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An interesting component of a garden is the concept of garden rooms. By creating 'rooms' separated by dividers that may be hedges, walls or fences one does not see the whole garden in one sweep. To add interest as one moves from room to room the entrances or doorways can literally be a timber door that needs to be opened. Or simply an opening with a garden arch.

Further interest can be created with viewing 'holes' that provide tantalizing views to the next garden room. The 'moon gate' opening illustrated here provides such a view.

On some projects I use large machinery to move soil and rocks. Here I designed a garden in the country on a steep slope. The land was excavated two metres into the side of a hill to accommodate the new home. The bank had to be seriously retained to prevent soil erosion.

 There were plenty of large rocks on site, mainly from the home excavation. We used these to blend in with the surroundings with numerous rocky knolls amidst the eucalypts. I used ABC Landscaping for the construction of my garden design who in turn used Gaffey Excavations for positioning rocks etc.

It is vitally important to realise the ultimate size of trees and shrubs. Plant labels can be misleading. As an example Arbutus unedo, the Irish Strawberry Tree label suggests it grows 3-4m tall. This tree illustrated here at Benedict House, the arts centre in Queanbeyan, admittedly many years old, shows just how large this tree can eventually grow!

In designing gardens I recommend plants to suit the position, size of block and other factors including power lines and underground services.Having owned a nursery growing most of our own plants I know how large they can grow.

A dripping tap can waste 20mls a minute, which equates to 11,000 litres a year -- equivalent to a small backyard swimming pool. I view water usage as the most important aspect of gardening. Taking into account water restrictions, the most effective way of watering is using drip irrigation.

If you are installing irrigation yourself I recommend Aspen Watering, located in the grounds of Stonehenge Landscape Supplies for advice.

 I also suggest attending an ACTEW Corporation WaterWise Workshop conducted by Austin Goodfellow, an irrigation consultant and myself.

We discuss irrigation, how to deal with difficult soils, fertilising, drought-resistant plants and more. Call ACTEW on (02) 6248 3131 for full details.

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