Australian Impact

Project Name: The Australian Garden
Client: Royal Botanic Gardens, Cranborne

Principal Designer/s: Taylor Cullity Lethlean with Paul Thompson
Design Team: Kevin Taylor, Perry Lethlean, Kate Cullity, Marshal Kelaher, Samantha Parsons, Jimmy Yang, Ross Privitelli, Gary Keltie, Susan Farrugia, Sarah Haq, Ofri Gilan, Natalie Schneide

Site Area: 25 Hectares
Construction: 1995 - Ongoing

"The project seeks to stimulate visitors, in creative landscape compositions, using the diversity and potential of indigenous flora.", Taylor Cullity Lethlean on The Australian Garden.

aerial view during construction

Garden features:
Red Sand Garden
Rockpool Waterway
Dry River Bed
Arid Garden
Exhibition Gardens
Eucalyptus Walk

The journey through the Australian Garden starts with the Sand Garden where the expanse of red sand contrasts with rich green and grey foliage.

The themes of the Exhibition Gardens are:
the diversity of Australian plants
water conservation
the future garden
home garden
the children’s backyard garden

The design of the Dry River Bed relates to the ephemeral nature of water within the Australian landscape and the power of water to shape the land into river-beds on a seasonal basis.

Photographs: Dianna Snape, Peter Hyatt, Jill Burness, Ben Wrigley