Fancy PLANTS
Just as interior styles ebb and flow, plant and garden styles cycle in and out of fashion, too. As part of our 70thanniversary review, surveys Helen Young the garden trends that defined seven decades.
1950S
Suburban gardens in the 1950s featured neat garden beds around a beautiful lawn. Better lawnmowers, plus the promotion of new chemicals and fertilisers to help home gardeners grow the perfect lawn, brought a competitive element to the suburbs. Roses remained firm favourites, especially large tea roses such as ‘Queen Elizabeth’ and ‘Peace’, the latter named for the end of World War II. Flowering shrubs such as camellias, azaleas, diosmas and hydrangeas were popular, and many households still maintained a vegetable garden. Indoors, we embraced the African violet, which thrived under newly popular fluorescent lights. And in 1957 came the creation of the ubiquitous pink flamingo lawn ornament.
1960S
As Modernist houses started to integrate indoors and out in their designs, gardens increasingly became entertainment areas rather than utilitarian spaces. Pergolas, decks and barbecue areas appeared. The lawn, still a source of household pride, acquired new curved shapes. Conifers were prized, such as ‘Swanes Golden’ pencil pine (developed by Australian nurseryman Ben Swane), neat bookleaf conifers ( Thuja) and various dwarf types with blue or gold foliage. We started bringing more plants indoors, such as philodendrons, Swedish ivy and monsteras. And as the swinging ’60s brought us flower power, daisies became the symbol of a loved-up generation of flower children.
1970 S
The early stirrings of the ecology movement in the ’70s saw a growing appreciation for our own native plants, especially grevilleas, bottlebrushes and banksias. Home gardeners created naturalistic native gardens, full of enthusiasm for their minimal maintenance and low water usage, as well as their ability to attract birds. The love affair with indoor plants continued as we filled our houses with specimen umbrella trees, kentia palms, weeping figs ( Ficus benjamina) and rubber trees ( Ficus
elastica). If they reached the ceiling, so much the better. Hanging baskets contained Boston ferns, philodendrons and spider plants, ideally in a handcrafted macramé hanger. And let’s not forget terrariums in all shapes and sizes – a very ’70s thing!
1980S
bec 0 am elo0wmaint en anc’ e mess s es,
with neglect meant that many of those 1970s native
feral, dry spelling the end of that fad. The 1980s were a boom time when money, growing consumerism (and shoulder pads) spoke of power. Accordingly, garden designs became more elaborate and structured, with clipped hedges and topiaries, and many households started employing people to maintain them. The signature tree of the ’80s has to be the golden robinia, loved for its bright gold foliage and rapid growth. The choice of outdoor furniture and pots widened as we consciously accessorised our outdoor spaces, following interior-design trends.
1990S
The proliferation of garden shows on television increased our enthusiasm for a beautiful layout and opened our eyes to a wider range of possibilities. We created themed gardens, from Tuscan to Japanese to lush tropical designs, although formality remained popular. People prized standard iceberg roses with low Buxus hedges, and the all-white garden. As block sizes decreased and houses got bigger, the need for boundary screening drove growth in the variety of tall hedges available, especially ones with glossy foliage, such as lilly pilly and Murraya. It also prompted the development of more dwarf varieties of trees and shrubs, suited to smaller gardens. Indoors, the moth orchid
( Phalaenopsis) became popular.
2000S
For much of Australia, drought dominated more than half this decade, bringing stringent restrictions and a new level of consciousness about water use in gardens. We embraced grasses, succulents and other plants suited to low water use, and swapped flowers for architectural and textural plants such as cordylines, dianellas and lomandras. Outdoor rooms continued their rise, especially at the luxury end of the market. Water features became more diverse, interesting and affordable. People also began to be aware of issues such as sustainability, biodiversity and organic gardening practices, while interest in homegrown food increased.
2010S
We’re growing edibles at home and in schoolyards, as well as seeing produce cultivated in restaurant gardens and even apartment-block roofs. There’s a boom in products for home growers, such as raised vegie beds, vertical gardens and selfwatering pots, plus increased commitment to organic and sustainable products and practices. Indoor plants are essential, now part of the interior design aesthetic. If there’s a tree of the decade, it’s Magnolia grandiflora ‘Little Gem’ or its baby brother, ‘Teddy Bear’. And don’t forget to add a firepit in the backyard.