Great Gardens with Graham Ross

Graham has visited many gardens in his career, but these are the ones that made it to the top of his list.

Pical star

This tropical garden near Brisbane is considered one of the world’s best. The oasis spreads over 1000m² and features an enchanting rainforest jungle where more than 100 different palm species create a canopy for shade-loving understorey plants. Crafting a lush paradise from a flamboyant palette of exotic plants has been a work of love for gardener Dennis Hundscheidt, and his efforts have been well rewarded.

1. The garden opens up to reveal itself through a series of rooms, each with its own water feature. To reproduce this sort of luscious landscape, arrange plants in deep layered beds – here, cordylines, gingers, bromeliads and pink mussaenda rub shoulders.
2. Include bromeliads, like this striking guzmania, for both their foliage and brightly coloured blooms.

Contemporary style

Set within the grounds of a contemporary Melbourne house, and challenged by limited space, this garden employs a colour scheme of white, grey and charcoal for hard surfaces, overlaid with the emerald greens of multi-layered foliage. Flowers feature as seasonal highlights, but it’s the shapes, textures and shades of leaves that impress as you wander through. The garden was created by award-winning designer Jim Fogarty, who drew on his favourite design features to please a special client – himself! For more information, visit www.jimfogartydesign.com.au

1. Soften the monochrome tones of hard landscaping materials with unexpected splashes of colour. Old-world Bergenia cordifolia is a great groundcover for semi-shaded areas, with lolly-pink blooms in spring.
2. Seen from above, this black-stained timber deck nestles in a sea of green, with a screen of bamboo providing privacy from neighbours.
3. Consider so-called ‘cottage’ plants such as the iris – their greyish sword-like leaves exude pure modern style
4. See your garden from a new perspective. Instead of installing a predictable patch of lawn, the solution here was to design a raised timber deck, floating in a large bed filled with interesting foliage and flowers. The result? A mow-free front yard!
5. Use clematis where you want a light, deciduous climber with glorious spring flowers in a jewel-box of colours.
6. Try this idea for a little textural interest – a square of bluestone cobbles breaks up the surrounding smooth surfaces and acts like a feature rug for this small courtyard.

Enchanting classic

Wandering the grounds of Red Cow Farm is like entering another time. A superb series of garden rooms, it’s arguably the best re-creation of a classic European garden anywhere in Australia. In the Monastery Garden, clipped formality complements flowery abundance, while other ‘rooms’ showcase idealised views of wild nature. The grounds host a collection of 800 roses as well as many rare shrubs, perennials and every English tree you could hope for. Extraordinarily, creators Wayne Morrissey and Ali Mentesh completed all the work themselves.

1. Don’t overlook quirky salvage-yard items – like statues! This peaceful saint stands among apricot foxtail lilies and purple alliums.
2. Link buxus topiary cones with square hedges of the same species.
3. Experiment with bold planting combos like burgundy pennisetum grass set beside gold rudbeckia.
4. A clever and colourful way to fringe a lake, or even a tiny pond, is with a striking burst of sunshine-yellow from aquatic iris.
5. The spectacular Monastery Garden is straight out of the Middle Ages, with a network of cross-shaped paths. Borrow the traditional planting scheme where perennials, roses, herbs and vegetables are mixed in together.
6. North-facing walls are fabulous for roses. Here, climbers feature along the back with shrub roses in the foreground

Native nirvana

Imagine a sweeping plant-filled wilderness, just a stone’s throw from a city’s CBD and you have the unique Kings Park in Perth. It’s all thanks to the vision of the city’s founders who, in 1872, gazetted 175 hectares for the public park. Today, the grounds are spread over 400 hectares and offer Western Australia’s flora in all its diversity. Interestingly, WA is home to almost half of Australia’s 25,000 plant species, most of which are found nowhere else in the world.

1. West Australian everlasting daisies, a symbol of wildflower fields, are mass-sown throughout Kings Park to re-create the glorious blanket effect.
2. Fringed lilies (Thysanotus sp.) bear spectacular spring blooms on 30cm stems above grassy foliage.
3. Many of Australia’s lovely fan flowers (Scaevola sp.) are native to WA. Grow them in well-drained soil, either in pots or as a groundcover.
4. Imitate nature with this idea – plant massed kangaroo paw among earthy slabs of bush rock.
5. Try drift planting for a glorious cottage-like flower bed with a natural feel. Sow the seeds (or plant seedlings) in long curves, shown here with pink and white everlastings (Rhodanthe sp.).
6. A fabulous achievement of Kings Park is the way it features such a diversity of WA species – it saves you travelling the thousands of kilometres to see them all.