THE GARDEN OF THE lITTLE WATTLEBIRD

2015

Awarded Best Design at the 2015 Gardening World Cup in Nagasaki, Japan

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There was high excitement and honour to be invited to exhibit a show garden in Japan, closely followed by feelings of trepidation; "can we actually pull this off?" Spoiler alert: We did!!

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After months of designing, planning, fabricating, and sourcing, we shipped the key elements to Japan, crossing our fingers they would arrive, and in time!

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Paal’s design was inspired by a block print given to him as a child by close family friend and artistic mentor, George Dimovski. The work pictured the dynamic flight of the Australian Wattlebird. Thirty years later this same piece has sparked a conversation between Grant and Dimovski, their combined work culminating in ‘The Garden of the Little Wattlebird’.

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The curved decking seat hugs a stone paved conversation area and fire pit and layers of plants surround and enclose a space made for comfort, privacy, and refuge. The repetition of textures, shapes and colours in the garden create a place of balance and harmony where the spirit of Dimovski’s block print resounds.

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Enduring language barriers, torrential rains, a leaking water feature and different industry products, we were truly humbled and grateful for the incredible work ethic, patience and generosity shown to our team by our Nagasaki colleagues and Gardening World Cup management. 

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