William Martin (garden designer)

Last updated

William Martin (Born Rutherglen Scotland 25 June 1953) is an Australian garden designer. His garden Wigandia in south west Victoria at Noorat was twice voted Australia's best garden. [1] [2]

Contents

Approach

Martin has been an outspoken advocate for a new approach to gardening in Australia. Climatic suitability was taken for granted as a necessary prerequisite for inclusion. For Australian magazine Your Garden , Martin wrote: "Choose the right plant types for your given growing conditions and area and the rest will fall into place". [3] Elsewhere, Martin is described as "independent of mind, individual in style". [4] He has argued that most Australian gardening is still in a "Northern Hemisphere style" and therefore does not truly reflect Australian identity. [5] However, this does not by any means suggest a focus on endemic Australian plants.

Influences

Martin's references to influential gardens include the one created by Derek Jarman at Dungeness and Ian Hamilton Finlay's Little Sparta. [2] In a blog entry Martin has himself cited an early Australian painting by John Glover as 'lurking in his sub-conscious' [6] as a primary source.

Wigandia

Martin began work on Wigandia, named after the Wigandia caracasana, [7] in 1989. [8] Martin's perspective as an artist can be said to be in a constant state of flux. Early written work on Wigandia frequently highlight his objection to the "pampered woody European legacy" that has informed the Australian garden in the past. [9] However, with the establishment of Wigandia as a working model of what can be achieved with minimal irrigation, Martin's attention has shown signs of shifting focus to the development of an understanding of his garden as art. Media attention may have 'focused' on the 'dry' [10] aspect of this garden for its own purposes, considering the prolonged drought of Eastern Australia at the time.

The four hectare property that encompassed Wigandia, has been said to have begun life as 'nothing but a horse paddock, heavily grazed and aching with weeds'. [11] Martin has variously described his garden as 'a series of sketches, but (also) a single canvas' [11] and elsewhere, 'a single canvas with every area interlinked'. [12] He has also attested to his interest in geographic references by stating that a primary concern was to 'ensure the garden harmonises with the surrounding landscape of Mount Noorat'. [12] It could be argued this forms a key foundation in the colour selection at Wigandia where the paths and interspaces feature crushed red volcanic scoria sourced from southwest Victoria. [13] In a gesture to cultural references, the frequent use of corrugated iron, a key feature of construction in rural Australia, is used in the garden as a barrier material for fencing and other installations. [14]

Martin has been described as an artist who "explores the complex relationships between landscape, environment, culture and society." [15]

Interpretations

After a visit in 2014 the noted American designer James Golden observed the place of Martin's work in the international lexicon of garden art when he wrote: "Few gardens I’ve ever visited so completely reflect the spirit of their place–and this place is extraordinary." [16] In a major tribute to Martin's influence on garden design the noted Australian gardening writer Michael McCoy has stated, "Once you’ve seen Wigandia – as many did when it was all over the garden media a decade or so ago – you never quite garden the same again." [17]

Current status

By 2020 the garden is thought to have been abandoned.

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Garden</span> Planned space for displaying plants and other forms of nature

A garden is a planned space, usually outdoors, set aside for the cultivation, display, and enjoyment of plants and other forms of nature. The single feature identifying even the wildest wild garden is control. The garden can incorporate both natural and artificial materials.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Landscape architecture</span> Design of outdoor public areas, landmarks, and structures

Landscape architecture is the design of outdoor areas, landmarks, and structures to achieve environmental, social-behavioural, or aesthetic outcomes. It involves the systematic design and general engineering of various structures for construction and human use, investigation of existing social, ecological, and soil conditions and processes in the landscape, and the design of other interventions that will produce desired outcomes.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Permaculture</span> Approach to agriculture and land management

Permaculture is an approach to land management and settlement design that adopts arrangements observed in flourishing natural ecosystems. It includes a set of design principles derived using whole-systems thinking. It applies these principles in fields such as regenerative agriculture, town planning, rewilding, and community resilience. The term was coined in 1978 by Bill Mollison and David Holmgren, who formulated the concept in opposition to modern industrialized methods, instead adopting a more traditional or "natural" approach to agriculture.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">William Kent</span> English architect, landscape architect, painter and furniture designer of the early 18th century

