Projects

Christian Jenkins’ Garden Awarded at the Melbourne International Flower and Garden Show

Christian Jenkins, renowned landscape designer, teamed up again with NewTechWood and won prize at the Melbourne International Flower and Garden Show again!

His Japanese-inspired “Composition” garden was awarded The Silver Show at this year’s Melbourne International Flower and Garden Show (MIFGS). This popular masterpiece was a celebration of Japanese plants, maples, cycads, zelkova and ferns.

Christian Jenkins Melbourne International Flower and Garden Show 2023

An extra attraction included a contemporary outdoor “room” positioned at the rear of the garden, creating a beautiful place to sit and just “be”. (Think Zen!) A wellness garden at the “heart”, with two large bodies of water, added a sense of calm to the space. “Composition” garden also received wonderful feedback from the general public, who flocked to see his latest creation.

The awarded garden was also designed to be visually stunning and entertaining, with a separate fire pit area and meditation deck over the front Lagoon.

The traditional rice paper wall with a black shingle roof was a nod to the Japanese style. One of the main aspects of the design was the use of Black on Black, which was achieved as a huge success using NewTechWood Castellation cladding wrapping the columns of the outdoor room and fire pit area. The dark tones created drama and mood in the garden.

Dark and Vintage NewTechWood Colours for Drama and Mood in the Garden

Christian used the Aged Wood colour from the NewTechWood Coastal decking range and the Ebony from the NewTechWood Castellation cladding range. These darker colours really make surrounding landscaping POP and were used to great effect. Christian also liked the width of the Coastal decking board, being 210mm wide, which is the widest composite deck board on the market, the styling of the Castellation cladding, and the fact that neither requires sanding, staining, painting or oiling.

Plus, building in unrealistic time frames brings extra pressure, so the easy installation of NewTechWood was considered a wonderful bonus to using both products.

Christian and his team are also environmentally aware; this care and consideration are reflected in his garden designs.

This award-winning team recycled the whole garden with minimal waste after the show.

Overcoming Design Challenges and Time Constraints

No production on this scale is without its challenges, however, and this time, the main challenge was trying to attach the LED lighting around the top of the water Lagoons. Unfortunately, the metal rail was too difficult to attach, which meant they had to sit it under a grass edge, which resulted in losing points at judging as it wasn’t “perfect”.

Also, the large waterfall at the rear of the garden created challenges for Christian, as it was made from foam and wanted to float and rise in the water. He had to weigh it down and create some pin-type solutions to stop it from lifting with the water.

Still, it was another masterful creation from a team that has earned its right to sit at the top of the landscaping industry, and once again, NewTechWood was extremely proud to be a part of this amazing, award-winning effort.

Multiple awards at the Melbourne International Flower and Garden Show

Christian Jenkins and his team are no strangers to awards, wins and accolades.

In fact, Christian Jenkins Landscape and Design wowed at the 2022 Melbourne International Flower and Garden Show (MIFGS) as well, being awarded not only the event’s most outstanding exhibit but also winning the City of Melbourne Award of Excellence for Best in Show; the Gold Show Award; and the Innovative Design Award presented by Peugeot.
In 2022, Christian also took Gold at the Singapore Garden Festival and designed and constructed the landscape for the winners of Channel 9’s The Block.
He was recognized by the AIH Australian Institute of Horticulture with The Golden Award to top the year off.
But for Christian, the highlight of 2022 was not only winning the MIFGS Best In Show, but as a result, he was invited to The Shenzhen Garden Show in China, where he was paid to design a garden that over one million people attended to see, and the organizers flew him over for the opening.