Outdoor Garden

Outdoor Garden

For attractive residential gardens that show originality or creativity and consideration for the environment.

Voting is open from 10 to 27 November 2022.

View all the submissions below and cast your vote here.

What began as a front lawn and nothing else (I moved into this house March 2020) is now a mixture of trees, (ornamental and fruit) flowers, herbs, and vegetables. I don’t use herbicides. I use compost that I produce from my six compost bins and one open compost area. I plant flowers that are beneficial: encouraging bees, natural insect repellent (calendula) as well as flowers for colour. My aim is to produce fresh produce in a front garden amongst flowers. Sharing produce with family and friends. Just a garden to enjoy. My garden is forever changing. It is admired by walkers passing by, so it builds neighbourhood relationships.

Two years ago, I moved into a new build. Didn’t want lawn. Flowers, birds and butterflies thank you. Little water needed. I have a tiny veg garden, a worm farm, a mandarin tree and passionfruit vine. Natives the rest of the way for me. The most beautiful environment to relax in. I am aiming for birds, bees and butterflies. Low maintenance and low water. Greening and colouring my small, enclosed yard. A place to relax. My garden is little place of peace and sunshine. The bees and birds and my grandkids can enjoy and learn about natives and nature. Different seasons bring me different joy. I just love it.

My garden is a busy garden. Many plants have self-seeded and I have just let nature take its course. Also I have a lot of repeat planting, if something is happy, why not stick with it? There are two magnificent trees which are an integral part of the garden as they allow me to grow shade loving things as well. I try to have colour, nectar producing plants and water available for the insects, bees and birds that visit. The garden is always evolving but I’m concentrating on bringing the wildlife in at the moment. As people have smaller or no gardens these days, I think gardens like mine are necessary and actually do make a difference. The main thing is I can share it with others, it’s there for everyone to enjoy! The location is ideal as I am on a corner opposite our wonderful Oakland’s Estate park and wetlands. I get to look at a 200 + year old gum tree from my front porch. My neighbour grows magnificent roses which really compliment my ‘jungle’ I think a nice garden brings people together and over the years have met many people and enjoyed many a conversation over the fence. When I moved here 25 years ago there wasn’t a garden. My creative brother designed it and between us we built the ‘bones’. Starting from scratch has made it special.

We class our garden as Architectural consisting of a mix of cactus and succulents with natives and ornamentals. Our aim has always been for a low maintenance as possible for the size with as little use of water as possible. What makes our garden special are the vibrant colours of the pots and plants against the backdrop of the retaining walls.

My son (4) and I have diligently nurtured our rental garden into a wonderland paradise of colour and delight. When we moved in (May 2021) the garden was barren wasteland of neglect and weeds. We soon transformed the area by transplanting potted plants and cuttings into the ground which have thrived and created a lush oasis to inspire the senses and the imagination. I wanted to create an attractive and relatively low-cost garden which had a wonderland quality for my son to play in and enjoy. By using cuttings, I had collected and using found materials (bricks and pavers to create pathways) the aim was to build a garden from materials readily available. One main concern was to limit the extreme run off and erosion of soil. I built a number of garden beds using palm fond butts reinforced with rocks to make areas that could contain more soil. We have utilised all areas of our garden, front and back and love that we can grow our own food, encourage wildlife and create a beautiful environment to immerse ourselves in. Our garden is extra special because it has given us a platform to engage with the entire neighbourhood. Our garden has undergone an extreme transformation since we arrived in 2021 and we regularly receive positive comments from our neighbours, several of whom have become good friends as a result of a friendly chat while planting and weeding out the front.

My garden is around 2 years old. It is full of bees and butterflies. I have a vegie garden on the right, bulbs, roses, bearded irises and salvias. When you walk in the front door of my house the first thing you see is at the end of the long hallway is the garden and the garden wall, bright and colourful. I am aiming to achieve a cottage garden full of colour. My garden is special because of the colour and how fast it grew and filled out. Birds love my birdbath and bees and butterflies love all the flowers. A blue tongue lizard or two can also be seen walking through it.

Our garden is a small courtyard garden in Mitchell Park! We are aiming to achieve peace, tranquillity and privacy in an urban environment. We are self-sufficient in citrus, herbs and salad vegetables. The small glasshouse allows for crop extension over the cooler months. There are ample flowers for cutting and 2 wormeries to reduce our green waste and provide nutrients back to the garden! The majority of our garden is in containers, which makes it easy to rearrange as the plants grow, plus allows the garden to be re-imagined each season!