Australian House & Garden — June 2017

116 | AUSTRALIAN HOUSE & GARDEN

T

he ideal backyard, says landscape designer Phillip

Withers, takes people on a journey away from the

everyday and deep into nature. This was the effect

he aimed to capture in his 200m^2 show garden, for which

he won the coveted gold award. “I wanted to create a space

where people would feel immersed in plant life,” he says.

Phillip’s vision of backyard bliss is abuzz with life:

flowering plants attracting birds and bees, plus herbs and

vegies for food. “There’s a real mix of plants: olives, citrus,

natives and cacti,” he says. “It’s a very biodiverse universe.”

SHOW GARDEN: I SEE WILD

by Phillip Withers Landscape Design

It is also a place of fascinating forms. A lover of ‘living

sculptures’, Phillip used many cacti and agaves as accent

pieces. Gigantic, fan-likeAgave parryicreated dramatic

focal points in three garden beds, and a cluster of tall,

slender, grey-greenCleisocactus strausiigrabbed everyone’s

attention as they gently swayed on the breeze.

Supporting these sculptural plants was a range of native

groundcovers, includingAdenanthos cuneatus‘Coral

Carpet’,Banksia spinulosaandDichondra.And to underline

the idea of forging a closer link between people and nature,

Phillip designed a circular fire-pit area with seats made

from thick slices of flat-topped bluestone. “I wanted to

create a sense that you could sit here and almost float in

the landscape,” he says.phillipwithers.com

MIFGS HIGHLIGHTS

Gold medal &

best in show