Fleming's Nurseries Australian Garden - Gold

Gold medal garden by Dean Herald. This garden is a tailored space that has been designed to give the complete Australian experience. The barbeque space is taken to a new level with a fully functional outdoor kitchen, a relaxed lounge space and a kids play area - all surrounded by typically Australian plantings. The garden allows visitors to experience the best of Australian lifestyle and encourages people to spend more time outside.

Garden description

This garden is an adaptation of the garden that Dean Herald designed and constructed for the Melbourne International Flower and Garden Show in April 2005. At Melbourne the garden was awarded a Gold medal as well as the Royal Horticultural Society of Victoria Comeadow Award presented to the most outstanding designer at the show.

The main feature plants within this garden are five large Xanthorrhoea. These unique Australian native grass trees only grow one to two centimetres each year. Other plants that will feature in the garden include a Ligustrum hedge for screening and privacy and mass plantings of grasses and shrubs such as Phormium, Pennisetum, Dietes, Equisetum, Acanthus, Heuchera, Cotinus, Festuca, Gaura, Ophiopogon, Sambucus and Dianella.

The garden aims to be an aesthetically pleasing environment, which requires minimal upkeep. An integral part of this is to ensure that the plant selection is drought resistant and respects the basic principles of water sensitive gardening.

This is Dean's first time as an exhibitor at RHS Chelsea Flower Show. Dean sees exhibiting at the show as an opportunity to hopefully inspire, excite and challenge people in their thinking and visions of what is possible in an outdoor setting.