Tell us about your new book. It’s a guide to planting design and planting composition. People love plants, but struggle with composition – there’s a huge hunger to understand the process. This gives all the principles that you should think about in a very accessible, beautiful and friendly way.
What’s a piece of advice you can share? Start seeing a garden not just in terms of space, but also in terms of time – not just how plants will shift through the seasons, but also how the garden will develop
through the years.
What would you read anything about or by? I find it very hard to resist any book that has descriptions of wildflowers, especially if I’m in a different country or climate. I find the differences and correlations between species fascinating.
What else do you consume media-wise? I’m often in the car, so really love podcasts. I love gardening podcasts like Cultivating Place and a really fun one called Avant Gardeners. They’re beginner gardeners,
making mistakes and having a good cocktail along the way.
FLOWER POWER: DESIGNING GARDENS FOR YEAR-ROUND WONDER
by Jac Semmler
Thames & Hudson, £40
ISBN 978-1760765200
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What sparked your interest in gardening? I grew up on a farm in central Victoria in southern Australia, in a family of plantswomen. We lived in a summer-dry rural area and they always cultivated wondrous and
unusual plant-driven gardens that could survive with minimal care. My dad worked for the Department of Environment as well. We’d often be seed collecting on the weekends, so there was no escape.
What would you say is the best part of your job now? At Super Bloom, we have incredibly talented horticulturists on our team and I’m seeing an influx of very talented, passionate, smart people coming through. I think we are in a fortunate position in Australia to advocate for the role of professional gardeners. We work on major public realm projects and it’s amazing to have the understanding from clients and government bodies that plant people need to be at those tables as well. There’s still a long
way to go, especially around average living wages, but I feel change is coming.
Can you share your biggest gardening mistake or failure? I have no discipline when it comes to buying plants. I’ve got a poor reputation in my household for dragging home wondrous plants with no plan.
Is there a gardening tool that you really love? I really love any kind of Japanese blade – they’re phenomenal for any kind of planting.
What’s your favourite garden or landscape to visit? I really love deserts. I love the desert landscapes and the plant adaptations and how it changes your perspective and your assumptions around plants.
Who would you most like to show around your garden? Beth Chatto. I really like her approach to dry climate gardening, and the way she wrote about plants. She was an incredible pioneer as a plantswoman. I could do some good plant nerding with her.
What is something not many people know about you? I lived in the desert for quite a few years. I worked for a First Nation science and technology company and travelled to really remote and wild places in Australia.
What’s in the pipeline this year? Our modular garden at this year’s Melbourne International Flower & Garden Show is being relocated to a public site in Melbourne. And we’re continuing our work on major projects, including Laak Boorndap, the Melbourne Arts Precinct project – we’re part of the design team with design practice Hassall, James Hitchmough and Nigel Dunnett.
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