Meg Liptrot gains fresh perspective on drought at Victoria’s Royal Botanic Gardens

Our neighbours across the Tasman can certainly give some perspective when dealing with drought. A recently completed public garden on the outskirts of Melbourne has pulled out the stops and celebrates Australia’s plant biodiversity amid the climate and landscape extremes of this vast continent.

We visited the Australian Garden at the Royal Botanic Gardens in Cranbourne, in January, just before the huge fires swept through New South Wales and just as Tasmania’s fires were starting.

You could feel the heat by mid-morning and the signs were there. Extreme fire risk warnings peppered the walking tracks off the main carpark. We armed ourselves with hats, white shirts and drink bottles.

Our first vision of the Australia Garden was a view of the dramatic “Red Sand Garden”, which takes centre stage below the visitors’ centre. It’s a graphic representation of the hot, red desert of central Australia and is an Aussie masterpiece.

There are subtle touches evocative of Aboriginal paintings in the cream-coloured shapes which represent ephemeral lakes in sculptural form. Small mass-planted grey-green islands are like finger dots made by a giant hand. The grey foliage consists of inland plants such as Hedge Saltbush (Rhagodia spinescens), contrasting with the burnt-ochre colour of the sand.

The painting offers seasonal interest, when Albany Daisy (Actinodium) and a decent swathe of Kangaroo Paw (Anigozanthos) bloom.

The 15ha Australian Garden site is designed to represent the diverse landscapes of the Australian continent. It is situated on an old sand mine, and the remnant bushland in the area is part of a greater 363ha park on the southeastern outskirts of Melbourne. The land (once a huge sandhill) was known as “Towbeet” and was the ancestral home of the Mayone-bulluk clan of the Boon Wurrung people (Kulin Nation).

The Cranbourne gardens are a division of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Melbourne, and specialise in Australian native plants. In 1994, landscape architects Taylor Cullity were chosen to design the “Australia Garden” in association with one of the country’s leading planting designers, Paul Thompson. The first stage opened in May 2006, and the second phase and final part of the design was opened in October 2012. The garden is a “new kind of botanic garden”, designed to “invoke and reflect the relationships between plants, landscapes and culture”.

A meandering pathway leads around the giant central red sand garden to outer lying theme gardens (designed by a number of firms), such as the . “Diversity Garden”, the “Water Saving Garden”, and a “Future Garden”. The “Home Garden” showcases fragments of Australian garden design history; the “Kids’ Garden” is designed to inspire the most creative eco-friendly backyard with natural materials. The sound of water drew me over to the Rockpool Waterway, where visitors are invited to cool down by wandering through paved “rocks” in a river of shallow water. The weighty presence of the 90m red iron “Escarpment Wall” sculpture fits perfectly here.

Beyond the rock pool waterway lies a river walk and sequence of lakes which take varied and contrasting sculptural forms. The “Melaleuca Spits” feature a symbolic estuary and coastal plantings. Bright, white, serpentine sand fingers break up what could have been a plain lake edge. The experimentation with form and materials, the attention to detail, and playfulness in the hard landscaping make the Australia Garden a stand-out. And there’s a message attached, to take care of these sensitive environments and live lightly on the land.

We made our way up Howson Hill, which provides a good lookout and a bit of breeze. Nearby, the recently built “Arbor Garden”, with its fine metal framework, will in time be a valuable asset for local gardeners interested in researching appropriate plants for vertical gardening, as will the cultivar and research gardens. At this point, the heat was getting to me, and in a timely location we found a kiosk where Aussie ice blocks were on offer, and we refilled our drink bottles. Heading back we made our way through the “Gondwana Garden” and up the “Rift Path”, which is flanked by two inclining, monumental rammed earth walls. I paused to soak up the relative cool of the earth wall, which was lovely to lean against.

A subtle highlight was the ironbark garden in the Eucalypt Walk. The elegant markings of the bark were showcased in repetitive plantings. The heat truly does release essential oils from the leaves of these Australian native plants. The peppermint garden is a particularly enjoyable sensory experience. The peppermint is not as we know it, rather a curious range of herbaceous plants native to Australia, such as Lemon-Scented Dawinia.

We made it back to the carpark and, as I suspected, the outside temperature on the car’s thermometer was over 40C. It would be worth returning to these gardens in a few years’ time as the plantings mature, to see the designer’s vision fleshed-out more completely.

• Meg Liptrot travelled to Melbourne courtesy of Silversea (Sydney to Auckland Cruise). Thanks also to Louis Le Vaillant who provided inspiration (and transport) to visit the garden; he was great company, too.

