Australian gardener Simon Rickard is inspired by the great gardens of Britain but, rather than slavishly copying them, uses plants that will thrive in the Central Highlands of Victoria. Words by Natasha Goodfellow, images by Claire Takacs. <\/p>

IN BRIEF<\/p>\n

What<\/strong> A gardener\u2019s garden planted for year-round interest with a vegetable garden, a woodland garden and a spectacular privy garden.Where<\/strong> Victoria, Australia.Size<\/strong> Half an acre.Soil<\/strong> Rich basalt loam.Climate<\/strong> Cold, wet winters with cool, increasingly dry summers with occasional temperature spikes and considerable variation between years.Hardiness zone<\/strong> USDA 9a\u2028 (Sunset Zone 15).<\/p>\n

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It was the spirit of these gardens that Simon wished to conjure when he started to make a garden here in Trentham 18 years ago. The plot was completely bare, save for a covering of grass. \u201cI began by earmarking parts of the garden for different purposes,\u201d says Simon. \u201cThe vegetable and fruit garden obviously had to have full access to the sun. I wanted the front garden to look impressive from the road, and I wanted to create a more private space behind.\u201d<\/p>\n

Then came the planting, informed by two guiding principles. \u201cI wanted a garden that looked good for much of the year, so shape and foliage<\/a> were always going to be more important than colour,\u201d says Simon.<\/p>\n

Second, in selecting his plants he has not adopted the plants he saw growing in British gardens, but has instead embraced the British approach to garden making, with far happier results. \u201cI think too often Australians learn the wrong lessons from British gardens,\u201d he says. \u201cWe tend to obsess over Russell lupins<\/a> or delphiniums, which just can\u2019t cope in our climate, and in so doing, set ourselves up for failure. For me, the real strength of British gardens is the selection of plants from similar climates to the UK\u2019s, all brought together in a unique aesthetic. That\u2019s what I\u2019ve tried to do here.\u201d<\/p>\n

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\u00a9 Claire Takacs<\/i> <\/span>\n<\/div>\n
Pointing out that his conditions are more similar to that of Cape Town in South Africa than Sydney or Brisbane, he has taken a magpie approach, identifying climates similar to his own \u2013 the mountains of Turkey and Greece, the Chilean Andes and the east coast of New Zealand\u2019s South Island, for example \u2013 and selecting plants that catch his eye. So, a trio of Mediterranean Cupressus sempervirens<\/em> \u2018Glauca\u2019 zig-zag down the plot, adding height and structure, next to repeated clumps of New Zealand Cordyline australis<\/em> Purpurea Group and Phormium<\/em> \u2018Anna Red\u2019. Daphne bholua<\/em>, the Nepalese paper plant, North American Cornus sericea<\/em> \u2018Baileyi\u2019 and Corsican Helleborus argutifolius<\/em>, meanwhile, ensure plenty of winter interest.<\/p>\n
Despite concerns in some quarters about the attractiveness of exotic plants to native wildlife, Simon reports that his wild garden visitors seem to positively thrive on the mix. \u201cNative animals cannot read a plant\u2019s passport, and they\u2019re just as happy to suck nectar from Oriental lilies<\/a> as they are from a native grevillea,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n
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\u00a9 Claire Takacs<\/i> <\/span>\n<\/div>\nIn summer, the hedged \u2018privy garden\u2019, based on an Arts and Crafts<\/a> garden room, is the undoubted star of the show. Enclosed by hedges of glossy-leaved Escallonia<\/em> \u2018Iveyi\u2019, it is a mass of densely planted ornamental grasses<\/a> and perennials<\/a> with only the slimmest pathway snaking through. \u201cI wanted to make it just about the viewer, the flowers and the sky,\u201d says Simon. This is also the space where Simon feels freest to challenge himself, experimenting with colours and combinations. \u201cI\u2019ve got a bit of everything in there,\u201d he says, smiling broadly. \u201cAcid green; lilac; purples; shocking, toxic pink; yellow\u2026 and it makes me really happy. It\u2019s clashing, a little tasteless perhaps, but it\u2019s just joyous.\u201d<\/p>\n
Grasses include Miscanthus sinensis<\/em> \u2018Silberfeder\u2019, Cenchrus longisetus<\/em> and Calamagrostis x acutiflora \u2018Karl Foerster\u2019, which add softness and movement to the vibrant selection of perennials, including Phlox paniculata<\/em> \u2018Hesperis\u2019, Eucomis comosa<\/em> \u2018Oakhurst\u2019 and Hylotelephium<\/em> Herbstfreude Group.<\/p>\n
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\u00a9 Claire Takacs<\/i> <\/span>\n<\/div>\n
Simon loves this corner of the \u2018privy garden\u2019, with its bold plantings of blue Salvia yangi<\/em> \u2018Little Spires\u2019,\nwhich Simon describes as a \u201cpalate cleanser\u201d, alongside the shocking-pink tender perennial Agastache<\/em> \u2018Nadine\u2019, the tall, purple Verbena bonariensis<\/em> and low-growing, lilac Verbena rigida<\/em> f. lilacina<\/em> \u2018Polaris\u2019, while Verbascum bombyciferum<\/em> \u2018Polarsommer\u2019 and Kniphofia<\/em> \u2018Little Maid\u2019 add unexpected hits of yellow.<\/p>\n
$\"""\"$ <\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/picture><\/div> \u00a9 Claire Takacs<\/i> <\/span>\n<\/div>\nDesigned for maximum impact from the street, Simon\u2019s front garden looks good for most of the year with long-lasting evergreen shrubs<\/a> and perennials chosen primarily for their form and foliage, such as the tall Cupressus sempervirens<\/em> \u2018Glauca\u2019 and the large New Zealand flax Phormium colensoi<\/em>.<\/p>\n
$\"""\"$ <\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/picture><\/div> \u00a9 Claire Takacs<\/i> <\/span>\n<\/div>\nSimon\u2019s woodland garden<\/a> continues his theme of successfully mixing plants from different regions. A spectacular Cordyline indivisa<\/em>, native to New Zealand, grows below the tough Asian bamboo, Fargesia scabrida<\/em>. At ground level the wonderfully mottled Podophyllum<\/em> \u2019Spotty Dotty\u2019 mingles with Disporopsis pernyi<\/em>, alongside a mix of ferns<\/a> and hellebores<\/a>.<\/p> <\/body><\/html>\n
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