2020 dates announced

The Southern Hemisphere’s largest floral & garden event will return 25-29 March 2020 for its 25th anniversary with next year’s theme unveiled as “the best of the best.”

Melbourne International Flower & Garden Show Event Director, Marcus Gale explained that the silver anniversary of the Show is all about celebrating the exemplary designers who have taken out the event’s top awards in previous years.

“Award-winning designers from previous years that will be returning include: Phil Withers, Vivid Design, Mark Browning, Dean Herald, Koji Ninomyia, Steve Day, Jim Fogarty and more” said Gale.

“2020 attendees can expect a Show unlike any they’ve seen before. Each show garden will be a representation of the designer’s unbridled, unique vision.”

More designers and special features of the 2020 Melbourne International Flower & Garden Show presented by Lawn Solutions Australia will be released closer to the event.

Tickets for the Melbourne International Flower & Garden Show now on sale:

BOOK TICKETS NOW

Dates: Wednesday 25 – Sunday 29 March 2020

Times: Open 9am – 5pm daily

Gardens by Twilight – Friday March 27 until 9pm

Venue: Royal Exhibition Building and Carlton Gardens, Carlton

Win a Mother’s Day bouquet

To celebrate Mother’s Day, the Melbourne International Flower & Garden Show are giving you the chance to win a beautiful bouquet from the Melbourne Flower School.

The winner will have their bouquet delivered on Saturday 11th May just in time for Mother’s Day.

For your chance to WIN just enter your details below and let us know in 25 words or less why your Mother deserves this gorgeous prize.

View terms & conditions.

550m3 of organic materials recycled

The Melbourne International Flower and Garden Show is over for another year. The largest flower and garden show in the Southern Hemisphere takes 10 days to build, is on display for 5 days and then it takes 4 days to pull down.

Every year questions are asked as to where all the garden displays go to when the show is over.

So this year, just prior to the show it was announced that Van Schaik’s Bio Gro, was appointed ‘Sustainability Partner’ of the Melbourne International Flower and Garden Show 2019.

With its highly recognised capacity and capabilities in organics processing the family was proud to be given this prestigious opportunity at the end of the show to recover and recycle the shows organic materials.

For more than 40 years, Van Schaik’s Bio Gro has been a leading innovator, working in partnership with companies and local councils to achieve optimum recovery of organic material. Recovered forestry material, construction timbers, agricultural bi-products, green and food organics is composted and processed into a variety of high-quality products.

Unique to the resource recovery industry Bio Gro has a circular recovery model. Bio Gro takes pine bark recovered from the timber industry into a process and compost stream and turns it into premium growing media. This is then used by the nursery industry to grow plants, it’s even used to grow new pine trees. The growing media is also bagged and sold into the retail market for home gardeners.

At the processing site the display garden construction timbers including pallets will be ground up and graded into garden and roadside mulches. Some of this mulch will be used in the display gardens at next year’s show. The flora displays from the Great Hall along with the soil and mulch from the outdoor gardens will be composted to create a horticultural compost used to grow fruit, vegetables and plants.

“It’s a great feeling to know that the end of the show is no longer like a demolition site, it’s now a resource recover site.  Thanks to Bio Gro, organic materials no longer go to landfill, 550m3 diverted, that’s good for everyone” stated award winning Martin Semken of Semken Landscaping after hearing the total figure.

With over 13 million tonnes of organic material disposed to landfill nationally every year, this is an important demonstration of the company’s endeavors and ability to reduce the generation of environmentally harmful methane gas into the atmosphere.

What a great result for the environment and a great result for the show.

 

Flower & Garden Show to bloom silver for 25th anniversary

The Southern Hemisphere’s largest garden event has concluded with over 103,000 attending the 2019 Melbourne International Flower & Garden Show presented by Lawn Solutions Australia. Details of the Show’s much-anticipated 25^th anniversary in 2020 have also been revealed, with next year’s theme unveiled as “the best of the best.”

Melbourne International Flower & Garden Show Event Director, Marcus Gale explained that the silver anniversary of the Show is all about celebrating the exemplary designers who have taken out the event’s top awards in previous years.

“Award-winning designers from previous years that will be returning include: Phil Withers, Vivid Design, Mark Browning, Rolling Stone Landscape Design, Koji Ninomyia, Scott Wynd, Steve Day, Jim Fogarty and 2019 winner, Tract’s Nigel Parker” said Gale.

