Timeless green & white

Whether they were myth or fact, the Hanging Gardens of Babylon – with their famed cascading greenery and elegant falls of water – are worthy of emulation. And that’s exactly what the six-strong team of landscape architects from Tract did in this dreamy 8x8m design, winner of a coveted silver gong.

According to legend, the ancient tiered gardens were built by King Nebuchadnezzar II to create a mirage-like oasis in the desert. The idea behind Tract’s Back to Babylon garden was to showcase the power of greenery to create a sanctuary in an urbanised environment.

The idea, says landscape architect Helen Wellman, was to create a lush, verdant and calming plantscape, with every surface dripping with greenery. “We integrated planting into both vertical and horizontal planes, at various heights, to achieve an enveloping, cascading effect,” she says.

Onlookers loved the limestone stairway. Fringed with thick beds of Hydrangea ‘Diamond Rouge’, philodendrons and large-leafed lamb’s ears (Stachys byzantina ‘Big Ears’), it led to a peppercorn tree with pendulous foliage. In the centre of the garden stood an airy white-coated steel arbour draped in tendrils of green. The entire planting palette was executed in tonal variations of white and green. “It’s timeless and it helps create a sense of sanctuary,” says Helen. tract.com.au