Projects
MINT Landscape Design’s Sensational Win at 2023 MIFG
MINT Landscape Design from Yarraville in Victoria recently won a string of well-deserved Awards for their entry “Aurum” in the 2023 Melbourne International Flower and Garden Show:
- Innovative Design Award
- Construction Award
- Gold – Best Show Garden
- People’s Choice Award
The project Specification
| IDesigners/Builders: | MINT Landscape Design, TLC Pools |
| Project Type: | Garden for Melbourne International Flowers and Garden Show 2023 |
| Location: | Melbourne, VIC |
| Material: | US54 Coastal Solid Grooved Decking Antique 210x23x4.88mm – 28 boards US06 Fascia Antique 138 x 15 x 4.88mm – 10 boards (and the fascia at each end of the deck had a custom curved profile.) |
Mint Landscape Design Sensational Win
Mint Landscape Design (founded by landscapers Darin Bradbury and Scott Wynd) is a landscape design practice known for their modern landscape creations. They represent one of Australia’s most successful Landscape Design companies earning a swag of Gold Medals from the Chelsea Flower Show as well as the 2023 Melbourne International Flower & Garden Show.
Photography: Eric Holt Photography
Their winning landscape creation entitled “Aurum” is Latin for “Gold” and is described as:
“a climate conscious, unashamedly hedonistic, glamorous garden that is grounded in nature”. Weaving elements of mid-century and art deco design philosophy, the garden sought to redefine the concept of contemporary Australian landscape design.
The garden was divided into zones, demonstrating how people can interact with their landscape, from dining to lounging, relaxing in the plunge pool while enjoying the scents and sights of a contemporary blend of native and exotic plants.
An innovative fusion of styles
Their garden included a focus on drought tolerance, choosing plants with the ability to handle long periods of dry conditions, which didn’t mean they were restricted to using Australian natives, but also included Mediterranean species and succulents. And as Darin Bradbury, co-founder and Director of Mint, said:
“This is not a ‘native’, ‘Mediterranean’ or ‘arid’ garden. It’s an innovative fusion of all these styles.”
Hedonistic garden, new Australian way
The architectural “feel” MINT was going for involved a fusion of Hollywood, Palm Springs, and Art Deco styles. They wanted to take elements of these styles and come up with a new Australian landscape.
Traditionally, gardens at the Flower and Garden Show are often focused around the BBQ, and MINT wanted to look at it from a different perspective. It’s novel to think of what a garden is used for in Australia if there isn’t a BBQ involved. However, it still had to be about outdoor entertaining, and taking the BBQ out of the picture meant that this became more of an adult space rather than a specific family-oriented garden.
MINT wanted to design a garden that was very hedonistic, something that was designed purely as a space to drink champagne! An adult retreat. They sought to create something glamorous yet still very much grounded in nature.
NewTechWood was proud to be a part of this spectacular display with their Coastal range in colour Antique.
Natural rustic and weathered look with NewTechWood Coastal
NewTechWood’s Coastal range, the US54, a wide board, features a deep, timber-like texture giving a natural rustic and weathered look. It is perfectly suited for coastal and Hamptons-style homes and, thanks to a high slip rating, is widely used around pools.
The NewTechWood profiles used in the project were:
- US54 Coastal Solid Grooved Decking Antique 210x23x4.88mm – 28 boards
- US06 Fascia Antique 138 x 15 x 4.88mm – 10 boards (and the fascia at each end of the deck had a custom curved profile.)
Asked why they chose NewTechWood for their Aurum creation, MINT explained:
“It’s an incredibly durable product. It stands up to a rigorous 10-day construction period where we have multiple trades working over the deck, and it still looks great at the end of it. The Antique colour is a lighter, more contemporary colour that works well in our designs and makes our projects stand out from the colour of regular decking. The Newtechwood team are always up to working with our ideas for their products. We always throw challenges their way (herringbone pattern, curved fascia details), and they always make it happen.”
(And we’d like to add working with MINT is always our pleasure!)
NTW look incredibly natural in the landscape
And for general use, MINT said they believe NewTechWood is, quote:
“an outstanding product and always has been. There’s no other composite decking that can match the durability of NTW, and they just look incredibly natural in the landscape.”
From the architect and installer’s point of view, working with NewTechWood provided multiple benefits, but from the designer’s perspective, they particularly appreciate having a larger, more contemporary colour range to work with. The designer said it means they can choose a colour, and it will stay that way in the landscape over time. (NewTechWood’s 25-year warranty covers fading.) They also like that they can achieve a much cleaner look with the NTW decking and the hidden fixing detail. In their words:
“It’s not something people think about too much, but not seeing the fixings in your deck makes a big difference to the overall aesthetics.”
(We agree!)
p.s. If you want to work with NewTechWood and need more info on how to specify our decking, cladding or screening, contact us and let the magic happen!