“2020 attendees can expect a Show unlike any they’ve seen before. Each show garden will be a representation of the designer’s unbridled, unique vision.”

More designers and special features of the 2020 Melbourne International Flower & Garden Show will be released closer to the event.

This year’s award-winning designers were revealed on Wednesday, with Tract Consultants’ The Loggia garden collecting a number of accolades. The dry climate garden drew parallels between hot weather planting in the Mediterranean and Australia, and was recognised with The City of Melbourne Award of Excellence for Best in Show, The HMA Award for the Best Use of Plant Life, and The Mark Bence Construction Award. The Loggia was one of three gardens awarded the prestigious title of Gold Show Garden, alongside MUSA Landscape Architecture’s Journey – an exploration of mental health in collaboration with Beyond Blue, and The Other Side, created by Jason Hodges, Candeo Design and Semken Landscaping for Lawn Solutions Australia. Designer, Christian Jenkins took out the People’s Choice Award for his garden, Dreaming.

The Great Hall of Flowers proved to be a captivating indoor haven for judges and visitors alike. The Gold Visual Display Award was presented to The Fantasy Garden by Collectors Corner, a sprawling bed of greenery adorned with crystals and pops of vibrant crimson plant life. Gold Floral Design awards went to designers Pinkie Promise, and The Australian Association of Floral Designs, and caught the attention of the thronging crowds across all five days.

The NGIV Precinct was a hub of creativity and inspiration, as four emerging designers presented unique gardens constructed under the tutelage of landscaping royalty Mark Browning. The purpose-built feature garden Green Connections, by Richard Bellemo provided a space for the young and the young at heart to connect with nature with a log fort, bamboo forest, water-generating bike stations and cave-like bamboo nook.

The Boutique Gardens showcased all the creativity that can thrive in a 5m x 5m space, with Patricia Morrison taking out first place with the Landscaping Victoria Boutique Garden Award for Remembrance, a tranquil homage to her mother and grandmother. The Avenue of Achievable Gardens Award of Excellence was awarded to Jason Donnelly for his design Redivivus Materia.

Those hoping to take home their own special memento of the Show flocked to Flowers Victoria’s Flower Market, where blooms from local producers were fresh from the farm and available for purchase, with experienced florists advising on the best combinations to make the prettiest bouquets. Those getting hitched – or hoping to drop the hint to a loved one – were in luck with Flowers Victoria’s Wedding Table display, which included ten different place settings from the finest wedding floral talent in the state.

Educational and visually stunning, the Baptcare Show Window Floral Display Competition invited talented designers to produce an installation speaking to the theme, “Home is where the heart is”. The Gold Award was presented to Jenny Burke Florist. Leading garden innovators Searles displayed a huge range of top-quality potting mixes, composts and fertilisers and had experts on hand week-round to dole out knowledge on gardening best practice.

Show goers had the chance to get hands on with Ryobi’s complimentary make and take classes, where the best power tools in the industry could be test driven to make planting racks. For those content with soaking in the Show surrounds with a glass of sparkling and floral-inspired petit fours in hand, the Holland America Line High Tea was a must.

Visitors to the Show were able to see it in a very different light at the Friday evening Gardens by Twilight event, where thousands wandered a spectacularly lit Carlton Gardens, entertainment and boutique bars under the stars.

The Melbourne International Flower & Garden Show presented by Lawn Solutions Australia will return for its 25^th anniversary in 2020, dates will be announced soon.

Give us your feedback to win

Over 103,000 of you attended the 2019 Melbourne International Flower & Garden Show presented by Lawn Solutions Australia. We hope that you enjoyed your visit and left the show feeling as inspired and delighted as we feel after five glorious days.

We aim to continually improve the show, and value your feedback. Please take a couple of minutes to provide your feedback via our survey, so that we can learn from your experience and make next year’s show even better.

TO GIVE YOUR FEEDBACK CLICK HERE.

View the terms & conditions.

Best retail exhibitors

Over 200 retail exhibitors have come together at the 2019 Show to form an innovative retail product showcase, covering an extensive range of categories from Garden Tools to Exotic Plants.

