Several magazine articles lament the lack of a single, definitive 'Australian' style of garden, but I think they are missing the point. Our gift lies in our ability to fuse a number of influences to create a haven in our backyards, IMO.

Looking at the photo of Dennis Hundscheidt standing in the doorway of his Bali 'room' (Sunday Mail, 5th Feb 2006), I was struck by how very Australian it all seemed. Admittedly, it could have been Hawaii (or Indonesia, or Thailand, or South America, or ..), and there werent a lot of Aussie natives in the frame, but it was the closest thing to 'Eden' right here in Oz for mine. I'm not looking for an argument re Dennis' garden, but I do believe that the tropical ideal epitomised by Dennis, Made Widaya and several other designers really does go a long way toward defining an Aussie garden style. It may not be as readily identifiable as a Provence or Meditteranean garden, but the 'tropical cottage look' really is a Western invention, and I think it has been refined by Aussies to the point where we can have a relaxed, 'liveable' garden which is (relatively) low maintenance and spectacular all year round.

I'm not decrying cottage or bush gardens - I love them both - but I believe a good tropical garden can fuse several styles together (even to the point of including some formal elements) without it appearing to be a random mishmash of styles. Colour and form, enclosure and open space, winding paths and overhead canopy, water and privacy - what Aussie gardener doesnt crave all of these ? How many gardens stand purely on the strength of their foliage, regardless of season or prevailing weather conditions ?

Just my two cents worth, and I realise that I may be preaching to the choir :)

Cheers,

Artie

It would be hard for Australia to have one particular style due to the different climates but the use of an all year, low maintenance garden, no matter what the style, as an extension of the house would have to make it Australian.

All this probably seems a bit smug coming from someone in central Qld, but I dont see cold weather as the biggest enemy of large-leafed plants : wind does a lot more damage to my plants than either heat or cold. Those of you who have to suffer through months of heavy frosts will probably question this, but I've seen tougher species like date palms growing happily all over Oz. A bigger question might be water - personally, I'd prefer a small bed of tropical indulgence to a hectare of succulents. Again, thats just my 2 cents worth.

Ultimately, its about personal choice. Many of you with established gardens will probably wonder why I'm rabbiting on about the issue - gardeners will continue to plant what they see fit etc. I guess it stems from the fact that I see so many well-intentioned but poorly designed gardens around me that could have been so much more, had their owners just taken a little more time and effort, particularly in the early stages. A Duranta hedge here and a croton there just doesnt do it for me, folks, even if that Frangipani you planted 10 years ago really does have the most magnificent flowers. Its a little like going to a restaurant where the chef has the most delicious produce at his disposal, only to deep-fry the lot then put it in a stew.

There is a line about 'people in glass houses', so I guess I'd better get home and see how that stew is coming along :)

Ok so I am a Odd one because I like a bit of everything and there is nothing nicer that going out into the garden first thing in the morning and picking a rose or 20 to fill a couple of vases prefer that to beehive gingers as lovely as they are. To me tropical is Frangipani, Hibiscus, Bougainvillea, Canna lily lots of colours and you can grow all of those plants down in Victoria, also Banana, Palms so everywhere in OZ you can have tropical, stir in a few Natives , Exotics and that's more my type of garden.

My Garden is a very high maintenance one during the wet season, I am forever pruning or tying up canes or branches it never stops, but I did that deliberately so I would always get plenty of excerise and I enjoy working in my garden and cooking that stew too....Cheers..MM.

I take your point re humidity, toads and mossies - these are all things that we live with in CQ anyway ! Your 'version' of tropical isnt too far from what I see around me in Rocky, but the sum of the parts should always be a better proposition than any of the plants as individuals, at least IMO. I guess we'll always agree to disagree on roses (give me a bed of Grevillea any day - even Vireya rhododendrons), but the remainder of your post contains plants that most 'tropical' gardeners consider their own.

