CHELSEA AUSTRALIAN GARDEN

Celebrating 25 years is an opportunity to reflect on long-standing partnerships and see how ideas planted years ago, continue to grow and inspire.

Over a decade ago, we were proud to have worked alongside Phillip Johnson, horticulturist Wes Fleming and the Trailfinders Team to bring an Australian garden design to the prestigious Chelsea Flower Show.

We collaborated with Phil with a lighting design that brought focus to key elements within the garden. A combination of Accent and Path lights were used to illuminate the feature trees, the reclaimed timber boardwalk, a circular ‘Sunset Platform’, and the stepping stones that led to a platform that overlooked the Billabong.

Their creation, the ‘Trailfinders Australian Garden’, became the first Australian entry to win both Gold and Best in Show at Chelsea; a remarkable achievement that firmly put Australian landscape design on the global stage.

We had the privilege of exploring Phil’s vision, now reimagined in the Dandenong Ranges Botanic Garden, Olinda. Walking through the landscape with Phil, we gained insight into how he brought this celebrated design home—recreating the Chelsea garden on a much grander scale.

The new installation is twenty times larger than the original and key design elements from the original garden remain. Managed by Phil and his team the garden continues to flourish in its natural environment with a carefully crafted 

natural landscape fed by a series of waterfalls, driven by solar power, which cascade over huge stone monoliths.

The garden promotes biodiversity and habitat creation, the use of recycled materials and renewable energy.

Seeing this iconic garden brought to life at full scale and hearing firsthand from Phil the care that goes into maintaining it was a special experience. Projects like this, and the partnerships behind them, are a big part of what motivates us at Gardens at Night. Collaborating with creative professionals and seeing our lights enhance their outdoor spaces continues to inspire us every day.