THEY'VE won accolades from Prince Harry, praise from the Queen and plaudits from the public and after nine years of trying a team of Australian horticulturalists last night convinced the judges to win the most prestigious flower show in the world.
"It's a dream come true," exclaimed Phillip Johnson as his garden beat the best from across the globe at the Chelsea Flower Show this year in its milestone 100th year.
For six weeks the garden's designer Johnson, driving force Wes Fleming and a team of 18 volunteers have labored over the largest and most elaborate garden ever attempted, a stunning showcase of an Australian lush gorge complete with giant boulders and a large billabong fed by a series of small waterfalls overlooked by a pine and aluminium studio in the shape of a giant Waratah.
The design while fun also carries a serious message of sustainability, collecting and filtrating rain water from all hard surfaces channeling into two catchments including the central billabong. It also collects run off from neighbouring sites. Solar panels at the rear of the garden ensure the whole site is powered "off the grid".
As well as natural sounds of the Aussie bush, a tape of frog calls, recorded from Johnson's home in Yarra Glen outside Melbourne, can be heard about the site adding to the magic.
The Queen visited the site yesterday. Fleming, from Melbourne and the founder of Australia's ninth garden campaign, was told she had no time to stop but she did and then walked about the site. It was a good omen.
Fleming said he was "dangerously confident" of winning but it was still unbelievable; no other Australian entry has ever won best in show.
"I have dreamed of this moment since I was a little boy growing up on the nursery and mum and dad regaling in tales of Chelsea Flower Show," an emotional Fleming said.
"I've been chasing this honour for my whole adult life so to have been awarded not only the coveted gold medal but Best in Show at the world's most highly regarded event is a moment no words can describe."
Of his meeting with the Queen, Fleming said: "She did more listening than talking but she did say "I believe this is your last garden" and we explained to her the reasons why we couldn't come back and she was quite disappointed," Fleming said.
"It was really quite lovely that the Queen knows about you, it's really quite special. She thought our display this year was lovely and the comments by those about her Majesty was it was a beautiful slice of Australia."
Despite the win, it will be Fleming's and his Trailfinders Australian Garden team's last showing.
"Chelsea is wonderful media and a great event but in all honesty it's like building dolls houses," Fleming said.
"For us it has been about increasing awareness and influencing policy and government about the need for planning, the need for green and better open spaces for environment and have the horticultural industry involved in future planning.
"In 100 or 50 years time it's not going to be accountants telling us how we live and the health of society, it's not going to be lawyers, marketing people or IT people, it will be the horticultural industry that determines the future of our life.
"That might sound trumped up … but we need to get governments and the greater populace generally to recognise that planting trees and creating landscapes is not just for aesthetics."
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