A wide shot of the display

Another wide shot of the display

Alyssum

Alyssum (foreground) & Bougainvillea (background)

Rose

Ornamental Pear (Pyrus capital)

Pansies and Violas

Kangaroo Paw (foreground) & Cordyline 'Red Sensation' (in pots)

Eucalyptus melliodora (Yellow box)

Flowering Gum (Eucalyptus 'Summer Red') & Dianella (foreground) & Waterhousia (behind sculpture by Meredith Plain)

Kangaroo Paw (Anigozanthus Tango), Coprosma Evening Glow (middle) & Banksia Birthday Candles (bottom)

Canna Bengal Tiger

Liriope muscari

Adenanthos (Woolly Bush)

Phormium Maori Maiden (flax) in foreground, Cordyline 'Red Sensation' behind in pots

English Box (Buxus sempervirens)

Australian pebbles, Alyssum flowers & Arthropodium foliage

Escheveria Blue Curl

Arthropodium cirratum (NZ Rock Lily)

Sedum spectabile

Anigozanthus Tango (Kangaroo Paw, in foreground), behind, from L to R: Perovskia (Russian Sage), Leucophyta brownii (Cushion Bush), Bracteantha bracteata (Paper Daisy), Brachyscome multifida

Adenanthos (Woolly Bush)

Myoporum parvifolium

Danthonia

Fish sculpture by Mark Doran in copper pot (formerly used for making chocolate)

Acacia glaucoptera

Stachys 'Big Ears' (Lamb's Ears)

Hydrangea

Indigenous Wildflowers of Melbourne: Wahlenbergia (blue), Brachyscome (purple), Bulbine (yellow)

Brunonia australis; a local Melbourne plant

Emu sculpture by Karen Pegg

Trees, L to R: Flowering Gum (Corymbia ficifolia), Grevillea, Waterhousia

Westringia

Roses: Brandy (top), Friesia (middle), Peace (bottom)

Grass Tree (Xanthorrhoea) grown from seed in a nursery

Anigozanthus Tango (Top), Coprosma Evening Glow (middle) & Banksia Birthday Candles (bottom)

Nice retaining wall work, and we'd only had one lesson. Triffids in background.

Our landscape was a comparison between a typical suburban garden and a low water use garden. The concept of low water use is dependent on the location you live in. For this reason, the low water use section was divided into three parts, filled with plants that are suitable for one of three different growing regions in Melbourne: Eastern Suburbs, with moderate rainfall and loam soils over clay; Western Basalt Plains, with lower rainfall and heavy clay soils; and Coastal Suburbs with moderate rainfall and sandy soils.

Our display moved away from the succulents and grasses commonly associated with drought-tolerance, and instead depicted a colourful mosaic of flower and foliage, appealing to the senses of the backyard gardener.

Low water use plants:

Hilly East
Lomandra 'Stanthorpe'
Dianella 'Silver Border'
Sedum spectabile
Grevillea hookeriana
Canna 'Bengal Tiger'
Dianella longifolia
Arthropodium cirrhatum
Lomandra hystrix
Bougainvillea
Mandevilla 'Alice du Pont'
Waterhousia floribunda

Coastal Zone

Leucophyta brownii
Anigozanthus 'Bush Tango'
Acacia fimbriata
Bracteantha bracteata
Brachyscome multifida
Perovskia atriplicifolia
Adenanthos sericea
Westringea 'Wynyabbie Gem'
Acacia glaucoptera
Acacia fimbriata dwarf

Western Plains

Banksia 'Birthday Candles'
Coprosma 'Evening Glow'
cordyline 'Red Sensation'
Myoporum parvifolium

Typical suburban garden (high water use)

Buxus sempervirens
Pyrus calleryana 'Capital'
Hydrangea macrophylla