I had the great pleasure of going to the media preview and opening day of the very first Australian Garden Show.  This is a little bit of the Chelsea Flower Show right here, but full of Australia's top garden design talent.  

Its fab!  The show gardens are Chelsea quality, and if you are in Sydney you should get yourself down there right away.  We are having the perfect spring weather and I cannot think of a nicer way to spend the day than wondering through Centennial Park being wowed by the amazing gardens on display.  Or visit at night when the gardens are lit up to create a magical evening wonderland.

My wonderful web video producer Suzannah Cowley has caught the flavour of the show with some amazing imagery, and done a wonderful job of making a novice like me look good on camera.  We also managed a quick interview with Indira Naidoo (The Edible Balcony) who gave us some great tips on how and why we should ALL grow our own veg.


I will do a longer post next week with a little more detail on my favourites.  But for now, take the kids, they can pot up a strawberry and hold a chicken, and head down there for some serious inspiration.  

Make sure you catch my personal favourites:

• "Suspended"  by Brendan Moar (Best in Show)
• "The Hive" by Katie Burgess (based on bees and honey comb)
• "September Sky" by Andrew Fisher Tomlin & Tom Harfleet
• "The Kitchen Garden" by Indira Naidoo

Just a few weeks ago the garden had a really dull mid winter look, but finally the ranuncula corms I planted have started to flower!   They look sensational against the fine foliage of the lime wave grasses and pick up the red tones in the last of the autumn leaves.  This is exactly the look I was trying to achieve - a modern meadow.  Now I just need more!!!

See what the garden looked like in summer, the orginal modern meadow inspiration, and my final choice of plants.

After months of being attracted to pastels and minty colours I am loving how this vibrant pink sets of the fresh green leaves.

The grasses are really sensational but I am waging a war against the curl grubs which are determined to eat their roots.  I have finally resulted to using pesticides (which I don't like).  There are just to many and I have lost about a third of the grasses I planted originally.  If anybody has a more environmentally friendly solution let me know.

I am a huge fan of Piet Oudolf's gardens, wild and textured and colourful.  In the nursery today I spotted a beautiful Lomandra Lime wave grass and it reminded me of this Piet Oudolf picture below.

Photo via Flickr, if anybody knows the original source let me know

I have already planted these exact salvias (Salvia nemorosa 'Caradonna' which I managed to source from Lambley Nursery) but the Sesleria grass I have seen in Sydney has been a little drier and browner.  I like the zestiness of this green, I don't want brown.  The Lime wave (bottom left) may be a great solution.  Plus it is hardy enough to survive the plant love of Little Miss J, as well as being an Aussie native and very drought tolerant. Tick tick tick - this is the one!

I will have the gorgeous crocus towards the front (center above) and the Sedum Autumn Harvest (above right) coming up every now and then.  It could work!  I am itching to get to the nursery and get planting!!  Its so lovely to have a garden again!

Piet Oudolf is the master of soft textured block planting.  Love the tonal blend through the flower heads and into the grasses - an edited meadowscape.

Our house is very square and very black.  I need the landscape to soften up all the hard lines but still deliver colour, texture and drama.  
I have the main structure, a  backdrop of lilly pilly hedge, a row of gorgeous pear trees for height, seasonal colour and privacy.  I want the beds under the plum trees to be fat with grassy textures, with wild looking flowers adding seasonal colour.

I need to bring the garden close to the house and blur the edges.