By Meg Liptrot

Meg Liptrot gains fresh perspective on drought at Victoria’s Royal Botanic Gardens

Our neighbours across the Tasman can certainly give some perspective when dealing with drought. A recently completed public garden on the outskirts of Melbourne has pulled out the stops and celebrates Australia’s plant biodiversity amid the climate and landscape extremes of this vast continent.

We visited the Australian Garden at the Royal Botanic Gardens in Cranbourne, in January, just before the huge fires swept through New South Wales and just as Tasmania’s fires were starting.

You could feel the heat by mid-morning and the signs were there. Extreme fire risk warnings peppered the walking tracks off the main carpark. We armed ourselves with hats, white shirts and drink bottles.

Our first vision of the Australia Garden was a view of the dramatic “Red Sand Garden”, which takes centre stage below the visitors’ centre. It’s a graphic representation of the hot, red desert of central Australia and is an Aussie masterpiece.

There are subtle touches evocative of Aboriginal paintings in the cream-coloured shapes which represent ephemeral lakes in sculptural form. Small mass-planted grey-green islands are like finger dots made by a giant hand. The grey foliage consists of inland plants such as Hedge Saltbush (Rhagodia spinescens), contrasting with the burnt-ochre colour of the sand.

The painting offers seasonal interest, when Albany Daisy (Actinodium) and a decent swathe of Kangaroo Paw (Anigozanthos) bloom.

The 15ha Australian Garden site is designed to represent the diverse landscapes of the Australian continent. It is situated on an old sand mine, and the remnant bushland in the area is part of a greater 363ha park on the southeastern outskirts of Melbourne. The land (once a huge sandhill) was known as “Towbeet” and was the ancestral home of the Mayone-bulluk clan of the Boon Wurrung people (Kulin Nation).

The Cranbourne gardens are a division of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Melbourne, and specialise in Australian native plants. In 1994, landscape architects Taylor Cullity were chosen to design the “Australia Garden” in association with one of the country’s leading planting designers, Paul Thompson. The first stage opened in May 2006, and the second phase and final part of the design was opened in October 2012. The garden is a “new kind of botanic garden”, designed to “invoke and reflect the relationships between plants, landscapes and culture”.

A meandering pathway leads around the giant central red sand garden to outer lying theme gardens (designed by a number of firms), such as the . “Diversity Garden”, the “Water Saving Garden”, and a “Future Garden”. The “Home Garden” showcases fragments of Australian garden design history; the “Kids’ Garden” is designed to inspire the most creative eco-friendly backyard with natural materials. The sound of water drew me over to the Rockpool Waterway, where visitors are invited to cool down by wandering through paved “rocks” in a river of shallow water. The weighty presence of the 90m red iron “Escarpment Wall” sculpture fits perfectly here.

Beyond the rock pool waterway lies a river walk and sequence of lakes which take varied and contrasting sculptural forms. The “Melaleuca Spits” feature a symbolic estuary and coastal plantings. Bright, white, serpentine sand fingers break up what could have been a plain lake edge. The experimentation with form and materials, the attention to detail, and playfulness in the hard landscaping make the Australia Garden a stand-out. And there’s a message attached, to take care of these sensitive environments and live lightly on the land.

We made our way up Howson Hill, which provides a good lookout and a bit of breeze. Nearby, the recently built “Arbor Garden”, with its fine metal framework, will in time be a valuable asset for local gardeners interested in researching appropriate plants for vertical gardening, as will the cultivar and research gardens. At this point, the heat was getting to me, and in a timely location we found a kiosk where Aussie ice blocks were on offer, and we refilled our drink bottles. Heading back we made our way through the “Gondwana Garden” and up the “Rift Path”, which is flanked by two inclining, monumental rammed earth walls. I paused to soak up the relative cool of the earth wall, which was lovely to lean against.

A subtle highlight was the ironbark garden in the Eucalypt Walk. The elegant markings of the bark were showcased in repetitive plantings. The heat truly does release essential oils from the leaves of these Australian native plants. The peppermint garden is a particularly enjoyable sensory experience. The peppermint is not as we know it, rather a curious range of herbaceous plants native to Australia, such as Lemon-Scented Dawinia.

We made it back to the carpark and, as I suspected, the outside temperature on the car’s thermometer was over 40C. It would be worth returning to these gardens in a few years’ time as the plantings mature, to see the designer’s vision fleshed-out more completely.

• Meg Liptrot travelled to Melbourne courtesy of Silversea (Sydney to Auckland Cruise). Thanks also to Louis Le Vaillant who provided inspiration (and transport) to visit the garden; he was great company, too.

By Meg Liptrot

IF YOU GO

What: “Putting Style into Your Garden,” lecture by John Carloftis.

When: 7 p.m. Wednesday.

Where: Chattanooga State Community College Humanities Auditorium.

Admission: $15; proceeds go to Grandmothers Garden Fund.

