Christian Jenkins WOWS at the 2022 Melbourne International Flower and Garden Festival

Project Specifications

Designer:            Christian Jenkins Landscape Design
Builder:                Charles Bros. Building Contractors
Project type:      Landscape Design – Winning Entry in Festival
Location:             Melbourne, Victoria – International Flower & Garden Festival
Details:                 NewTechWood Decking, Cladding & Screening

There’s no doubt about it. Christian Jenkins Landscape Design from Grovedale, Victoria, triumphed gloriously at the 2022 Melbourne International Flower and Garden Festival.

Awarded the event’s most outstanding exhibit, Christian’s design masterpiece, a wellness garden titled Inner Calm, impressed the judges and won in three categories:

•  City of Melbourne Award of Excellence for Best in Show,
•  Gold Show Garden Award, and
•  Innovative Design Award, presented by Peugeot.

 

NewTechWood is proud to have been one of the sponsors of this project, which used our Coastal Decking in Antique, Castellation Cladding in Ebony, and Hollow Screening in Ebony, which were all installed by Charles Bros. Building Contractors.

An interesting note about Christian Jenkins Landscape Design and Charles Bros. is they also worked together with the winning contestants Mitch and Mark on Channel 9 TV’s The Block in 2021 (of which NewTechWood was again featured in the landscaping).

The Melbourne International Flower and Garden Festival is the largest garden and floral event in the southern hemisphere.  This year’s show attracted over 100,000 people who not only enjoyed amazing garden and floral displays, but also workshops and educational talks, live music and roving entertainment, and delicious food offerings.

The deck, using NewTechWood’s Coastal range in Antique, was 6 meters wide and spanned 5 meters to each side, then went back to approximately 1.5m wide at the rear, giving a geometrical sized deck of approximately 28m².  They used the NewTechWood hidden fastener system for a clean look and quick installation.

To one side, a kitchen nestled discreetly amongst the greenery.  Behind and above the kitchen, NewTechWood Hollow Screening battens in Ebony created a slated roof, and being so light weight was considered an added bonus.

The NewTechWood Castellation cladding, also in Ebony, was used around the outdoor kitchen, offset with a white granite bench top, which made for a nice contrast.

The sunken seated area in the garden was also clad with the NewTechWood Hollow Screening battens, again creating an attractive contrast against limestone seat tops.

Strategically placed amongst the foliage were Balinese sculptures, starting at the entrance with two remarkable elephant statues providing that essential tropical Balinese feel.

Amidst the lush greenery, one could also hear cascading water coming from two large stone carvings at the rear of the pavilion, an area which provided a secondary entry/exit point in addition to the stone pathway crossing the lagoon at the front.

The project required palm trees of up to 4m tall to be placed into position by crane. Two impressive Dracaena Draco’s placed in the lagoon were standouts as well as two large Mexican palms and towering Chinese fan palms.

The entire design was topped off with surround sound rainforest music, which added to the authenticity and ambience of this very special sanctuary.

Christian explained his tropical inspired garden was designed to take you away from the daily grind of noise, busy-ness and stress, to a place of calm, serenity and rest.  It took six workers nine days to construct this winning entry that culminated in an awe-inspiring outdoor experience for all the senses: sight, sound, texture and scent.  Once seated in this tranquil green slice of heaven, you just didn’t want to leave… bliss!

Having worked with NewTechWood products previously on The Block, we were interested to know why Christian chose it again.

Christian said, “The NewTechWood Coastal Range is by far my favourite product for 2021/ 2022. I have never seen a 210mm wide board in composite decking and the sophistication of the Antique colour just set the tone for The Award Winning Inner Calm Garden. Not to mention the quick installation process that comes with NewTechWood. The fact that we don’t need to oil it after installation on The Block and at The Melbourne Flower and Garden Show is just another added Bonus to this amazing product.”

NewTechWood – the choice of winners!

Our congratulations to Christian Jenkins Landscape Design!

To recreate paradise in your garden, you know how to contact Christian, and for the low maintenance, real timber look NewTechWood decking, cladding and screening, feel free to contact our friendly NewTechwood team for advice.