Best in show

In a field of talented entries from Australia and abroad, H&G joined forces with a trio of young landscape designers to take top honours at the Melbourne International Flower & Garden Show.

Australians love their backyards. From weekend barbecues and Christmas Day cricket matches to lovingly tended vegies and nostalgic plants grown from Grandma’s cuttings, the backyard provides the backdrop for many of life’s good things. With this in mind, and to mark the occasion of

H&G’s 70th birthday, editor in chief Lisa Green invited Melbourne-based landscape design practice Eckersley Garden Architecture to collaborate in creating a special show garden honouring the humble backyard at this year’s Melbourne International Flower & Garden Show (MIFGS).

The brief to Eckersley landscape designers Clare Mackarness, Rupert Baynes-Williams and Joshua Cocks was for a contemporary garden paying homage to the backyard and its incarnations over time. “At first we thought, ‘That’ll be easy,’” says Clare. “But it’s hard to sum up the history of the backyard in one garden.”

Not only did the trio pull it off, they also scooped the pool, winning a gong for Best Use of Plant Life, scoring a gold medal for overall execution and taking out the ultimate prize: the City of Melbourne Award of Excellence for Best in Show.

What were the key features of this big-time winner? Gum trees (Eucalyptus maculata), lawn, swathes of native grasses, ornamental shrubs, a vegie patch, an entertainment zone with crazy paving, and even a Hills Hoist all featured in the 15x15m site. “We wanted to acknowledge our native vegetation, our European heritage and the influence of migrant culture on our backyards,” says Clare.

From the outset, the designers wanted to include a pool, a barbecue and a cricket pitch. They subtly modified each of these elements, however, so that the pool became a pond filtered by water plants, the barbecue morphed into a stylish brick fireplace in an open-air living room and the cricket pitch ran unobtrusively through the middle of the space.

Brick played a major role in the design: a low brick wall at the entrance was a reference to the suburban front fence, while the monolithic fireplace wall was a nod to Australia’s sculptural landscape, with the pink hues of ‘San Selmo’ reclaimed bricks from Brickworks helping to reference the colours of the Red Centre.

Plant-wise, the focus was on luscious and layered foliage, an “eclectic mix of native and exotic species that complement and offset each other in form and texture,” says Clare. For example, a border of Fatsia

japonica with star-shaped leaves was underplanted with Rhaphiolepsis ‘Oriental Pink’, both offset by ribbons of strappy renga renga lilies ( Arthropodium

‘Matapouri Bay’), clusters of ‘Encore’ azaleas, drifts of Salvia ‘Indigo Spires’ and wavy grasses ( Miscanthus

transm orris on en sis and M. sinensis ‘Adagio’). Under the Hills Hoist was an array of capsicums, eggplants, chillies, verbena and thyme. “Inspired by Greekinfluenced edible gardens,” explains Rupert.

There were retro plants, too, including canna lilies (a crowd favourite), Cordyline stricta and kidney weed ( Dichondra repens), which was popular as a substitute for lawn in the 1980s and is again right now. Native plants played a major role in the design, a standout being Hymenosporum ‘Butterfly Scentz’, a native frangipani in shrub form. “It’s a beautiful native alternative to gardenia, but much hardier,” says Clare.

Along with the official awards, this garden won the hearts of MIFGS visitors. “Lots of people said they felt nostalgic and recognised plants from childhood,” says Clare. “That’s exactly what we hoped for.” > Eckersley Garden Architecture; e-ga.com.au.

‘We used a variety of plants and materials to represent the patchwork of cultures in Australia today.’

Clare Mackarness