William Kent was an English architect, landscape architect, painter and furniture designer of the early 18th century. He began his career as a painter, and became Principal Painter in Ordinary or court painter, but his real talent was for design in various media.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Capability Brown</span> English landscape architect

Lancelot Brown, more commonly known as Capability Brown, was an English gardener and landscape architect, who remains the most famous figure in the history of the English landscape garden style. He is remembered as "the last of the great English 18th-century artists to be accorded his due" and "England's greatest gardener".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Humphry Repton</span> British landscape designer

Humphry Repton was the last great designer of the classic phase of the English landscape garden, often regarded as the successor to Capability Brown. His style is thought of as the precursor of the more intricate and eclectic styles of the 19th century. His first name is often incorrectly spelt "Humphrey".

David Holmgren is an Australian environmental designer, ecological educator and writer. He is best known as one of the co-originators of the permaculture concept with Bill Mollison.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gertrude Jekyll</span> British garden designer and writer

Gertrude Jekyll was a British horticulturist, garden designer, craftswoman, photographer, writer and artist. She created over 400 gardens in the United Kingdom, Europe and the United States, and wrote over 1000 articles for magazines such as Country Life and William Robinson's The Garden. Jekyll has been described as "a premier influence in garden design" by British and American gardening enthusiasts.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">John Claudius Loudon</span> Scottish botanist (1783–1843)

John Claudius Loudon was a Scottish botanist, garden designer and author. He was the first to use the term arboretum in writing to refer to a garden of plants, especially trees, collected for the purpose of scientific study. He was married to Jane Webb, a fellow horticulturalist, and author of science-fiction, fantasy, horror, and gothic stories.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Landscape Institute</span> UK-based professional body

The Landscape Institute (LI) is a UK based professional body for the landscape profession. Its membership includes landscape architects, urban designers, landscape planners, landscape scientists and landscape managers. The LI also has a category for academic members.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Piet Oudolf</span> Dutch landscape architect

Piet Oudolf is a Dutch garden designer, nurseryman and author. He is a leading figure of the "New Perennial" movement – his designs and plant compositions using bold drifts of herbaceous perennials and grasses which are chosen at least as much for their structure as for their flower color.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">André Le Nôtre</span> French landscape architect (1613–1700)

André Le Nôtre, originally rendered as André Le Nostre, was a French landscape architect and the principal gardener of King Louis XIV of France. He was the landscape architect who designed the gardens of the Palace of Versailles; his work represents the height of the French formal garden style, or jardin à la française.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">French landscape garden</span>

The French landscape garden is a style of garden inspired by idealized romantic landscapes and the paintings of Hubert Robert, Claude Lorrain and Nicolas Poussin, European ideas about Chinese gardens, and the philosophy of Jean-Jacques Rousseau. The style originated in England as the English landscape garden in the early 18th century, and spread to France where, in the second half of the 18th century and early 19th century, it gradually replaced the rigidly clipped and geometrical French formal garden.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gardener</span> Person who tends gardens

A gardener is someone who practices gardening, either professionally or as a hobby.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">David Glenn (garden designer)</span>

David Glenn is an Australian garden designer. He has been recognised as an early exponent of a new style of Dry Climate Gardening with perennials in Australia. His garden Lambley is located at Ascot, 12 km North of Ballarat in Victoria, Australia. The development of the garden coincided with the millennial drought experienced throughout much of Eastern Australia over the period 2000 to 2010 and earlier. At the time, the garden was recognised internationally for its innovative use of plant types and forms.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Baroque garden</span>

The Baroque garden was a style of garden based upon symmetry and the principle of imposing order on nature. The style originated in the late-16th century in Italy, in the gardens of the Vatican and the Villa Borghese gardens in Rome and in the gardens of the Villa d'Este in Tivoli, and then spread to France, where it became known as the jardin à la française or French formal garden. The grandest example is found in the Gardens of Versailles designed during the 17th century by the landscape architect André Le Nôtre for Louis XIV. In the 18th century, in imitation of Versailles, very ornate Baroque gardens were built in other parts of Europe, including Germany, Austria, Spain, and in Saint-Petersburg, Russia. In the mid-18th century the style was replaced by the less geometric and more natural English landscape garden.

