Award winning Chelsea Australian Garden re-created at Olinda Golf Course

July 4, 2023

Design / Environment / Parks / Recreation / Tourism /

Phillip Johnson’s re-creation of the Chelsea Flower Show award winning ‘Australian Garden’ is now open at Olinda Golf Course - located 50km east of Melbourne and set in the picturesque Dandenong Ranges.

Local State Member for Monbulk Daniela De Martino shared “this superb native garden is an exemplar of the beauty of Australian flora and a jewel in the crown of the Dandenong Ranges. Locals and visitors alike will be able to enjoy this masterpiece for many years to come and I am thrilled that it is located here in the District of Monbulk.”

About the garden
The 2013 ‘Australian Garden’ was the 9th and final show taken to London's RHS Chelsea Flower Show by local Monbulk nurseryman Wes Fleming.

This was the year that the Flemings Nursery Trailfinders Team exhibit designed by Phillip Johnson went on to be the first ever to be unanimously judged as Best in Show at Chelsea and the first Australian exhibit to ever win this prestigious award.

The show garden’s success was created on two design pillars – more sustainable design with using Australian plants and the urge to connect people back to the beauty of nature. Following the team’s return home extensive discussions occurred on how to permanently relocate the newly internationally renowned Chelsea Australian Garden back in Victoria.

While many options were explored the perfect outcome was to bring it back home to where the garden was originally designed and inspired - in Olinda.

When a section of the old Olinda golf course was given back to the Dandenong Ranges Botanic Gardens, this created a wonderful blank canvas for the showgarden to be designed to become a public garden 20 times the size of the original garden.

The new garden
The new garden which has been built from the ground up, transforms the section of the former Olinda Golf Course into a beautiful botanic garden, supporting biodiversity and habitat creation for native plants and wildlife.

It features a cascading waterfall and billabong, winding paths into remarkable vistas and a ‘Waratah sculpture’ standing nine metres high.

The garden showcases sustainable design, including solar power and water-wise features, and includes the clever use of recycled materials. Over 15,000 plants from more than 400 native Australian species have been planted across several different microclimates.

Victorian Minister for Environment Ingrid Stitt notes “this garden has been highly anticipated among nature lovers near and far, we look forward to see visitors from across Victoria come to experience this amazing natural attraction. We are thrilled to be providing more opportunities for people to get into nature, and this garden will showcase Australia’s captivating and diverse native flora.”

Victorian Minister for Tourism, Sports and Major Events Steve Dimopoulos added “the stunning Dandenong Ranges are a treasured year-round tourist destination and the new Chelsea Australian Garden at Olinda will help attract more visitors to the area.”

Project funding
This project is being made possible via following funding:

$3.83 million from the Victorian Government, including $2.83 from the Regional Tourism Investment Fund
$2.24 million from the Australian Government’s Building Better Regions Fund
$340,000 in funds raised by the People and Parks Foundation

To keep up to date with project progress and opening dates, and to find out more about the garden, visit parks.vic.gov.au/cagoproject.

Images from top: Chelsea Australian Garden at Olinda best in show ensemble; Visitors can wander winding paths into remarkable vistas, and explore over 400 different species of native Australian plants; The garden features a cascading waterfall, rocky gorge and billabong, providing a new home for the local frogs; the massive Waratah Sculpture is a larger re-creation from the original 'Australian Garden' exhibit.

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