By Mikayla van Loon
The recreation of Phillip Johnson’s award winning garden will start taking shape in coming weeks, with more funding from the Federal Government just announced for the project.
A further $2.2 million from the Building Better Regions Fund will be put towards the construction of Mr Johnson’s Best in Show garden from the 2013 Chelsea Flower Show.
The project is one of four for the Yarra Ranges area and Casey MP Tony Smith announced on Friday 8 October the collaboration between Phillip Johnson Landscapes, People and Parks Foundation and the Dandenong Range Botanic Gardens would be receiving further funding.
“Four fantastic local community projects in Olinda, Coldstream and the Yarra Valley have been funded through the latest round of the Federal Government’s Building Better Regions Fund,” he said.
“Between the Covid pandemic and the huge storm in June, local communities have been doing it tough, particularly those reliant on tourism in the region.
“The $4 million in Federal funds will support four tourism-focused projects to boost jobs, support local businesses and help our local community recover from the pandemic and the storm into 2022 and beyond.”
The Australian Garden brings together sustainable practices while focusing on the best of Australian natives.
Part of Mr Johnson’s vision is to ensure the garden fits in with the existing landscape and can be used as a bushfire prevention system by the CFA.
Having received this extra funding towards the garden, Mr Johnson is expected to start building the award winning garden very soon.