Information: To register, go to chattanoogaanc.org or call 821-1160. For more about Jon Carloftis’ garden designs, go to joncarloftis.com.

GRANDMA’S TEA

A fundraising tea will be held in the Humphrey’s House at Chattanooga Arboretum Nature Center on May 11 from 11:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. Cost is $35 for adults, $15 for children 8-13. Not recommended for children under 8. Register at chattanoogaanc.org.

It’s a place you’ll want to take grandma.

“Grandmothers Garden” is a new feature to be designed by nationally renowned garden designer Jon Carloftis at Chattanooga Arboretum Nature Center at Reflection Riding.

Carloftis, of Lexington, Ky., who will give a lecture about gardens next week at Chattanooga State Community College, says a “Grandmothers Garden” is made from old-fashioned plants.

Such plants are “both native and non-native, but not invasive, that were popular during the Arts and Crafts Movement (1860-1910) when people rebelled against the Industrial Revolution and wanted to use and buy things that were made by hand, including gardens,” Carloftis explains.

Groundbreaking for the garden will begin by the end of this year with plans to have it completed by the end of 2014, says Chattanooga Arboretum and Nature Center board member Margaret Hill.

The garden is also part of a greater effort to gain community support for the Arboretum and Nature Center, says Dennis Bishop, curator at the center.

“It is our hope that the Chattanooga community will embrace the entire Arboretum through this garden. We want Chattanoogans to make the Arboretum their own,” he says. “We are starting with two things no other Southeastern garden has — the spectacular scenery of Lookout Valley and a Nature Center that ties the Arboretum to our local animal life and the rest of the natural world.

“The Grandmothers Garden will provide one more reason for people come see what a fabulous place Chattanooga is.”

The garden will be built in memory of Marie Humphreys, Margaret Chambliss and all grandmothers, Bishop says.

Humphreys and her husband, Harold Humphreys, lived on the Reflection

Riding property for many years and assisted John and Margaret Chambliss with the development of Reflection Riding, a 317-acre area that was incorporated in 1956, according to chattanooganaturecenter.org.

Marie Humphreys and Margaret Chambliss were cornerstones of Reflection Riding, and two stone pavers will be set in their honor in the Grandmothers Garden, Bishop says.

“Around these two cornerstones, a paved stone patio will be built and dedicated to all of our grandmothers,” he says. “Pavers for the patio will be sold as part of a fundraiser for the garden. They will be engraved with the names of the purchaser’s grandmother.”

The garden will be funded entirely through donations, Bishop says.

Carloftis appreciates the efforts of the couples to preserve the land for the good use of future generations.

“My family has always been involved in saving land for the future and it has trickled down to all of us, including grandchildren. Once it’s gone, it’s gone,” Carloftis says. “I’m involved in a group called Fayette Alliance in Lexington, Ky., that encourages people to stay inside the city limits and make it a place you would want to stay instead of moving out to the beautiful farms and turning them into suburban tract houses.

“That is why I’m so excited about the Chattanooga Arboretum where people can come visit and get their outdoor energies out before going back to the city or suburbia. You have to have places to go or else it won’t work.”

At Chattanooga State, Carloftis will offer tips on how to put style in any garden, whether it’s a flower garden, vegetable garden, indoor plants, woodland garden or potting sheds.

“Everything we do in the world of gardening can be done with lots of style,” he says. “And that doesn’t mean lots of money because the most innovative gardens I’ve seen are done with more ingenuity than money.”

Today’s gardener wants extras in gardens such as lighting, comfortable seating, even outdoor kitchens — and all that is fine, he says.

“If it takes these nice things to get us outside, off the computer and the big sofa watching TV, then it’s worth it,” he says.

Contact staff writer Karen Nazor Hill at khill@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6396.

IF YOU GO

What: “Putting Style into Your Garden,” lecture by John Carloftis.

When: 7 p.m. Wednesday.

Where: Chattanooga State Community College Humanities Auditorium.

Admission: $15; proceeds go to Grandmothers Garden Fund.

Information: To register, go to chattanoogaanc.org or call 821-1160. For more about Jon Carloftis’ garden designs, go to joncarloftis.com.

GRANDMA’S TEA

A fundraising tea will be held in the Humphrey’s House at Chattanooga Arboretum Nature Center on May 11 from 11:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. Cost is $35 for adults, $15 for children 8-13. Not recommended for children under 8. Register at chattanoogaanc.org.

It’s a place you’ll want to take grandma.

“Grandmothers Garden” is a new feature to be designed by nationally renowned garden designer Jon Carloftis at Chattanooga Arboretum Nature Center at Reflection Riding.

Carloftis, of Lexington, Ky., who will give a lecture about gardens next week at Chattanooga State Community College, says a “Grandmothers Garden” is made from old-fashioned plants.

