What’s on at MIFGS 2019
The Melbourne International Flower and Garden Show (MIFGS) is back for 2019 from 27 – 31 March. It’s positive to see sustainability being made a point of discussion this year through the work of AKAS Landscape Architecture, whose garden Anthropogenic Future has repurposed waste and building materials including, perhaps most strikingly, rubbish collected by hand from the Yarra River that is mixed in with the soil.
“We want to make people aware that current plastic pollution is a massive problem, but also it’s going to be part of our geological epoch,” elaborates AKAS Landscape Architecture co-director, Alistair Kirkpatrick. “The whole garden is about 80 per cent recycled,” adds co-director Anthony Sharples.
A blanket of succulents leads the eye along stepping stones (recycled concrete, sourced from a tip), pausing at sculptural, pink-veined Sarracenias before arriving at a pond and mirror tucked beneath a metal cube structure (from a factory in Dandenong). But this garden takes its recycling mission beyond what just the eye can see: “We got carpet underlay from Carpet Court in Coburg to protect the grass,” Anthony shares.
Also noteworthy is Gone Bushesque by Katherine Westle from Holmesglen. Described as “an immersive exploration of bushophilia”, this pocket of multi-layered greenery suggests escape from the urban landscape. Notably, an ‘insect hotel’ is included in the design to promote the return of wildlife, kept company by an ant farm.
Nearby, Ecoliv has presented the Eco Studio prefabricated module complete with a fully functioning loop productive garden presented by Biofilta.
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