Native Art and design with Australian Plants

Native : Art and design with Australian Plants
ISBN: 9780500501023
Publication Date: 1 October 2017

Native offers planting palettes and design themes, gardening techniques and inspiration for an original and exciting perspective on the very best of Australian local flora.

When Kate Herd started experimenting with how she pruned and trained the native plants in her riverside garden in Melbourne, she made some amazing discoveries. A eucalyptus shrub she had cut right back to the ground reappeared as the most beautiful sprawling ground cover. Westringia was shaped to impersonate perfect English Box balls. And she found that Tasmanian beech trees could grow as a copse in small city courtyards.

Jela had similar experiences in her own garden design practice and together Kate and Jela have explored the unique beauty and resilience of Australia's native plants. Known for their absolute versatility and hardiness in the garden, native plants also offer up original forms for cut flowers and sculpture.

Garden designers Fiona Brockhoff and Sue Barnsley, Sculptor Tracey Deep and Artist Janet Lawrence all share their own love of Australian plants and how they incorporate them into their work. Chapters cover topics such as: Feature Foliage, Sculptural Forms, Pliability, Shady Spaces and Flowering Meadows.

About the Authors

Kate Herd is an artist, author and designer working across disciplines and media. She has written for a range of publications including The Age and The Planthunter and is the author of Kitchen Gardens of Australia (Lantern).

Jela Ivankovic-Waters trained as a horticulturalist and landscape architect. Jela teaches design theory and planting design, and her PhD researches the role digital technology has in changing landscape architecture practices.