ASAGARDENDESIGNERandtopiarist,KurtWilkinsonhas
spentthelasttwodecadesmeticulouslysculptingformal
gardensthroughoutAdelaideandthesurroundingdistricts.
Butwhenitcomestohisowngardenona four-hectare
propertyatOneTreeHillnorthofAdelaide,heexperiments
witha mixofstructuredandunstructuredplantings.
“IwantthemostextremejuxtapositionthatI cancome
upwith:perfectformalelementsandthenjustchaos,really,
withsomethingnewhappeningeveryweekorseasonsoI’m
constantlysurprisedandamazedbywhat’sgrowing,”the
46-year-oldexplainsoftheone-hectaretapestryofcolour,
textureandformthatsurroundshishome.
Almosteightyearsago,Kurt,hiswifeLauren,43,and
theirtwochildren—13-year-oldAlanaandLuke, 10 —
movedtothehilltoppropertywhichadjoinsParaWirra
ConservationParkwithsweepingviewsoftheBarossaValley
andFlindersRanges.Atthetime,theproperty’ssize,location
andcontemporaryhouseappealedtotheyoungfamily,who
wereliving 10 minutesdowntheroadonsmalleracreage.
However,thesitepresentednewchallengesforKurt,given
itsexposuretoweatherextremesandshallowtopsoilover
shale.Heinitiallyconsideredcreatinga moreformalgarden
buttheenvironment—anda populationofkangaroosand
emus—hadotherideas.
“It’sbeenchallengingjusttogetthingstosurviveinthis
environment,letalonemakea beautifulgarden.Itgets
brutally hot in summer with strong dry winds, and manytreeswereblowingoverwhenI firstputthemin.Itwas
a constantbattle,”herecalls.Kurthassincefencedoff
onehectareofthegardentopreventthewildlifefrom
destroyingtheplants.
Whileheworksonmanyofthebestgardensinthestate,
hispersonaldesignaesthetichaschangeddramaticallyover
theyears.“Ithoughtformalgardens,withtheirregular,
cleanshapes,weretheepitomeofgardening.Luckily,I was
giventheopportunitytoworkwithandbeinf luencedby
landscapearchitectVirginiaKennett,whoblendsinformal
plantingswithformal.Heruniquedesignchallengedmy
ideaofwhata gardencouldbeandstartedmeonthispath.”
DutchgardendesignerPietOudolf—knownforhis
naturalisticperennialandgrassdrifts,withplantschosen
fortheirstructure—hasbeenanotherdefininginf luence.
Plantsarenotjustselectedforwhattheylooklikeduring
f lowering,butateverystageoftheirseasonalcycle.
Kurtinheritedsomesucculentsandnativeswiththe
propertyandhegraduallylearnedtoacceptandincorporate
theminhisplan,aftermanyintroducedplantsfailedto
surviveinthefirstfewyears.
“Therewerea numberofnativehibiscus(Alyogyne
huegelii) inthegardenthatlookedlikea bedraggledkind
ofpelargonium.I wasgoingtoripthemoutbutI ended
uptrimmingthemintodomesandtheymakebeautiful
shapes,”hesays.“That’sthething:plantsI’vecompletely
disliked, I end up loving to bits! Now I happily accept>“That’sthething:plantsI’vecompletely
disliked, I end up loving to bits!”
GARDENONE TREE HILL SOUTH AUSTRALIA
66 COU NTRY ST Y LESEPTEMBER 2019