Since the birth of Pacific Flora in Japan in 2001, the Shizuoka Prefecture has held the World Garden Competition every 4 years in Hamanako Garden Park, Hamamatsu City.
Selected to compete in 2009 was Christopher Beardshaw (UK), Marney Hall (UK), Kate Frey (USA), Jim Fogarty (Aus), along with four Japanese designers selected from amongst 200 entries in Japan. As well as the eight international show gardens, there were thirty smaller gardens, all vying for only four major awards: Best in Show, Best Design, Best Planting, and Best Construction.
Each garden had a strict budget to adhere to which made the process of design challenging and made the competition fair but fierce. The garden was constructed by a Japanese contractor and there was great camaraderie in sharing skills and tricks from different countries. My contractor was Mr Ema who ran a large and generational landscape company in Hamamatsu Japan.
The design of the pergola was altered in the design process many times for budget reasons. The final design was half of the original shade structure but was designed to be a modern pergola using simple materials including timber and steel mesh.
To create some interest to the garden, the pergola level was stepped down to create a sunken garden. In this situation the sunken garden works as a sump for collecting harvested rainwater from paving areas and allowing it to soak back down into the ground. A back up drain assists in heavy rain and a good cover of screenings 200mm deep prevents the sunken area from becoming muddy. With tough water restrictions in place, this is currently an important environmental consideration in Australian gardens.
To provide a cooling element to the garden, a water feature was important to the design of the garden. Stepping stones of random stone in an ashlar pattern extended across the surface of the water feature and gave the impression of floating on the water. Large step pads like this work visually but practically, they can double as places to sit, floating on the water and feeling like you are part of the water feature.
The rendered walls in this garden were raked using a handmade plastic comb which created a horizontal velour look, softening the harshness of the walls.
Owing to challenging with sourcing Australian plants in Japan, the planting is a mix of Australian natives and exotic species that are popular in Australian gardens.
Awards:
Best in Show: Daigo Nishiyama (Japan)
Best Design: Jim Fogarty (Australia)
Best Planting: Chris Beardshaw (UK)
Best Construction: Junichi Yoshino (Japan)