Tapestry Gardens 2: MONA

Drought hardy, Frost tolerant, Landscape Design, Naturalistic garden, Shade tolerant

When I was at Mona in Hobart last month as always I had my camera with me, I love the planting design at MONA and I had a few spare minutes between consuming modern art to snap some inspiring pictures. I took these photos because I loved the plant combinations and wanted to sure these with people. Please keep in mind these garden beds are in Tasmania and the natives in the photos are growing in a part of Australia with very little to no humidity. Lucky them 😉

I have been thinking about what appeals to me so much about this plant combination and it has brought me back to the Tapestry garden aesthetic. You can read more on a previous post I wrote about Tapestry gardens here.

In short Tapestry gardens are built on foliage contrast and the plants over all ‘form’ by combining these elements you can create a garden with year round interest and plenty of texture. In the images above you can see how beautifully the Leucophyta brownii contrasts with the Acacia ‘Green Mist’ in both form and foliage, a winning combination!

In the image above in the foreground there is Correa alba on the left and Correa baeuerlenii on the right which in themselves make a great combination, and then the Acacia ‘Green Mist’ in the background sets it off.

The image above is a little more subtle incorporating Westringia ‘Zena’ in the middle, which keeps a great low mounding habit without too much pruning.

The vertical element of gasses can also be useful in Tapestry gardens, above you can see Dianella revoluta in the centre, Poa labillardieri on the right and Ficinia nodosa weeping in the rear.

There are plenty of Correas used in these garden beds, they prune happily into balls and can also be left alone to mound in a more naturalists way. I love the combination of the Correa above with the Cushion Bush.

And one last shot of my two favourites together, so delicious!

Comments

4 responses to “Tapestry Gardens 2: MONA”

Richard Martin

13/01/2020

Last October, I walked the southern ocean track at Kangaroo Island with my wife and friends. Now horribly lost to fire. What was striking (pre-fire) was how dense and varied the vegetation was. Two meters would carry you past 6-10 plants on both sides of the track, all different and all thriving. An unexpected density that was stunning to see. I hope they find some way to recover.

Reply
1. Kath Gadd
  
  14/01/2020
  
  Hi Richard,
  
  Yes, it is totally heartbreaking what is happening to our eco systems at the moment with these unprecedented bushfires. Who knows if regeneration will be able to overcome the devastation?
  However I agree, nature has a beautiful way of displaying many contrasting textures and colours just as in a tapestry garden which comes from a naturalistic planting approach.
  And all those different species in 1 single square metre never cease to amaze me! we are very fortunate in Australia to have such Biodiversity hotspots, its time we started protecting them better.
  
  Best Wishes,
  
  Kath
  
  Reply
Kye

13/02/2017

This is the style we are going for in our garden. I consistently underestimate how tightly planted it needs to be to look effective.

Reply
1. Kath Gadd
  
  13/02/2017
  
  Hi Kye,
  
  Its true, its easier to get the effect more quickly with dense planting, however, I think you would end up thinning it later on down the track as the plants reach their mature size.
  
  Reply