LCGD Melbourne

There aren’t many garden design students who get invited through the gates of Stonefields.

Or spend a day walking through the Royal Botanic Gardens Cranbourne discussing design decisions in real time with a practising designer.

In June, that’s exactly where our students will be.

First year students will visit Royal Botanic Cranbourne to study one of Australia’s most important contemporary landscapes. Second year students will head to Stonefields, Paul Bangay’s extraordinary private garden, for an exclusive behind-the-scenes learning experience.

For students joining online from across Australia and New Zealand, Brent Reid lectures live via video throughout the day so they experience the same conversations and learning alongside the Melbourne cohort.

It’s one thing to learn about great gardens. It’s another to stand inside them and understand why they work.

Our thanks to for his ongoing support of tomorrow’s garden designers and for generously opening the gates of Stonefields to our students each year.

Continuing our celebration of the wider community at RHS Chelsea Flower Show.

Congratulations to three more LCGD graduates and collaborators whose gardens were recognised on one of the world’s most celebrated horticultural stages.

John Howlett
Flood Re: Contain the Rain Garden
GOLD

Susie Kennedy and Kate Henning
Tales from the Riverbank
GOLD

Sally-Ann Rees, Kate Campbell and William Murray of
The Plant Heritage Missing Collector Garden
SILVER GILT

From balcony gardens and container gardens through to plant-focused exhibits, these projects continue to show the breadth of ideas, creativity and storytelling that landscape design can bring to Chelsea.

From all of us at LCGD Australia, congratulations to our UK peers and everyone involved in bringing these remarkable gardens to life.

SILVER GILT + RHS Environmental Innovation Award

Congratulations to graduate and Alex Michaelis for The Eden Project: Bring Me Sunshine Garden at this year’s RHS Chelsea Flower Show.

Created with and supported by .giving.back the garden draws inspiration from the landscapes and culture of Morecambe Bay while exploring the power of landscape to create opportunity, connection and long-term community impact.

Developed in collaboration with young adults from Morecambe, the project focuses on creativity, practical skills and pathways into the green industries, particularly for young people who are often overlooked.

What makes the project even more meaningful is its life beyond Chelsea. Following the show, the garden will move permanently to Eden Project Morecambe, where it will become part of a new community garden designed for learning, gathering and stewardship.

A thoughtful and deeply purposeful project that demonstrates how garden design can extend far beyond aesthetics alone.

From LCGD Australia, we’re proud to celebrate the achievements of our wider LCGD community on one of the world’s most celebrated horticultural stages. 👏 👏

GOLD + RHS Chelsea Small Garden of the Year 🥇

A huge congratulations to graduates Joe and Laura Carey of for : Flourish in the City at this year’s RHS Chelsea Flower Show.

The garden celebrates the City of London through a rich layering of materials, history and planting. Portland stone, copper, oyster shells collected from London restaurants and even the same cut of stone used at Buckingham Palace all help ground the garden deeply in place.

Hidden rivers flowing beneath the capital informed the design, while the planting reflects the importance of green spaces within urban life. Places that allow people and cities alike to flourish.

From LCGD Australia, we’re incredibly proud to see our wider LCGD community recognised on one of the world’s most celebrated horticultural stages.

Congratulations Joe and Laura on an extraordinary achievement!

Most balcony gardens feel like an afterthought. This one felt like a destination.

“Oasis in the Sky” by LCGD student Manh Ninh of was one of the standout gardens at the and now that the show has closed, we wanted to take a closer look at what made it work.

The brief was a balcony. The result was a full sensory experience.

A warm timber deck, an open pergola framing the sky, perforated timber screens that enclose without closing in, and mint green planters spilling with Australian natives — Kangaroo Paw, Grevillea, Eucalyptus — in every direction.

The colour story is where Manh’s confidence really shows. Vibrant furniture against sage green. Warm reds, pinks and yellows moving through the planting. Bold choices, precisely balanced. Nothing competes. Everything belongs.

The design lesson here is one worth saving: a small elevated space can hold just as much life, richness and feeling as any garden at ground level. The difference is conviction in the decisions you make.

Manh is an LCGD student, and this is exactly the kind of thinking we’re here to develop. We can’t wait to see what he does next.

What’s the boldest colour choice you’ve seen work in a small garden? 🌿

Pictured: Manh Ninh with LCGD Director Brent Reid
Full MIFGS 2026 highlights linked in bio.

📸

If you know, you know. 🌿

The month is full.

Projects submitted. New briefs opened. And the studio shaped this month by three of the industry’s most respected voices - Teena Crawford, Graham Ross and Carolyn Blackman.

First year students have just completed Project 2, a design process project that moves from a single source of inspiration through to a resolved design. Second year students are now working towards Project 6, their major planting design project, due at the end of May.

This month also includes a masterclass with Gardens at Night exploring the technical principles behind lighting design and how light is used as a deliberate design tool in the landscape.

This is what a garden design education looks like when it’s built around the industry, not just the classroom.

🌿

We are deeply saddened to hear of the passing of Nigel Dunnett.

Nigel’s work reshaped how we think about planting design. He moved it beyond decoration, placing it at the centre of conversations around ecology, climate and the future of our cities. His influence reached far beyond the UK. Here in Melbourne, his contribution to the Melbourne Arts Precinct planting and the Laak Boorndap Test Garden helped bring a new way of thinking into our public landscapes, where planting is dynamic, seasonal and deeply connected to place.

At LCGD Melbourne, his ideas have long been part of the conversation. His work gave both students and practitioners a language for planting that feels relevant to the challenges of today and the realities of tomorrow.

More than anything, Nigel leaves behind a legacy of generosity in knowledge. Through his writing, teaching and built work, he invited others to look more closely, to think more deeply and to design with intent.

His impact will continue to be felt in gardens, streets and cities around the world.

Our thoughts are with his family, friends and the many in our industry who were influenced by his work.