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Floral displays
Flowers and more flowers in the Great Hall of Flowers in the ground floor of the Royal Exhibition Building. There were 24 central floral sites (double the number of previous years) displayed. Interflora won the Gold Floral Feature with the Floral Art Society of Victoria gaining a Silver. The two Bronze medal winners caught our eye - Kate Hill Flowers with a magnificent display of red orchids and flax leaves on a white gravel background and Fresh 2 Flowers with a banquet table. This quirky retro display is an example of the range of exhibits.
The Hanging Basket Competition gave individuals and groups including children the opportunity to participate. There were eight categories plus the Peoples Choice. Judy Bells entry (pictured) won a first for Best Plant Theme and a second for Best Basket (Members).
What we noticed
Given the recent Australian drought it's not surprising that there was an emphasis on water collection and on drought resistant plants. Many of the display gardens featured water collection and/or water re-use systems and we counted five trade exhibits promoting tanks - everything from a flexible bladder system, to round and slim line corrugated iron, to rectangular tanks which can also be used as retaining walls or fences. Echoes of the bush fires were seen in the floral displays.
There was an emphasis on drought-resistant lawn grasses - kikuyu and buffalo grass especially - and also on synthetic turf. |
Using your water tank as a wall |
The Yates stand was called Cooling the Planet - one backyard at a time and that was also a theme in the award-winning gardens - trees to absorb carbon and reduce evaporation, as well as providing a home for birds and other wildlife.
Re-using and reducing were also in. Rusted steel, including barbed-wire garden ornaments, were common. And the theme of sustainability and self-sufficiency was clear with the edible garden emphasis, often with edibles and ornamentals mixed. Today's gardens often don't have space for vegetable gardens so there were lots of wall gardens, pot gardens, raised planter beds and espaliered fruit trees. Two gardens even had chooks, promoted as good for the garden and good for their egg production.
Some Australian natives were embraced energetically. Acacia cognata "Mini Cog", a dwarf weeping acacia was everywhere, as was the charming Banksia "Birthday Candles". Gold-award winning Imagine was the creation of a consortium of native plant breeders and experts and its informative panel discussion emphasised that modern selection and breeding has created a range of native plants which are suitable for every situation, are long-lived and are lovely to look at. Particularly interesting was the grafting of plants which are tricky to grow or have a small growing range onto a rootstock which makes them more widely useful. There was even a grafted version of the notoriously tricky boronia.
Foliage and form dominated over flowers. Most of the display gardens had few flowers and chose a fairly limited (and restrained) palette. This was at least in part to do with the sustainability theme. Nevertheless the trade displays were overflowing with clematis, roses, and a wide range of perennials and bulbs. And they were very well patronised.
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What took our fancy
Qualup Bells, the beautiful grafted West Australian native; Acacia "Mini Cog" like a groundcover maple; Ptilotus Phoenix with its soft mauve flowers; the lovely grevilleas and anigozanthus (kangaroo paws); striking xanthorrea or grass tree, the native grass tree; Banksia "Birthday Candles", a lovely ground-hugging and floriferous banksia, and Banksia Cherry Candles".
The rectangular tanks blending into the garden as walls.
The espaliered fruit trees. The Yates stand had olives, lemons, limes, oranges, and pip fruits tightly espaliered onto trellis - beautiful to look at and beautiful to eat.
The backyard chooks.
Raised beds and vertical gardening lots of wall gardens - both edible and ornamental.
Reused and 'found' materials - tyres, steel, barbed wire and more
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Red Orchids and Flax make a statement |
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Judy Bell's winning basket |
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The Bush Fires were a frequent theme |
Stylish Recycling |
Two gardens had Chooks |
Delightful Acacia 'Mini Cog' |
Qualup Bells | |
