by Peter Shaw of Ocean Road Landscaping
There is nothing wrong with seeking out inspiration gardens, using ideas from other gardeners and their gardens. Sometimes it’s as simple as going for a walk in your own neighbourhood and deliberately taking a different route so that you come across new gardens that are unfamiliar to you.
It’s all about stopping and paying attention where a garden’s orientation might be the same as yours, or where the house style is similar. Take a mental note of anything that’s working well and think about taking these ideas home with you.
Then there are the many great inspirational gardens which are either permanently open to visitors or open at various times of the year as part of the new Open Gardens Victoria scheme. This replacement to the former Open Garden Scheme has been quietly building a brilliant collection of gardens including some that haven’t opened to the public until now. Obviously the Royal Botanic Gardens is a fantastic resource – both the Melbourne gardens and their annex at Cranbourne – and there are other very good botanic gardens worth visiting in regional cities like Geelong, Colac and Camperdown.
If you’re organised you could spend the day visiting a few inspirational gardens and maybe a botanic garden. Not only is it fun, but it’s a worthwhile way to gather inspiration and perhaps see your garden in a different light. Often, we are too close to our own gardens and we tend to get fixed ideas and then not see the opportunities. Sometimes we also don’t see any messiness or perhaps accept the poor results as normal. Really looking at – and analysing – another garden can show us the gaps or flaws in own own garden spaces or show us what is really valuable about our own gardens. So do make the effort to get out and about. Be inspired by something other than what’s outside you kitchen window. Look. Question what you see. Ask questions when you can. Take photos and make notes. Then go home and start thinking…
Inspirational gardens
If you’re not sure where to go, here are a few inspirational gardens sites to visit online first so you can make plans to go along in real time and space:
https://www.opengardensvictoria.org.au/
https://www.rbg.vic.gov.au/visit-cranbourne
www.heide.com.au/visit/gardens-sculpture-park
https://www.diggers.com.au/our-gardens/heronswood/
https://www.diggers.com.au/our-gardens/st-erth/
https://www.cloudehill.com.au/
If you require inspirational gardens ideas our team at Ocean Road Landscaping can assist you. We create beautiful, environmentally friendly gardens on the Great Ocean Road, Surf Coast, Geelong and the Bellarine Peninsula. you can use our Contact Us page to make contact or Phone: 1300 61 62 63 or 5263 3133