Well it looks as though I've just got home in time! The temperature has dropped and the clouds are rolling in on what was the most spectacular spring day in Sydney!
Today we decided to ride our bikes to the Australian Garden Show which was held in the beautiful Centennial Parklands in Sydney. I'm glad we decided to ride our bikes as the traffic was crazy...election day, Randwick horse races and the garden show all vying for space on the roads!
We couldn't have asked for a better day with the clear blue sky and temperature getting up to 31 degrees! After parking the bikes we troddled off to see what was on offer!
This is the inaugural Australian Garden Show and I have to say it seemed to bring Sydney-siders out in their thousands!! I think the great weather also had something to do with it too. The event is a showcase of well-known and up and coming Landscape Architects and designers, with garden displays, floral exhibitions, and a number of lectures and talks ranging from sustainable living to making your own organic fertilizer. It seems that 'vertical gardens' are the thing of the moment and I have to say they are very effective, having just installed one in our living room last month (but that's another blog.....) and there were plenty of examples to start you thinking .There are also cooking demonstrations in the Lindeman's Open Garden (where you can try their Early Harvest range of low alcohol wines) and plenty of areas where the kids can get down and dirty potting up their own creations or cuddling the cute little chicks...we even saw some hatching from their eggs!!! ......but I digress.....
There were some big name Australian Landscape Designers who had created wonderful outdoor spaces. One of my favourites was Brendan Moar's 'Suspended' which was created for the Nursery garden Industry NSW & ACT.
Many of the gardens followed the theme of 'the outdoor room' which has been a Sydney favourite idea for urban landscape design. A central pond is over-hung by lush planting and surrounded by an entertaining platform. The whole area is covered by an open, pergola-like structure. From this structure hanging plants cascade down almost as if they are suspended in mid air. Ingeniously Brendan has designed small 'platforms' within the framework of the pergola and the plants are sitting within these in pots!
In this way the pots can be easily removed, moved about or replaced to create different effects.
Another garden I enjoyed was Jim Fogarty's 'The Last Leave' which was a garden commemorating Gallipoli 1915-2015. It's a metaphorical interpretation of the trenches of war brought into the 21st century as a beautiful landscape...not the terrifying landscape of war.
In the garden was this beautiful native Iris with the most amazing large pure white flowers....I need to try to find out more about this plant!
This garden draws on permaculture theory where all plants are either edible or functional in some way. I love the honey-combed screens that surround the central pavilion.
It reminds me of a bee hive and the curtained pergola with it's seating area is the perfect place for the 'Queen bee' to relax and take her afternoon tea.....scones with honey perhaps!!!
A high-light of the day was meeting the lovely Indira Naidoo, tv personality and gardener; author of the new book 'The Edible Balcony'.
Today we decided to ride our bikes to the Australian Garden Show which was held in the beautiful Centennial Parklands in Sydney. I'm glad we decided to ride our bikes as the traffic was crazy...election day, Randwick horse races and the garden show all vying for space on the roads!
We couldn't have asked for a better day with the clear blue sky and temperature getting up to 31 degrees! After parking the bikes we troddled off to see what was on offer!
This is the inaugural Australian Garden Show and I have to say it seemed to bring Sydney-siders out in their thousands!! I think the great weather also had something to do with it too. The event is a showcase of well-known and up and coming Landscape Architects and designers, with garden displays, floral exhibitions, and a number of lectures and talks ranging from sustainable living to making your own organic fertilizer. It seems that 'vertical gardens' are the thing of the moment and I have to say they are very effective, having just installed one in our living room last month (but that's another blog.....) and there were plenty of examples to start you thinking .There are also cooking demonstrations in the Lindeman's Open Garden (where you can try their Early Harvest range of low alcohol wines) and plenty of areas where the kids can get down and dirty potting up their own creations or cuddling the cute little chicks...we even saw some hatching from their eggs!!! ......but I digress.....
There were some big name Australian Landscape Designers who had created wonderful outdoor spaces. One of my favourites was Brendan Moar's 'Suspended' which was created for the Nursery garden Industry NSW & ACT.
Many of the gardens followed the theme of 'the outdoor room' which has been a Sydney favourite idea for urban landscape design. A central pond is over-hung by lush planting and surrounded by an entertaining platform. The whole area is covered by an open, pergola-like structure. From this structure hanging plants cascade down almost as if they are suspended in mid air. Ingeniously Brendan has designed small 'platforms' within the framework of the pergola and the plants are sitting within these in pots!
In this way the pots can be easily removed, moved about or replaced to create different effects.
Another garden I enjoyed was Jim Fogarty's 'The Last Leave' which was a garden commemorating Gallipoli 1915-2015. It's a metaphorical interpretation of the trenches of war brought into the 21st century as a beautiful landscape...not the terrifying landscape of war.
The shelter at the back is symbolic of a trench or dugout, stone edging is an echo of the sandbags used to protect our soldiers. Rusted barbed-wire balls are the only remnants of the wire surrounding the trenches. 100 years on this place of war has been re-energised and re-visioned as a place of beauty and reflection. The plants will flower, seed, and re-grow; signifying the cycle of life and perpetuity.
Myles Baldwin created a lovely display entitled 'Sydney Gardenesque' which show-cases the beautiful golden sandstone upon which most of Sydney is built. The garden contains an eclectic mix of sub-tropical and warm temperate plants which were favourites of the Victorians in the mid-1800's.
The pergola is simple in design and the white-framed structure is highlighted by the branches which form the roof, allowing fine shafts of light to filter through.
In the garden was this beautiful native Iris with the most amazing large pure white flowers....I need to try to find out more about this plant!
There was also a small display of 6 urban gardens designed by up-and-coming landscape artists. I particularly like Kate Burgess's
'The Hive'.
It reminds me of a bee hive and the curtained pergola with it's seating area is the perfect place for the 'Queen bee' to relax and take her afternoon tea.....scones with honey perhaps!!!
A high-light of the day was meeting the lovely Indira Naidoo, tv personality and gardener; author of the new book 'The Edible Balcony'.
Indira's philosophy is that of groundedGARDENS...that you can make the most of the smallest area to create a beautiful, functional space. Indira created a stunning display of vegetables and herbs on her 20m square balcony and her book contains not only tips and ideas of how to use your urban space to create a productive garden, but inspiring and easy to prepare recipes for your home-grown fresh produce!
Needless to say I came home with not only Indira's book, but also some new secateurs, branch loppers and some lovely little pruning shears to keep our vertical garden in check (my partner is very happy I won't be using his scissors for this purpose...). I also got some little succulent rooted cuttings for 2$ a piece that have already been planted into my 'succulent bowl' to spruce it up for summer.
If you get a chance head to Centennial Park in Sydney tomorrow, it's the last day of the show. But it will be back next year so don't despair.
With spring well and truly here and summer fast approaching, there is no excuse not to get your hands into some potting mix. Grab some herbs or flowering annuals...or some succulents or veggie seedlings and get gardening!
As Indira says......'Get dirty with me in the garden!'
