Life’s Grand Mosaic

This is the second in a series on the 2008 Melbourne International Flower and Garden Show.

Two show gardens that stood out to me were Reflections and Sei-Sei-Tei. The video below provides a look at the pool from Reflections, followed by an extended look at Sei-Sei-Tei.

Reflections
(Presented by the Outdoor Extension Company and designer Christian Jenkins.)

This garden won the Gold Medal.

This garden demonstrates modern outdoor living, and particularly the trend towards indoor spaces that can be opened up to become part of the outdoors. The features of this garden that stood out to me were:

• a great example of a modern outdoor kitchen. It is positioned at a distance from the house, but has all the facilities to save regular trips back inside.
• a stunning reflection pool with the white balls lazily drifting around it.
• gently flowing water created by a small waterfall at the end of the pool.
• the feeling that a party is about to start, but that in the meantime I could relax and enjoy the tranquility.

Sei-Sei-Tei
(Presented by Lotus Watergardens and Semken Landscaping and designed by renowned Japanese designer Koji Ninomiya.)

This garden won Best in Show and the Comeadow Award.

This is a traditional Japanese garden. Features include tukabi (crouching basin), kakei (bamboo conduit running water to the basin), ike (a pond), tobi-ishi (stepping stones), shirasunajiki (white sand representing images of white cloud and sea), machiai (waiting room) and yotumwgaki (bamboo lattice fence).

One plant I hadn’t seen before but now have in my garden is Japanese Blood Grass. It has a mix of green and dark red foliage that changes through the seasons.

I was very impressed with this garden. I could have spent a lot of time taking it in and enjoying the way all the different features fitted together.

About this garden, the designer Koji Ninomiya said:

“When you find enlightenment you can feel everything exist around you as it really is. Nothing is special, nothing is inadequate, nothing disturbs you. So you do not worry about anything. You can enjoy yourself and you find yourself in simple and calm beautiful nature. This is the place when you feel SEI-SEI. This is the garden to open the door to nature.”

You can find more photos and a full plant list at Semken Landscaping.

The other posts in this series are:

• Introduction
• Great Student Designs
• Ideas for Décor and Garden Design
• Avenue of Achievable Gardens