Ten exceptional presentations by overseas speakers comprise:
- The provocative Martin Rein-Cano (Berlin) who denounces English gardens as boring and derivative of outmoded models;
- Xavier Perrot (USA, formerly Vietnam) who makes places for dreaming, which conjure drama from hybridised materials … not about nature, but about alternate worlds.
- Plantsman James Basson (France), who takes a gentle path with his Mediterranean gardens, working with regional seasons and flora with minimal intervention.
- Athenian Thomas Doxiadis who displays profound sensitivity for the natural flora creating timeless landscapes in the Greek Isles.
- Diana Wiesner, Colombia, who devotes life to horticulturally connecting and dissecting the great megalopolis of Bogota, South America.
And from Australia:
- Phillip Johnson (Melbourne’s Dandenong Ranges), who remains enthralled ... with the power and joy that nature brings.
- Viesturs Cielens, Adelaide, an enigmatic outsider who reveals the connections between gardens and owners and their evolution over time.
Images (top to bottom): In the Dandenong Ranges, Phillip Johnson’s Billabong Garden is sheer job; On the Greek island of Antiparos, designer Thomas Doxiadis has designed houses and gardens which integrate perfectly within these timeless landscapes; The Cloud Garden in France, where Xavier Perrot says he is not interested in nature, but that his installations provide ‘places for dreaming’; Diana Wiesner in Bogota, Colombia, has a passion to provide green spaces for the poor and disadvantage.
