One of the major highlights at the ongoing Melbourne International Flower and Garden Show (MIFGS) in Carlton Gardens is a diverse and interactive garden that showcases how innovative horticulture research, landscape and floral design can improve the liveability of our cityscapes.

Designed by landscape architects from Hassell in collaboration with floral and garden designers from Super Bloom, and University of Melbourne horticulture researchers, the 36-sqaure-metre ‘woody meadows and flowery swards’ garden rethinks urban plantings, with visitors able to closely examine the plants and enjoy the garden’s scents, colours and forms from different vantage points.

The MIFGS display garden is an invitation to reimagine what is possible in public landscapes, demonstrating how climate-appropriate plantings can be aesthetically rich and highly varied in species and plant forms, explains University of Melbourne associate professor Claire Farrell.

“We use natural shrublands as templates for woody meadows that are easily maintained: hard pruning or coppicing of the woody plants promotes flowering and dense growth that excludes weeds and saves money,” Farrell says.

The garden display at MIFGS illustrates findings from the Woody Meadow research project based at the University’s Burnley campus, which develops more attractive, affordable, and low-maintenance public plantings on our roadsides, railway sidings, verges, and parkland, to make Australian cities more liveable.

Delivered through a partnership involving the Australian Research Council, the Victorian Government, eight city councils, the University of Sheffield, and several other organisations, the Woody Meadow project is transforming cities nationally with over 6000m² of plantings across Perth, Sydney, Canberra and Melbourne.

The garden display at MIFGS also includes a flowery sward, which University of Melbourne associate professor John Rayner says showcases how plants in cities can create climate-resilient spaces for wellbeing and beauty.

“For our MIFGS display, we have selected drought tolerant plants including annuals, perennials, succulents, and shrubs, and included an eclectic mix of Indigenous, native, and exotic species and cultivars,” Rayner says.

Director of Super Bloom Jac Semmler said the garden display demonstrates innovative planting design for future cities and highlighted the collaboration behind this display.

Hassell principal Jon Hazelwood adds, “As designers of city spaces and streets, our new approaches show how resilient plantings can also be diverse and beautiful, which will hopefully inspire home gardeners too.”

The garden will be on display at the Melbourne International Flower and Garden Show in Carlton Gardens until Sunday 2nd April 2023.

Architecture & Design Team

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