Australian Planting Design identifies and explores all aspects of developing better planting designs on any scale, raising awareness of the essential elements and encouraging readers to look with fresh eyes, to create anew.
This new edition guides the reader through all the stages of designing a new garden and helps to visualise the garden through an understanding of space, light, earth form, structures and vegetation. It discusses the choosing of plants, their form and shape, balancing plant types, fire and vegetation, design and form. The final section of the book looks at the dynamic garden and the importance of designing for change.
Australian Planting Design focuses on how Australian plants may be used in gardens, whatever their size, function or site. It shows the way to use our plants to form a variety of satisfying, interesting and purposeful areas for both people and nature.
As the availability of a much wider range of Australian plants grows, so too does our understanding of their qualities and habits. Our changing ecological attitudes and broader understanding of local habitats have brought the Australian landscape into sharper focus and we have gained a new appreciation of its value for design expression. We are beginning to develop an urban landscape that belongs to the land, and garden designs that are more suitable to the environment of tomorrow.
At last we have Australian plants for Australian places.
Provides the template for creating the character and atmosphere needed to bring that fascination into human spaces
Identifies and explores all aspects of developing better designs on any scale, raising awareness of the essential elements and encouraging readers to look with fresh eyes, to create anew
This new edition guides the reader through all the stages of designing a new garden
Part 1: Components of a Garden
Introduction
Space
Light
Earth Form
Water
Case Study: A Boggy Garden
Structures
Vegetation
Part 2: Planting Design
Choosing Plants
Plant Form and Shape
Safety in Numbers
Case Study: A Sandy Garden
Designing with Wetland and Water Plants
Creating a Subtropical Rainforest Environment
Balancing Plant Types
Fire and Vegetation
Design and Form
Case Study: A Coastal Garden
Case Study: A Quiet Retreat
Interpreting the Australian Landscape
Case Study: A Pioneering Garden
Part 3: Time and Change
The Dynamic Garden
Case Study: A Haven for Wildlife
Plant Lists
Endnotes
Further Reading
Acknowledgements
General Index
Botanical Index
"Colour photos of attractive Aussie species will have you salivating."
Grass Roots, pp. 71, 2012
"With a wide range of Australian plants now more readily available, this volume makes an excellent guide to inspire those planning to make their own personal design statement utilising the comprehensive information and ideas contained within these pages." Gail Thomas, Australian Horticulture, June 2012
Paul Thompson is a Landscape Architect and Consultant in Planting Design. He commenced his own design and construction firm in 1970, specialising in design with Australian plants. His most notable work has been the ‘Australian Garden’, Royal Botanic Gardens Cranbourne and the Forest Gallery, Melbourne Museum, both with colleagues Taylor, Cullity, Lethlean.
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