We’re thrilled to welcome Rob Cooper to the 2025 Melbourne International Flower and Garden Show. As the creative mind behind Distinctive Gardens, Rob brings a wealth of experience and passion for innovative landscape design. His ability to blend modern structure with natural elements has made him a standout in the industry. This year, we can’t wait to see his vision come to life with ǝ’skāp, a garden designed to inspire connection and reflection. With a talented team behind him and a meaningful cause at its heart, Rob’s creation is sure to be a festival highlight.

ǝ’skāp is a space designed to help you slow down and reconnect with yourself. We wanted to create a lush, vibrant and green predominantly Australian native garden. It feels both welcoming and intriguing, drawing you into the garden and inviting you to immerse yourself into the space. The garden brings together a modern style with natural elements, creating a beautiful balance between structure and flow. A variety of grasses were chosen for their height, textures and colours. With the gentle breeze the foliage flutters and naturally spills into each other. Each plant has its own character, creating a lush, layered feel throughout the garden. Key features of the space include a sleek, vine-covered structure offering shade and a soft touch, a natural stone seating and fireplace invites gathering and conversation.
The calming reflection pond cools the garden and mirrors thefoliage and sky above. Our floating entrance stairs and walkways invite you into our garden giving you the feeling of walking through the garden and over water.

ǝ’skāp was brought to life by our incredible team: Rob from Distinctive Gardens has been the visionary behind the design and planning of project, he’s quick to acknowledge that it’s huge team effort. Bringing this ambitious garden to life required the skills, creativity, and hard work of several talented individuals and businesses. Jason Schulz, owner of Yergan Landscape, whose expertise has been fundamental in transforming the vision into a buildable reality. Jason has not only created the detailed working drawings that make this complex project possible but is also leading the construction.
Malcolm Berce, owner of Desert Flower Landscaping, is responsible for the stunning freeform natural stonework in the firepit area, which will serve as the garden’s focal point. Malcolm’s expertise in working with natural stone has been invaluable in bringing this beautiful feature to life. The firepit, with its organic design, will undoubtedly be a standout drawcard for visitors to the garden. Tahlia from Yergan landscape lead our team for the planning and stunning installation of the planting for this garden. Together, we’ve created more than just a garden—it’s a place to pause, reconnect, and appreciate life’s beauty.
Once our MIFGS journey is completed we have chosen to gift the structure to Little heroes foundation. The structure will be auctioned off at the annual gala ball to raise much needed funds for the continued research into childhood dementia. Our whole team is immensely proud to put our support behind this amazing cause. We have been blessed with support from amazing sponsors for this build Heynes wholesale nursery, Apex Steel, Tumbled natural stone, Underwood Builders, City Crane trucks, Waterpro, Jeffries soils, Newton sand and metal, Tynte flowers, Mapei, Just Rocks and Instyle Outdoors.
pocket profile
What’s the one element of your show garden you’re most excited for people to see?
The element we’re most excited for people to see in our show garden, ǝ’skāp, is the overall atmosphere we’ve created. It’s a space designed to help people slow down and reconnect with nature. We’ve focused on blending soft grasses, modern design, and natural elements to achieve a balance between structure and flow. The hardscape materials were chosen to feel eclectically random, just as if they were found in nature. The fireplace area is something we love— it’s not only a striking installation but also a place where people will want to sit around and enjoy the space.
What are your favourite current trends or themes in garden design?
What’s your favourite plant, flower, or feature in this year’s garden, and why? It’s tough to pick just one favourite, My favourite part of the garden is how lush, green and textured the planting palette is. The glory vine-covered arbor is the key central feature of our garden, Credit to Jason from Yergan Landscape for designing the cantilevered pavilion structure into what it looks like today. The skill and attention to detail involved in the construction, materials and the 25 year old glory vine provide a real strength to our garden.
What’s a gardening tip or trick you swear by?
A gardening tip we swear by is to design with the seasons in mind. Choose plants not just for their flowers, but for their shape and texture, ensuring they remain visually appealing year-round. Leave seed heads and stalks intact after blooming to add texture and structure, especially during the colder months, keeping your garden interesting throughout each season.
What’s the one tool or piece of equipment you can’t live without?
Tahlia can’t live without her Felco secateurs. She keeps them in a side carry case on the side of her work shorts. They’re sharp, comfortable, and make the job quick and efficient.
If you could invite anyone (past or present) to stroll through your show garden, who would it be and why?
If I could invite anyone to stroll through our show garden, ǝ’skāp, it would be James Darling. Sadly James passed away last year. Both He and his amazing partner Lesley have had such a big influence in my life. Their passion of art, their farm and the environment is contagious. James Darling and Lesley Forwood are conceptual artists who make social, political and environmental statements through unique site-specific installations made with mallee roots. They have exhibited their works all over the world and I have had the pleasure of being a part of their exhibitions in Adelaide, Venice and Germany. I have also had the opportunity of building two gardens for them both. We are blessed to have Lesley be a part of our garden build installing the unique art pieces into our garden.