Melbourne International Flower and Garden Show 2024

By April 3, 2015 Media No Comments

Melbourne International Flower and Garden Festival celebrated its 20th Anniversary today with some inspired ideas, breathtaking designs and – most importantly – some lovely weather!

Kilby Park was honoured to have plants featured this year in Ian Barker Gardens “Crossroads” landscape, presented by Australian Home & Garden Magazine, a stunning design that deservedly won Gold, as well as the Horticulture Media Association’s Award for Best Use of PlantLife. Congratulations to all involved on such a beautiful outcome.

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Image via Ian Barker Gardens

Competitions aside, there was a few stand out trends at MIFGS that we noticed and thought we’d share our top 4 with you:

1. Modern Metal.

Sculptures and decorations are great for designs with tricky spots, or gardens that require lower maintenance. We saw a lot of spectacular modern designs, with many using corten steel, giving the metal a rustic corroded look without compromising the integrity of the structure.

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Left: Corten steel garden sculptures Right: Beyond Blue’s “Wellness Garden” landscape.

2. Asian Influence.

Minimalism, water features, bonsai and beautiful Japanese plants dominated many landscape designs and stalls, including the Silver Award winning “Wellness Garden” by The Landscape Design Group. Inspired by Feng Shui and balance, bamboos and maples proved to be simple but stunning options for a variety of gardens (And Kilby the Wholesale Plant Nursery has a great variety of both to explore!)

3. The quiet achiever – Ptilotus exaltatus ‘Joey’

This little native shrub was popping up left, right and centre in designs and stalls throughout the show. With its soft lavender cone flower, it was an understated feature in many gardens looking for a touch of colour with a modern shape. Love the look, but seeking a little extra volume and contrast? Consider the stunning Buddleja d. ‘Buzz Purple’ as a larger, fragrant alternative.

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Left: “Joey” Ptilotus Exaltatus Right: Buddleja d. “Buzz”

4. Going up with vertical gardens.

Vertical gardens have been a big trend for awhile now, with their ability to transform even the smallest of landscapes into beautiful natural havens. MIFGS showed a plethora of options including traditional trough designs, soft durable ‘bag’ styles and freestanding three dimensional stackable options

Did you get to MIFGS this year? What was your standout landscape or stall?

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