This year the three gold medalists in the outdoor retail exhibitor category are:

DREWITTS BULBS

Drewitts Bulbs is a family owned business in the foothills of the Dandenong Ranges proudly supplying over 1000 lines of bulbs to independent retail nurseries and garden centres Australia wide.

Their 2019 display is a celebration of all things bulbs, from the rare and unusual to the ever popular Dahlia, tulips and lilies, our wall of flowers features thousands of blooms grown on their farm to showcase the joy and ease of growing bulbs.

HANGING BASKETS, RHSV

The Royal Horticultural Society of Victoria (RHSV) hanging baskets spectacular  is something not to be missed.

Visit the fabulous display of over 400 hanging baskets at the RHSV site.

THE DIGGERS CLUB

This year The Diggers Club are celebrating their 41st Anniversary.

Their amazing heirloom display is something not to be missed at the Melbourne International Flower & Garden Show.  Find them at B46

The Southern Hemisphere’s most stunning gardens revealed

The country’s most prestigious garden awards have been announced this morning at The Melbourne International Flower & Garden Show presented by Lawn Solutions Australia. The awards herald the launch of the southern hemisphere’s largest garden and floral event which runs for five days in the sprawling grounds of Carlton Gardens and the interior of the historic Royal Exhibition Building.

The City of Melbourne Award of Excellence for Best in Show was presented to Tract Consultants’ ambitious The Loggia garden, which seamlessly combines dry climate species from both Australia and the Mediterranean. Warm terracotta tiles provide a striking juxtaposition to green swathes of native and exotic plant life. The Loggia is a clever coalescence of romance and practicality, heroing hot climate planting as a nod to a more sustainable future.

Head Show Garden judge Andrew Laidlaw said, “As a collective group of gardens the standard is as high as it’s ever been in the history of the show”.

Melbourne International Flower & Garden Show Event Director, Marcus Gale commented that the Show continues to attract the best design talent from Australia and overseas to create truly exceptional Show Gardens and feature displays. “Every year we are awestruck by the imagination showcased by our landscape and floral designers, and 2019 is no different,” said Gale.

“Each garden and floral installation is not only visually arresting, but our new charity partnerships with Beyond Blue and Guide Dogs Victoria encouraged designers to add another dimension to the creations. The judging panel revelled in seeing displays that carried a strong message, as well as being aesthetically brilliant”.

Whilst the Show runs until Sunday 31 March 9am – 5pm daily, this Friday evening, The Melbourne International Flower & Garden Show presented by Lawn Solutions Australia extends its hours for a floral inspired twilight session. In addition to witnessing the best gardens and floral designs the country has to offer, Gardens by Twilight is a convergence of local live music sets, roving entertainment, impressive lighting displays and boutique food and beverage bars – running until 9pm. The Melbourne International Flower & Garden runs until Sunday 31 March. Tickets are available for purchase at the gate or online here.

 

FULL LIST OF AWARD WINNERS BELOW:

CITY OF MELBOURNE AWARD OF EXCELLENCE FOR BEST IN SHOW

The Loggia designed by Tract Consultants & constructed by PTA Landscape 

 

GOLD SHOW GARDEN

The Loggia designed by Tract Consultants & constructed by PTA Landscape 

The other side by Jason Hodges, Candeo Design & Semken Landscaping for Lawn Solution Australia

Journey designed by MUSA landscape Architecture

SILVER GILT SHOW GARDEN

Changing Times designed by Myles Baldwin Design

Dreaming designed by Christian Jenkins Landscape & Design

 

SILVER SHOW GARDEN

Four Seasons designed by Rob Waddell

The Lux Botanical designed by Inge Jabara Landscape

 

BRONZE SHOW GARDEN

Urban Retreat designed by Ben Hutchinson Landscapes

Under the Golden Elm designed by Bayley LuuTomes Design

The Welcome Garden designed by Mark Browning

The Third Age designed by Willie Wild Life Sculptures, Candeo Design & Semken Landscaping

 

HORTICULTURAL MEDIA ASSOCIATION (HMA) AWARD FOR BEST USE OF PLANT LIFE

The Loggia designed by Tract Consultants

 

MARK BENCE CONSTRUCTION AWARD

The Loggia designed by Tract Consultants

 

