Chris Larkin
I have been gardening with Australian plants since 1991. The local landscape gardener Roger Stone started me off creating a small garden on the south side of the house. The rest of the garden, around an acre, has evolved in stages over the intervening years.
Right from the start I was interested in garden design – the ‘how to’ of creating a beautiful garden that would provide wildlife habitat and make my heart sing. I joined the Garden Design Study Group around 1994 and have been an active member for most of the time, including being a contributing author to Diana Snape’s book ‘The Australian Garden’.
I’m a long-term member of APS Foothill in Victoria, currently writing for our newsletter, the state magazine ‘Growing Australian’ and talking to groups on different Australian plant related topics.
Presentation topic: Plant selection and management in garden design
Gardens that are inviting, visually attractive and contribute positively to a home lifestyle do not just happen, they are carefully planned and designed. It’s complex but very rewarding!
Ideally the garden design comes first – so prepare a layout plan (or mud map!) that shows the physical and functional components of the garden design! Plant selection is primarily determined by the layout, and by the suitability of the specimen for the planned garden use, location, microclimate and growing conditions. It’s also important to imagine the desired future garden appearance to be sure the selected species achieve the ‘look’ you want. There are many other garden attributes that need to be considered to ensure optimum plant selection, we will chat about the most important of the design principles and some that you may not have even considered.
Further reading:
Design with Nature notes 2022 GDSG.pdf
https://austplants.com.au/resources/Documents/Main-Site-Documents/Biennial%20Conference