I have chosen to space my canopy trees sufficiently to allow for better airflow, but I recognise that humidity will be a problem : its a price I'm prepared to pay. I dont know if you have the William Warren book on Balinese gardens, but he has a chapter on Nusa Dua, a notably dry region of Bali, and the gardens are a lot closer to those found in our own dry (sub-)tropics - Poinciana, Bougainvillea etc - and a distinct lack of the 'jungle' aesthetic.

That said, if I had inherited a block which had established native trees, I would have progressed further down that route and ignored my penchant for exotic cordylines, broms and philodendrons. That still leaves me with a vast arsenal of rainforest and woodland species to play with - we are a truly lucky country :)

Cheers,

Artie

Cheers,
Artie

Artie, I realise tropical-looking gardens can be grown anywhere (well nearly) as there are plenty of plants that will do the job, just look at the rainforests of Tassie for example. But then there is the desert regions, bit of a challenge especially without water :) I'm trying hard to imagine a tropical cacti/succulent look :)

I don't think the humidity is too much of a problem. To me a tropical garden looks cool and shady on a hot summer day but a more open type without a lot of shade makes me feel hotter. The mental impression it gives me seems to help overcome the humidity.

Toads can be a problem but water features should have a few fish to eat the mossie larvae and frogs, etc should get rid of many others.

MM, my definition of a good garden is one that is made of plants you love whether it's a mixture of plants or all the same - you should see my mixture :) It's your garden and you are the only one you have to please. I love looking at roses but I won't ever grow them as I don't really like the look of the bush but the flowers themselves are beautiful. My mother had them and that was enough for me. I'll stick with looking at other peoples' roses. I prefer to bring a pot plant inside when it is flowering instead of a bunch of flowers. I would rather look at them on the plant but then my house is never tidy so a bunch of flowers looks out of place :)

My garden has different areas of my different passions at the time of planting, nothing ordered but makes an interesting walk.

There are lots of plants given to me by friends which I treat as treasures and love as, in my opinion, a garden is somewhere to think and remember happy times .

I have 5 Torellianas [cadagai] which I dislike with a vengence, they were here when we came and I have had Henry shape up to them with the chainsaw many times , they are still there as the shade they give will be hard to replace, and anything I replace them with will not give the shade for about 10 years or so, just have to put up with the dropped branches and shin hitting nuts when I mow under them.

In my opinion, and Australian garden doesn't have to be full of natives, but whatever fits into the gardener's lifestyle and needs and is pleasing to the eye.
Variety is wonderful.
Marion

Personally my garden is totally tropical in regards to plantings with a mixture of exotic and natives (mainly exotics). The natives that I use tend to be ones that originate from tropical and subtropical areas of Queensland and are generally rainforest plants. I do have open areas of lawn but generally have a lot of shady areas which means even on the hottest and most humid summer days I can work or relax somewhere in the garden.

When I look around me now I see the minimalistic style gardens that have been made popular by the various forms of gardening media. To me these styles don't work in Queensland as it is far too hot here. My house is surrounded by lush cool and shady tropical gardens that not only give the feeling of luxury but also act as an air-conditioner making my home relatively cool all year round.

I do not desire to have my garden look like an Asian style garden and whilst I do use some elements found in those style of garden you won't find Buddha's or thatched roofs in my yard.

Andrew.

I don't feel at all that I am wasting any water on my garden. I definately don't feel guilty when I see water winches watering not only the sugarcane but also the roads! They waste in one hour more than I would probably use in one year!!

In this area residential use is only a fraction of what is used overall. Industry and agriculture are the main users of water in this region. I consider that too much blame has been placed on gardeners for the water woes down in South East Queensland. Obviously lack of infrastructure to cope with growth and poor planning plays a part along with the fact that a massive amount of Brisbane's water goes to industry.

