEN
Presented by the Royal Botanic Gardens Melbourne- RHS Chelsea Flower Show 2011.
Gold Medal, Main Avenue.
This show garden tells the story of the metaphorical “journey of water” from Australia’s arid outback eastward through the rivers and gorges to the urbanised and more humid east coast of Australia.
The front left boundary wall is a sand-dune wall-sculpture by Valissa Butterworth from Melbourne depicting the never-ending sand dunes of the outback. The rusted steel gorge wall and water cascade depict river gorges of Australia where water provides life for plants in an otherwise hostile environment. The timber shade structure is a modern garden pavilion that provides somewhere shady to relax on a hot summer’s day. It also reflects the timber-clad visitor centre at the Australian Garden at RBG Cranbourne.
The ‘Salt’ sculptures by Edwina Kearney and Mark Stoner are an interpretation of their Ephemeral Lake Sculpture at the Australian Garden Cranbourne. The fence blades are a modern reference to the story of the rabbit-proof fences in outback Australia. The fire pit reflects fire as an important cultural and social element in Australia that goes back thousands of years. The Waterhole is a sculptural element depicting an outback waterhole. The front pebble path depicts a dry riverbed. The lawn area depicts green valleys and also helps Chelsea visitors draw inspiration for domestic gardens. The river water-feature is in the bold shape of a hunting boomerang, a strong cultural symbol in Australia. The cascading gorge water-feature cascades over rusted steel boxes and cubes, reflecting the iron rich rocks of inland gorges in Australia.
All plants in the garden are Australian native plants, including rare and threatened species. The plants correlate with selected geographical regions of Australia – from outback arid areas, to inland gorges, coastal areas and temperate-zone regions.
Photo credits: Jay Watson, Allan Pollok-Morris, Jim Fogarty
The Royal Botanic Gardens Melbourne would like to thank our generous supporters.
Premier Supporter: Victorian Government
Major Sponsor: Macquarie Group
Associate Sponsor: Maxwell & Williams
Associate Supporter: City of Casey
Official Outfitter: RM Williams
Credits
Dr. Philip Moors – Project Coordinator (Director RBGM)
Jim Fogarty – Designer
Landform Consultants – Main Contractor www.landformconsultants.co.uk
Mark Gregory
Mark Britton – Site Manager
Crocus.co.uk – Plants, Mark Straver & Mark Fane
Chris Russell – Director RBGM The Australian Garden Cranbourne
Andy Sturgeon – Planting Supervisor
Philip Bowyer-Smyth – planting crew (RBGM)
Sandra Hodge – planting crew (RBGM)
Warren Worboys – Planting crew (RBGC)
Michael Warner – Plant Welfare
Rodger Elliott – Horticultural Consultant
Jay Watson – Archival footage & photography
Working Group
Dr. Philip Moors – Director RBGM
Michael Hamson- Chairman of Working Group
John Calvert-Jones
Doug Shears
Ken Harrison – Financial Controller
Jim Fogarty – designer
Australian Based
Semken Landscaping – pre logistics and shipment of Australian materials
Edwina Kearney & Mark Stoner – “Salt” sculpture
The Royal Botanic Gardens would also like to thank:
Supporters and donors of the project
Furniture: Livingstones by www.placesandspaces.com
Catherine MacDonald & Mel from Landform Consultants, project manager & liaison
David Read, Martin Kelley, Bill Bunce, specialist construction
Mark Straver, Mark Fane, Katie, Sarah & Lou from Crocus.co.uk, plant sourcing & procurement
David & Sonya Root, Andy Martin from Kelways Plants Ltd, plant preparation & management
Outback Plants, Simon Crawford, for the flowering annual Australian outback plants
Jodi Beare for advice on cushions and fabrics for the fire pit
Sally Capp, Victoria’s Agent General, London
Claire Golding, Tourism Victoria, London Office
All the Landform build crew including sub-contractors, chippies & decorators.
