'A Room with a View' garden: With Lisa McAskill in the Adelaide City region of South Australia
Lisa: For many keen gardeners the act of jumping in the car and heading out in search of other people's gardens to admire has become a weekend tradition.
In fact, people have been doing it for 21 years - that's how long Australia's Open Garden Scheme has been running and in that time nearly 4 million people have visited a staggering 10-and a half thousand gardens around the country.
So as we struggle to keep our gardens alive during this record drought - we thought it was time to check how 'those in the know' cope with the big dry. Meet Gayle Otto - garden designer and owner of this garden, "A Room with a View" it's more like three rooms actually.
President of the Mediterranean Garden Society, Gayle practices what she preaches proving you can still have a good garden even if you use less water. And the secret? Plant selection.
Gayle: "In the front garden I've tried to use plants that use very little water. I only water here perhaps three times through summer."
Lisa: The 'front room' of Gayle's garden has a very Mediterranean feel. While a few roses have survived from the cottage garden era, most of the plants have been chosen for their hardiness and they've been toughened even further through careful watering.
Gayle: "I've put in a drip system. There's a dripper hose that runs through the garden and I've got it on a time on the tap which I turn on and it turns itself off. I don't have any of the garden on an automatic controller - I'm the one that judges if it needs to be watered or not."
Lisa: The next room in Gayle's garden is a complete contrast - a lush, Balinese inspired oasis…
Gayle: "It's a cool, lush area. The back of the house faces west and is very hot so I wanted to create a separate microclimate here with the pergola and shade trees along the western side. It's actually worked really well - we've also got water in a pond which helps to make it cool and cools the back of the house."
Lisa: Our open inspection takes us to the third of Gayle's 'room with a view'… her version of a traditional backyard.
Gayle: "This 'room' is really the backyard and utilities area. It's where the kids used to play and it's again very different. It used to have a cubby house in one corner; we used to have a couple of dogs as well. We don't have the dogs any more and the kids have outgrown the cubbyhouse."
Lisa: Part of the lawn has been kept, but other parts of the garden have been given over to heavily mulched and cleverly selected plants, which only get a drink once a month.
Aussie backyard tradition is maintained with a rain gauge in the veggie patch but elsewhere, Gayle has used clever visual tricks to add interest. She's also planned this garden room around the established trees.
Gayle: "The trees are really important. We need them for shade, it helps to shade the plants in the heat of the day."
Gayle's message is clear - water-conserving gardens don't necessarily have to look dry - and her garden is living proof that she's right.
It's called 'A Room with a View' and it's is open on Sunday, the 16th of March as part of the Open Gardens scheme. You'll find it at 108 Frederick Street in Maylands. It's open from 10 til 4.30.
'A Room with a View'
108 Frederick Street
Maylands
Open Sunday 16 March
10am-4.30pm $5 entryPublished 9th March 2008
