The Bam Stone Garden at Melbourne International Flower and Garden Show 2023.
Garden Name: The Bamstone Garden
Garden Designer: Peter Donegan
Contractor: Semken Landscaping
Awards: Gold Medal
The Bam Stone Garden is an exquisite representation of a love story that transcends time and distance.
The central boulevard 200 square meter show garden is a contemporary vision of a love story, and two hearts separated by a small island off the coast of Galway to the mainland. Featuring a series of natural bluestone steps that symmetrically weave their way through a rocky landscape, recognisant of the journey made across the Atlantic from the Connemara coast. The destination is a limestone (moleanus) island featuring planting, shelter, and a single 8 metre tall Liriodendron tulipifera reflecting across the black water, a beacon to those who wish to return to their love.
The story albeit interpretive, is that of a man hoping, in reality, in vain that on the island his beau and he will meet and be together. However that is of a daydream and completely plausible by sole virtue of imagination and daydreams where their impossible becomes possible and separation by water no longer exists.
This garden is also representative of love’s many forms – unrequited love, true love kept apart by distance, or unconditional lovers no longer physically together but never forgotten in the heart.
Presented by Bamstone.
Bamstone extract and process only the finest quality bluestone in south-west Victoria, to ensure the integrity of form and finish is maintained for years to come. Proven to be pure in formation and excelling in durability and strength, the bluestone is unsusceptible to warping, exfoliation or rust upon installation.
With thanks to The Bam Stone Garden’s supporters:
- Antique Perennials
- Better Exteriors
- Bio Gro
- Established Tree Transplanters
- Gardens at Night
- Lilydale Instant Lawn
- Melbourne International Flower and Garden Show
- Warners Nurseries
All our gardens at MIFGS would not be possible without the hard work and dedication from all our staff at Semken Landscaping. The build of The Bam Stone Garden was also kindly supported by Newlands Constructions and Nick from Breana Graham Landscape Architecture. We were lucky to be joined by an enthusiastic group of volunteers from Tafe NSW including Tim, Felicity, Tom and Cavell, also thanks to Michaela from Philip Withers for volunteering your time.
Full plant list of The Bamstone Garden at MIFGS 2023 here:
From a garden construction perspective the design, and build is a daring one on a site where one cannot, penetrate or dig in any way below ground of the Unesco protected world heritage site. This garden features the largest ever garden featuring water in the shows history and the most difficult build Donegan and Semken have ever undertaken.
In numbers:
- Garden Dimensions: 20 x 10 metres
- Tree: Height 8 metres, 40 cm girth
- Feature Boulders: Min 2.78 tonne, Max 3.34 tonne weight
- Water: Volume: 45,000 litres, garden percentage 63.763 %
- Elevation: 400 mm over 20 metres
- Dolmen Stone Structure: Height 2670 x width 3500 mm
- Planting: 35.92 square metres
