SLEEK AND SOPHISTICATED
Two large, raised rectangular ponds added a calming
symmetry to the Husqvarna Garden – An Urban
Sanctuary (above), a formal garden that won a bronze
award for landscape designer Charlie Albone of Inspired
Exteriors. Inner rectangles of black powder-coated
aluminium were sheeted with water that was dyed black
to maximise the reflective quality. The outer casing was
powder-coated aluminium, painted to create the effect of
oxidised copper. “The tones of the copper work well with
the tapestry of perennial plantings,” says Charlie.TROPICAL TRICKLE
Landscape designer Christian Jenkins from Landscape Design Group
transplanted a slice of the tropics to Melbourne with his Nature &
Nurture garden for Beyond Blue. The concept used meditation huts
suspended over lagoons in a rainforest setting. Water trickled through
naturalistic features made from layered Castlemaine slate (right), which
was also used as stepping stones (left). Plantings included soft tree
ferns (Dicksonia antarctica), bird’s nest ferns (Asplenium) and cycads.Soothing sounds
From naturalistic billabongs and babbling brooks to reflective ponds and gentle
cascades, water played a starring role in many of this year’s gardens.
MIFGS HIGHLIGHTS
Water features