Such plants are “both native and non-native, but not invasive, that were popular during the Arts and Crafts Movement (1860-1910) when people rebelled against the Industrial Revolution and wanted to use and buy things that were made by hand, including gardens,” Carloftis explains.

Groundbreaking for the garden will begin by the end of this year with plans to have it completed by the end of 2014, says Chattanooga Arboretum and Nature Center board member Margaret Hill.

The garden is also part of a greater effort to gain community support for the Arboretum and Nature Center, says Dennis Bishop, curator at the center.

“It is our hope that the Chattanooga community will embrace the entire Arboretum through this garden. We want Chattanoogans to make the Arboretum their own,” he says. “We are starting with two things no other Southeastern garden has — the spectacular scenery of Lookout Valley and a Nature Center that ties the Arboretum to our local animal life and the rest of the natural world.

“The Grandmothers Garden will provide one more reason for people come see what a fabulous place Chattanooga is.”

The garden will be built in memory of Marie Humphreys, Margaret Chambliss and all grandmothers, Bishop says.

Humphreys and her husband, Harold Humphreys, lived on the Reflection

Riding property for many years and assisted John and Margaret Chambliss with the development of Reflection Riding, a 317-acre area that was incorporated in 1956, according to chattanooganaturecenter.org.

Marie Humphreys and Margaret Chambliss were cornerstones of Reflection Riding, and two stone pavers will be set in their honor in the Grandmothers Garden, Bishop says.

“Around these two cornerstones, a paved stone patio will be built and dedicated to all of our grandmothers,” he says. “Pavers for the patio will be sold as part of a fundraiser for the garden. They will be engraved with the names of the purchaser’s grandmother.”

The garden will be funded entirely through donations, Bishop says.

Carloftis appreciates the efforts of the couples to preserve the land for the good use of future generations.

“My family has always been involved in saving land for the future and it has trickled down to all of us, including grandchildren. Once it’s gone, it’s gone,” Carloftis says. “I’m involved in a group called Fayette Alliance in Lexington, Ky., that encourages people to stay inside the city limits and make it a place you would want to stay instead of moving out to the beautiful farms and turning them into suburban tract houses.

“That is why I’m so excited about the Chattanooga Arboretum where people can come visit and get their outdoor energies out before going back to the city or suburbia. You have to have places to go or else it won’t work.”

At Chattanooga State, Carloftis will offer tips on how to put style in any garden, whether it’s a flower garden, vegetable garden, indoor plants, woodland garden or potting sheds.

“Everything we do in the world of gardening can be done with lots of style,” he says. “And that doesn’t mean lots of money because the most innovative gardens I’ve seen are done with more ingenuity than money.”

Today’s gardener wants extras in gardens such as lighting, comfortable seating, even outdoor kitchens — and all that is fine, he says.

“If it takes these nice things to get us outside, off the computer and the big sofa watching TV, then it’s worth it,” he says.

Contact staff writer Karen Nazor Hill at khill@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6396.

WENN

Rockers Metallica have made a green-fingered fan’s dreams come true by handing out funds to help him develop his garden design for a prestigious British horticultural competition.

Arek Luc’s garden design, inspired by the band’s track “I Disappear,” was accepted to go on display at the Royal Horticultural Society’s annual flower show at Hampton Court in England in July, but the project was in jeopardy due to lack of funding.

The rockers were alerted to Luc’s plight by their manager Peter’s wife, former British politician Louise Mensch, who read about the design in a local publication, and the stars decided to dip into their own pockets to ensure the project went ahead as planned.

Luc tells Britain’s The Times newspaper, “Louise e-mailed me and asked how much I still needed. I couldn’t believe it when they sent me several thousand pounds.”

Mensch adds, “The whole band was tickled pink (delighted) by Arek’s garden. The band does a colossal amount of work for charity but it’s not usually associated with gardens.”

WENN

Rockers Metallica have made a green-fingered fan’s dreams come true by handing out funds to help him develop his garden design for a prestigious British horticultural competition.

Arek Luc’s garden design, inspired by the band’s track “I Disappear,” was accepted to go on display at the Royal Horticultural Society’s annual flower show at Hampton Court in England in July, but the project was in jeopardy due to lack of funding.

The rockers were alerted to Luc’s plight by their manager Peter’s wife, former British politician Louise Mensch, who read about the design in a local publication, and the stars decided to dip into their own pockets to ensure the project went ahead as planned.

Luc tells Britain’s The Times newspaper, “Louise e-mailed me and asked how much I still needed. I couldn’t believe it when they sent me several thousand pounds.”

Mensch adds, “The whole band was tickled pink (delighted) by Arek’s garden. The band does a colossal amount of work for charity but it’s not usually associated with gardens.”