LANDSCAPING VICTORIA BOUTIQUE GARDEN AWARD

1st Place – Remembrance designed by Trish Morrison

2nd Place – Breeze designed by Maia Coillard

3rd Place – Anthropogenic Future designed by Anthony Sharples & Alistair Kirkpatrick

 

THE AVENUE OF ACHIEVABLE GARDENS AWARD OF EXCELLENCE

Redivivus Materia designed by Jason Donnelly

 

THE AVENUE OF ACHIEVABLE GARDENS

1st place: 

Jessica Villani – Rainforest Nest

Rachael Nardella – Home is Where the Seeds are Sown

Katherine Westle – Gone Bushesque

Jason Donnelly – Redivivus Materia

2nd place: 

Kristen Mahler – The Yoga Sanctuary

Shaun Hayes, Shaun Taggert, Jacob Banks, Daniel Clarke, Zach Murphy, Thomas Drew – Modern Pop

Alex Koskiniotis  – Cascade

3rd place:

Riley Cooper & Angus Houghton  – Gallery to Garden

Joshua Brammer, Josh Hurst, Adam Caarels, Alby Perry & Nick Dunn – Tapestry of Texture

Melissa Bell – Colour my World

David Joseph  – Native Fibonacci

BEST USE OF PLANT LIFE

Jessica Villani – Rainforest Nest

CREATIVE SPACE

Katherine Westle – Gone Bushesque

 

VISUAL DISPLAY

 

GOLD VISUAL DISPLAY

The Fantasy Garden by Collectors Corner

 

SILVER GILT VISUAL DISPLAY

Matthew Landers

Moss Industry Florists

SILVER VISUAL DISPLAY

Southern Metropolitan Cemeteries Trust

Lynne Dallas

Flowers Vasette

 

BRONZE VISUAL DISPLAY

The Plant Society

Box Hill Institute

The Green Palace by Leaf & Bear

Ikebana International Melbourne Chapter

Chrysco

Bloom College

Gloriosa Nursery

Oasis Noir by Richard Go Design

Richard Go / Gollings the Florist

It’s my World

Melbourne Flower School

 

FLORAL DESIGN

 

GOLD FLORAL DESIGN

Pinkie Promise

Australian Association of Floral Designers

 

SILVER GILT FLORAL DESIGN

Flowers by Nici

Melbourne Polytechnic Floristry Program

 

SILVER FLORAL DESIGN

Holmesglen Institute

Marjorie Milner College

 

BRONZE FLORAL DESIGN

The Australian Floral Art Association

Karen Wang Wedding & Flowers

 

RMIT STUDENT FLORAL FASHION DESIGN COMPETITION

1st Place – Not knowing future matters designed by Taylah Caddy

2nd Place – Fight for the bight designed my Meg Bradbury

3rd Place – Beyond the park designed by Zoe May Sutherland

THE BAPTCARE SHOP WINDOW FLORAL DESIGN COMPETITION

Gold – Jenny Burke Florist

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Find our golden tickets

To celebrate the Plant Society exhibiting at the 2019 Melbourne International Flower & Garden Show, we have hidden 100 golden tickets across the show which can be exchanged for a beautiful prize.

Each day 20 tickets will be hidden throughout the show for you to find so keep an eye out!

If you are lucky enough to find a golden ticket at the show, you must present it to the plant butlers located at ‘Mirage’ by The Plant Society (Stand c05/06) inside the Royal Exhibition Building to claim your prize!

Valid between 27-31 March 2019.

Come and experience ‘Mirage’ by the Plant Society.

 

WIN a European Cruise for two

To celebrate the partnership between Holland America line and the Melbourne International Flower & Garden Show we are giving you the chance to win a 7-day European cruise for two departing Amsterdam aboard Holland America Line’s newest ship, Nieuw Statendam, along with AU$2000 air credit per person.

The cruise includes the following components: seven nights accommodation in a Verandah Stateroom aboard Nieuw Statendam, onboard main meals, onboard daytime activities, including the sports court, pools and fully equipped gym, evening entertainment and all port charges and taxes.

Standard terms and conditions of travelling with Holland America Line will apply, including any applicable age restrictions. The prize must be booked with the Promoter by 31/05/19 and must be taken to coincide with the cruise’s departure date as per the itinerary selected by the winner (subject to availability).

THIS COMPETITION IS NOW CLOSED.