Ellis Andrew Stones was an Australian landscape architect of private and public gardens—many displaying naturalistic rockwork—and a conservationist whose work and ideas influenced approaches to public landscaping in Australia. Based in Melbourne, Australia, he was an early proponent of the use of Australian native plants and one of the founding fathers of the Australian landscaping style.

Graham Ross AM is an Australian horticulturalist, author, television presenter and radio presenter. In 2011 he was presented with London's Royal Horticultural Society's Veitch Memorial Medal (VMM) in recognition of his contribution to gardening and horticulture in Australia. The VMM is an international award issued annually by London's Royal Horticultural Society. Ross is only the fourth Australian to receive the VMM since its inception in 1870. He is the only Australian in history to have been appointed a Life Fellow of the prestigious Royal Botanic Gardens Kew Guild, London.

This page combines data from 13 written reference books about Australian heritage gardens, covering 200 years of garden heritage. Private gardens have been excluded from the list.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Canal (garden history)</span> Formal water feature in gardens

In the history of gardening and landscaping, a canal is a relatively large piece of water that has a very regular shape, usually long, thin and rectangular. The peak period for garden canals was the 17th and 18th centuries, by the end of which less formal water features were in favour, in the style of the English landscape garden. It is distinguished from a garden pond or lake by its shape, and typically falls somewhere between the two in area. It might be wholly artificial, created by diverting and damming a stream, or based around a natural water feature which is landscaped. Usually it appears to be enclosed, though in fact water passes in and out by channels below the surface. The edges are often walled, and the water relatively shallow.

References

  1. ↑ The Garden, January 2005, pp. 36-41
  2. 1 2 Gardens to Visit (14 February 2004). "Beware of the bogeyman". The Daily Telegraph. London. Retrieved 5 December 2011.
  3. ↑ Your Garden, Summer 2006, p. 135
  4. ↑ Your Garden, March 2000, p. 38
  5. ↑ "Gardening Australia - Fact Sheet: Wigandia". Abc.net.au. 26 August 2006. Retrieved 5 December 2011.
  6. ↑ Martins 'wigandia', William (24 March 2013). "a garden of the sun: My greatest influence..."
  7. ↑ "Burke's Backyard > Fact Sheets > Wigandia Garden". Burkesbackyard.com.au. Retrieved 5 December 2011.
  8. ↑ The Garden, January 2005, p. 38
  9. ↑ Guest, Sarah (2001), Gardens in Australia, New Holland Publishers, p. 100
  10. ↑ Dasey, Annette (25 January 2008). "When Jamie Durie Met Oprah". Yahoo Lifestyle: Who. Archived from the original on 8 July 2012. Retrieved 5 December 2011.
  11. 1 2 Lamb, E., 'Award winning', The Warrnambool Standard Magazine, 2 November 2002, p. 3
  12. 1 2 'Under the volcano', Gardens Illustrated
  13. ↑ "Gardening Australia - Transcript - Episode 28". Australian Broadcasting Corporation. 26 August 2006. Retrieved 5 December 2011.
  14. ↑ Harpur, J., 2005, Gardens in Perspective, The Octopus Publishing Group, p. 72
  15. ↑ Nottle, T., 1996, 'Gardens of the Sun,' Kangaroo Press, Australia
  16. ↑ "Wigandia: a garden of the sun". View from Federal Twist. 13 March 2014. Retrieved 30 July 2020.
  17. ↑ Owen, Christopher (10 March 2014). "Garden design, from the outside in".
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.