As you probably already know, my preference for plant material is Australian Native flora. This class title shouted to me to showcase our fabulous variety of plant material in a clear interpretation of “Indigenous”. I chose the formal parallel style to enable showcasing of the different forms and colours of the plant material.
The container is a plastic plant tray (most commonly used for window ledges I think) covered with bark from a Melaleuca or “paper bark” tree.
I have used chicken wire inside as the mechanic because Australian native flora does not like floral foam and many of the species do not require a constant supply of water. In this design the only flora that needs a water source for the duration of this show is the Grevillea (spiky flower). These are in vials pushed inside the chicken wire.
The chicken wire mechanics are covered with Australian native mulch conveniently sourced from the farm under some long established native trees.
Placements are Xanthorrhoea (grass tree) spent flower spikes, banksia (2 varieties), Dorianthes (Gymea lily) foliage and the Grevilleas.
This design placed second.
Judges Comments: An excellent way to interpret the title with clear impression of indigenous native plant material covering the landscape from trees to ground cover.
The back placement and size of the coastal banksia needs to be a more obvious height difference ( and therefore transition) from the front placements. This would allow for more negative space to be in the design.
