Risk is a winner

By Tania Martin
MONBULK nurseryman Wes Fleming and his team have proved to the world that a risk can still win at the Chelsea Flower show.
Mr Fleming put the chance of winning a gold medal hat-trick on the line to break with tradition and build the sort of garden that has never been seen at the show before.
Instead of building a traditional style garden with lots of colourful flowers and foliage, the Fleming team decided to break with tradition and build a garden that focussed on architectural design and dark foliage.
Despite taking a chance and missing out on the gold medal hat-trick, the team still took home a silver-gilt medal.
Mr Fleming says winning the silver-gilt medal was fantastic especially as the team took a chance on building a totally different style garden this year.
“This garden was very, very different from anything else at Chelsea,” Mr Fleming said.
“We’ve used foliage instead of flowers and the colours of the garden are dark and the garden itself is moody.
“In true Aussie style, it’s a break from tradition – and feedback has been enormously positive.”
The Fleming team, led by nurseryman Wes Fleming and Melbourne landscape designer Mark Browning, worked 14-hour days for 14 days straight, battling typical English weather to produce a stunning garden.
The silver-gilt winning garden features a raised platform of bluestone with built-in seating and a table, which creates an open yet secluded space surrounded by water.
There is also a large fish tank embedded into a feature wall and a spectacular steel triangular pergola.
Trees are also a highlight of this award winning garden with up to 40 trees over six metres tall including a grove of Himalayan white barched birches and purple beech.
Mr Fleming said he honestly believed the team could win the gold medal or nothing at all because of the risks they took in breaking tradition.
“While we were building the garden other teams would come up to us and say “wow, you’re taking a hell of a risk’.
“But winning the silver-gilt just demonstrates that Australia’s horticultural industry is equal to the best in the world if not better.”
“We are very proud of our achievement at the greatest flower show in the world,” he said.
“We have extraordinary talent in design and horticulture in Australia and to be rewarded at the highest level reaffirms Australia’s place on the world stage.”
Mr Fleming said he has already started planning for next year’s flower show.