Essence of Australia for the Royal Botanic Gardens, Melbourne, designed by Chelsea veteran Jim Fogarty to capture the sparse plantlife and harsh beauty of the landscape down under and a worthy winner of a gold medal and Best in Show

Loved the sparse, uncompromising planting: just so different from anything else here. The plant list for this garden reads like a foreign language: this, I think, is Chrysocephalum apiculatum, common everlasting, an Australian version of our Helichrysum

The sinuous water feature in the centre was inspired by the Aboriginal Rainbow serpent and blupped occasionally in a billabong sort of way.

Red rock simultaneously captures the spirit of the Aussie outback and sets off the plants dramatically well. I was particularly taken with this butter-yellow kangaroo paw (Anizoganthos)