Best of both worlds
A harmonious mix of native and exotic plants in a Melbourne garden
Wandering through Carol Ride’s spacious urban garden on a spring morning, it’s the flowering perennials that shine. Cherry pie (Heliotropium arborescens) with its dark contrasting foliage and divine vanilla perfume, along with salvias, purple bougainvillea and a thriving rose section stand out against the soft backdrop of a bush palette. As the sun rises through the fog, the 35 years of love that Carol has put into her garden sings as loud as the morning birdsong.
With her broad taste in plants, Carol trials anything she loves. She’s created a seamless blend of natives, exotics, striking foliage plants and flowering varieties, both bold and delicate. It is a masterful melange with everything working in harmony, an effect that is difficult to achieve. REALISING A DREAM
Carol and her husband John had dreamt of having a large garden. When they found their property, about a 20-minute drive from Melbourne’s CBD, they loved the old Arts and Crafts-style house, but it was the surrounding bush and wonderful potential for a garden that really drew them in.
Covering about 2000m2, the block in a leafy suburb by the Yarra River gave them the space they longed for. There weren’t many plants in the garden, so Carol did a short landscape design course to prepare for the massive task ahead.
The now abundant and established garden invites you to explore, with its different levels, stone steps, paved areas, meandering grass paths, and plantings FROM LEFT Clumps of tall dietes mingle with the rambling native guinea flower (Hibbertia scandens); cottage plants, including roses and sweet peas, work in a bushland setting.
CLOCKWISE FROM ABOVE Statice, with its large purple flower heads, is a feature at the entrance; Leucadendron ‘Superstar’; David Austin rose ‘John Clare’; romneya thrives in Mediterranean climates; Carol grows roses for cut flowers; foliage of different shapes and textures are anchored by a rock. anchored by large basalt rocks. There are peaceful places to stop and take in the rich vista along the way, including quiet garden rooms and seating areas.
Giant lemon-scented gums (Corymbia citriodora) form a big canopy in the back garden, and snowgums (Eucalyptus pauciflora), with their gnarled branches, add character. Many trees have been carefully positioned to provide shelter.
As a campaigner for a greener planet and founder of Psychology for a Safe Climate, a non-profit organisation that aims to foster emotional engagement with climate change, Carol’s philosophy is seen in the garden. Ornamental grapevines and a strategically placed Manchurian pear shade and protect the house, reducing the need for cooling during summer.
Carol is also passionate about seed saving, and grows her own vegetables in wicking beds, using environmentally friendly gardening techniques. SHARED PHILOSOPHY
In 1996, while working on her Masters in Psychoanalytic Studies, Carol needed help with her garden, so she put a notice up at Burnley Horticultural College. Jela Ivankovic-Waters (then a student, now a landscape architect) answered her call and the pair began a 10-year gardening relationship, fostering a great friendship. Jela encouraged Carol to plant what she loves and step back to see the whole effect.
Keen to take this concept to a wider audience, Jela recently co-authored
Native: Art and Design with Australian Plants with fellow designer Kate Herd.
The book celebrates the use of native plants in gardens, reflecting lessons from Carol’s garden. It also aims to break down the idea that gardens need to be exclusively Australian native plants or exotics, and encourages gardeners to mix the two. Carol’s garden exemplifies this, showcasing a harmonious mix of many types of plants, each with their own charm and purpose.
“It’s how a plant will respond to your environment that should determine its use,” explains Jela. “The native/non-native
delineation is an Australian cultural mindset that’s fixed. If we mix these plants we have much more to play with, rather than being hemmed in by what we’re told we should and shouldn’t plant. When you introduce Australian natives, you have continuity of flowering and foliage interest, and attract birds and insects year-round.”
NATIVE GEMS
Carol has planted a number of wattles (Acacia spp.). She says these natives are often overlooked, as they are classified as short lived, but she regards them as valuable and versatile garden plants.
There are wattle varieties that cascade, spill over and run along the ground as a cover, and others that can be shaped as a small shrub (see box, opposite).
Jela also believes wattles are some of the best-performing plants available. “The value wattles can offer is completely underestimated,” she says. “People seem put off because they may only live 15 years, but that’s a long time considering how tastes change. Most grow incredibly fast, and there are so many varieties. Their plasticity and hardiness are unparalleled.”
Other natives featured in Carol’s garden are Thryptomene saxicola, croweas and a Geraldton wax (Chamelaucium uncinatum), all with mid-winter flowers. See page 35 for more natives to mix with exotics.
“All plants should be considered equal and judged on the merit of how they perform and work together, and what they can do for you and the environment,” enthuses Jela. “I often think a really good garden is one where you don’t feel you have to look at anything in particular, but where it just feels great to be in it, and you can feel the love,” she adds, beautifully summing up the effect Carol’s garden has on people fortunate enough to visit.