Bendigo TAFE students win bronze at international flower and garden show

Each of the trio was awarded a bronze medal for their unique garden showcase as part of the achievable gardens design competition.

Preparation for the showcase took three months with a combined effort of more than 10 students and Bendigo TAFE educators considering design, planning, sourcing materials and construction.

The end result was Ms Derwort's cottage rose garden, Mr Wilcox's easily maintained yet serene Japanese-inspired space and Ms Clausen's sustainable design.

Held at the Royal Exhibition Building and Carlton Gardens, the Melbourne International Flower and Garden Show's achievable gardens design competition offered students and educational institutions the opportunity to showcase their design skills and horticultural knowledge, promoting achievable gardening and encouraging the use of high-quality plants in the landscape.

Ms Clausen drew inspiration for her sustainable garden design from experts she heard speak about harvesting stormwater and the value of real turf over synthetic.

"With the impact of climate change upon us, I've looked at how we can future-proof gardens even in small spaces and urbanised areas," she said.

"I've incorporated elements such as tanks to collect and use rainwater, real turf which has a cooling effect and an ancient Ginkgo tree, which has survived nuclear bombs and dates back to Gondwana.

"A great deal of the hard landscaping contents also come from upcycled materials."

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Ms Clausen has also ensured the garden is a good environment for bees and butterflies by including flowers and perennials to attract them alongside a bee drinking station - and it worked with a bee sting to prove it.

"It's amazing what you can do with a small space and I've designed this garden to show aspects that can be achieved in the inner city or suburbs," she said.

"I'm a mature age student and if you had told me that two years ago I would be going back to school and doing the Diploma of Horticulture, I would have said you were crazy.

"This has all been really quite amazing."

Designer of the cottage rose garden, Ms Derwort, was also inspired by Melbourne and city living but in quite a different way.

She said her garden reflected the Royal Exhibition Building dome, arched windows and the original rosary designed by landscape gardener William Sangster, while featuring both natives and introduced plants in the garden.

"The mixed plantings of natives and exotics in the garden acknowledge the collaborative efforts of horticultural influences in Australian history and future," she said.

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Ms Derwort said using roses at this time of year was bold but the newly released variety was a nod to the late Queen.

Coming fresh from English rose breeder David Austen, she said there was a juxtaposition of the new and the old, "history and the future".

For those with less of a green thumb, Mr Wilcox's concept of a Japanese-inspired courtyard with less intensive maintenance required would be highly sought-after.

"These days people are often living hustle-and-bustle lifestyles that can mean they don't have time to do a great garden in the traditional sense because there's often a lot of upkeep needed," he said.

"I wanted to create something that gives the feeling of a beautiful Japanese garden but that doesn't require weekly hedge clipping or raking up leaves and so on.

"Features of the garden include weeping maples, reclaimed slate paving and a fettucine river wattle (acacia cognata nana) which looks striking against the black background.

"I've had lots of comments already from visitors to the show about how impressive it looks with the colour contrast, so it's great to see people enjoying the space."

Mr Wilcox said the competition at the show this year was tough and it was great to be acknowledged with the bronze medal.

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"The standard is so high it's great to be recognised," he said.

"It makes me want to be even more competitive in the future."

The students praised the strong support from Bendigo TAFE educators had enabled the team to successfully pursue the tri-garden project.

"Our educator Stan Smith and Bendigo TAFE have supported our learning by encouraging us to be prepared and to challenge our creative thinking," Ms Derwort said.

"His experience and passion for horticulture set us up for success.

"Our course knowledge enabled us to confidently and professionally design, construct, and deliver three very different, yet refined gardens.

"The generosity of horticulture students from other Bendigo TAFE classes who have participated in this construction speaks volumes of the camaraderie we've developed as a cohort across our studies."

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