Whilst 'Wigandia' is certainly a nice garden that is ideal for the climate it is in, I think having that style of garden Australia wide would become very boring. This is especially true here in Queensland where there is such a broad range of plants that can be grown. I don't think that we (here in Queensland at least) will evolve past the the Tropical Garden. It is a style that suits our climate and lifestyle and will be here to stay.

Whilst I side with Andrew on this, I can also see your point. I suspect that the issue is more about the attitude of certain gardeners than it is their choice of garden style. Australians are notoriously wasteful when it comes to our precious water resources, and its been widely accepted that we over-water our gardens. If recent restrictions have had a positive effect, I believe that it lies in focussing our attention on just how much water we consume - pools, car-washing, showers and garden alike.

My personal philosophy is that I'm only watering my plants to keep them alive until it rains. The grass at my place doesnt get a drop, and it shows. Plant choice, close companion planting and mulching, as Andrew has already pointed out, also go a long way to cutting down on the amount of water needed to keep a garden alive between natural rainfall. You wont have the magazine-quality garden we might dream of, but it still looks gorgeous when the rain finally does come.

I can appreciate Arid gardens, as much for the level of artistry as the waterwise qualities of such gardens, but until my excess water bill begins to approach that of my neighbours ($7 (yes, seven dollars) per quarter vs $100+ ...), I think I'll stick with natives at the front and tropical out back. BHG may not be beating on my door, but I can live with that :)

Cheers,

Artie

I was shocked when my 22yr old & her boyfriend stayed with us for a few weeks before Christmas. My daughter has been raised on tank water so should know about saving water but since she moved to the coast, now thinks she doesn't have to worry about water. When they were here, they both spent ages in the shower (I was very tempted to turn off the pressure pump :) ). Even after asking them to be careful with the water they weren't any quicker. The same went for washing their car, etc. It is the same with most of their friends, nothing matters except having fun.

Getting back to the garden, many people just don't realise how little water many plants actually need. I am surprised at how well our mainly tropical garden is growing while surviving mainly on rainwater. The only plants watered are newly planted ones - we don't plant new ones during dry weather anyway, they sit in the shadehouse until rain - & the vegie gardens. Some of the plants wilt during the middle of the day and if they get too bad they will get a watering but we try to encourage them to get their roots down instead.

Wigandia is definitely an inspirational garden - no question - and I thank you for pointing out that gardeners gain little by simply copying the look without understanding the thought process that went into your plant selection. As Colin Campbell recently wrote in one of the Queensland papers, many of arid zone plantings that were embraced at the onset of water restrictions suffered greatly when the summer rains returned to Qld earlier this year. We have native plants up here which will endure 6 months of drought if they can just get that seasonal monsoon - even when it doesnt come, they hang on for an amazing length of time.

Contrast this with many Aussie gardens, sprinklers madly soaking footpaths and thorny rosebushes, owners clutching fungicides in an attempt to ward off the effects of too *much* moisture - its almost a parody. I could rant on about lush golf courses in the middle of desert states, but I'm preaching to the choir.

All the best with your garden, and I wish you every success with the message that you are trying to get through to Joe Public.

Cheers,

Artie

We certainly havent forgotten you, even if it seems that much of the mainstream gardening media have ! I disagree that you couldn't grow Grevillea up there, but it would take considerable effort. They dont like the kind of rainfall you have endured over the last few months, but drainage and constant humidity must be an issue for many plants.

Its feasible that FNQ has the remnants of what must have been a huge rainforest from SE Asia to Sydney at one stage, and I have seen many plants in Indonesia and Thailand which would be completely at home in the Daintree. Possums will live pretty much anywhere, but that doesnt negate the desirability of many of Madagascar's unique flora (Ravenala madagascariensis is only one of the plants that we seem to have adopted in large numbers from Madagascar).

One of the positives of your unique climate is that it forces gardeners to make choices which they may not have to in a more forgiving climate - an English cottage garden is always going to struggle in such extremes. We just need to get people looking at the plants that will work in their environment, rather than the glossy images presented in the media.

Cheers,

Artie