Woody Meadows at the Melbourne International Flower and Garden Show
Woody Meadows and flowery swards: innovative approaches to urban plantings
We're excited to be bringing Woody Meadows to the Melbourne International Flower and Garden Show on 29 March - 2 April, in collaboration with Super Bloom and Hassell.
Our garden at MIFGS is a dramatic, diverse, dynamic and dense ‘naturalistic’ planting designed as an immersive experience to demonstrate how plants in cities can create climate resilient spaces for wellbeing and beauty.
Woody Meadow plant list
Flowery Swards plant list
This garden showcases how climate appropriate plantings can be aesthetically rich and highly diverse in both species and the range of plant forms. 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. As a collaborative project, this garden brings together landscape architects, horticulturalists and researchers who share a passion for plants and rethinking urban plantings.
Also highlighted is the Woody Meadow research project at the University of Melbourne’s Burnley Campus which is transforming low maintenance public plantings across Australian cities. Typical low maintenance plantings have low diversity, visual appeal and function. In contrast, Woody Meadows use natural shrublands as templates to create beautiful, diverse and low-cost plantings of Australian shrubs which are maintained through coppicing (hard pruning to 10-20 cm). Coppicing every 2-4 years promotes flowering and rapid canopy closure to exclude weeds and reduce maintenance.
The garden is a collaboration between Claire Farrell & John Rayner (University of Melbourne), Jac Semmler (Super Bloom) and Michael White & John Hazelwood (Hassell Studio). Thanks also to Michael Casey and team from Evergreen Infrastructure who will install the display.
MIFGS showcase collaborators Jac Semmler (Super Bloom), Michael White and Jon Hazelwood (Hassell)
Follow us on Instagram @woody_meadow_project and @superbloomau
Thanks to our generous supporters: Evergreen Infrastructure, Mansfields Propagation Nursery, Austflora Pacific and Plant Growers Australia (PGA).