Blog
Autumn Colour
Autumn is arguably the most spectacular season of all where colour in the garden is concerned. It’s the time of the year where the landscape really steals the show and [...]
We dig these garden tools!
With time at home still the ideal and beautiful Autumn days like these, now is the perfect time to get out in the garden. Not only good for our bodies, [...]
Buxus sempervirens
Everyone’s favourite hedging plant, Buxus sempervirens (English Box or Common Box), is the perfect way to formalise any landscape design - and that’s exactly why it was high up on [...]
Noel Kingsbury – Naturalistic Perennial Planting
Back in 2015, Ian presented on ‘Naturalistic Perennial Planting in Australia’ at the Horticultural Gardening Festival. As part of this presentation, he highlighted his Top 10 list of landscape designers [...]
We’re in our ‘Element’ with this fire pit
Sitting by a cosy fire is the perfect way to maximise time outdoors. So the team at Ian Barker Gardens was both delighted and excited when they recently stumbled across [...]
Mexican Bush Sage (Salvia leucantha)
Whilst most other summer plants have long given up hope of doing anything productive, the Mexican Bush Sage (Salvia leucantha) is continuing to showcase its vibrant colour and striking poise [...]
Bay Tree (Laurus nobilis)
Screening and hedging plants are in greater demand than ever, and one particular plant is gaining popularity, with good reason – the Bay Tree (Laurus nobilis). Bay trees make excellent [...]
Hawthorn – Garden Design Project
There is certainly great art in creating a garden that respects a home’s heritage architecture, whilst simultaneously providing contemporary style and energy. Ian Barker’s team have painstakingly achieved this in [...]
Rob Mills Architecture & Interiors
‘A great house is always a strong marriage of architecture, landscape and interiors’, says Rob Mills, Director of award-winning Melbourne based practice Rob Mills Architecture & Interiors (RMA). RMA design [...]
Pieris japonica (Lily-of-the-Valley shrub)
Any plant with japonica (or japonicus) in its name means it comes from Japan, as does this splendid shrub. And where a plant is from can tell you a lot [...]