GARDENS
To keep track of what
goes into the garden each
season, Justin meticulously
records the details in a
journal. Flicking throughit,he
recalls which of the hundredsof
plants have made it, and the few that
haven’t. It’s this devotion to each and
every one that makes me ask if there’s
really room for any more. “Aside from
bulbs, I’ll never buy another plant,” Justin
responds, but somehow I doubt it.
sharing the spotlight
With photographic recall, Justin knows
where every bulb is located. He has used
succession planting to great effect, taking
into account the flowering cycle of each
species and layering the garden so that
one follows the next. Each deciduous plant
(60 per cent of the garden is deciduous)
has its moment to shine. It then dies back,
giving the next plant its turn.
At the back of the upper level, Justin’s
rainbow-coloured Gouldian finches, and
painted and star finches, are housed in
an 8m^2 aviary. In this garden, where no
space is without plants of some kind, the
shade of this structure creates the right
microclimate for the potted orchids.
The conservatory at the rear of the
garage is where Justin potters away,
propagating his favourite plants and
tending his fish tanks. When the lower
garden was planted two years ago, more
than half of the 400 plants used to fill it
had been propagated in the conservatory.
The bedroom window overlooks this
area, so Justin wanted to include his
and Reed’s favourite plants. Arisaema
spp., Astilbe spp., butterfly amaryllis
(Hippeastrum papilio), Geranium
‘Rozanne’, azaleas and a potted maple
have filled out the space in a short time.
But as Justin shows me around and
mentions plans for additions, the glint in
his eye says that, like any true gardener’s
garden, it’s never going to be ‘finished’. GA
Justin’s
FIVE FAVOURITES- Dutch iris (Iris x hollandica)
- Species tulip (Tulipa whittallii)
- Forest pansy (Cercis canadensis)
- Peacock iris (Moraea aristata)
- Arisaema spp. (especially
A. sikokianum)
CLOCKWISE FROM ABOVE
Justin keeps a detailed journal in
which he records the source and
progress of each plant that he and
Reed have put in their cool-climate
garden over the past eight years;
every inch of the garden – even
under the bench seat – is planted;
Justin propagating fuchsia for
planting next spring; potted topiary
is dotted throughout, providing
structure, and infusing the space
with old-world charm; hundreds of
plants have been propagated in the
conservatory, protected from the
cold as they strike in preparation
for transplanting; created with
a designer’s eye, Justin’s fish tanks
in the conservatory contain a
jungle of aquatic plants and are
something to behold.36 SEPTEMBER 2019 GARDENING AUSTRALIA