Meet EWHA member Diane Beddison, whose lifelong love of plants has taken her from a sheep and wheat farm in the Wimmera to a career in landscape design. Diane shares her journey into horticulture, the lessons learned along the way and her passion for creating beautiful, practical gardens.
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As long as I remember, I have enjoyed plants and gardening. This love has been passed on from mother to daughter. I grew up on a sheep and wheat farm on the Wimmera plains. Water was scarce; however, my mother grew whatever plants would survive.
I was drawn to the texture and colour of plants and don’t remember a time when I didn’t love plants. My favourite school excursion was a trip to see wildflowers in the Grampians. As a teenager I created my own succulent and cactus garden and had quite a collection. Interestingly I use these plants sparingly now. When I became a homeowner, I spent many weekends creating garden beds and experimenting with shrubs, trees and flowering plants.
At school I was good at numbers and went on to be a Maths and Science teacher. Maths was also a love of mine, but it was lost on many students, especially the more difficult. I undertook further study and moved into IT where I spent many years in technical roles. As this career developed and I was working for large corporates, I felt like a small cog in an uncreative wheel.
When Melbourne University announced they were starting a Landscape Design course at Burnley Campus it was the right course at the right time. I was in. With no background in business or the horticultural and landscaping industry, I started Beddison Garden Designs in 2011. It has been a steep learning curve. My earlier careers however provided me with excellent problem-solving skills and keen attention to detail.
As a late entrant into the horticulture and landscaping industry, I decided to concentrate on Landscape Design and some plant sourcing. It has been difficult to maintain a regular stream of projects and there is so much I do without being paid. Despite all the challenges I enjoy designing gardens. I have met some wonderful people and had the pleasure of creating gardens for them to enjoy as their plants grow. For some homeowners there is surprise and joy as they realise what a well-designed garden provides both aesthetically and practically.
As part of the Rotary Garden DesignFest, I opened my own Canterbury Garden in 2016 and a client’s Kew garden in 2024. I learnt a lot about verge gardens by volunteering to design indigenous verges for participants in the Balwyn Rotary pilot project of building verge gardens for Boroondara residents. I have just written my 14th gardening article for the Wombat Post.
We recently moved to Glen Iris and a smaller garden with many trees. I have made appropriate changes to the hard landscaping and by removing some trees. However, I struggle with my desire to grow my many favourite plants in a small mainly shady garden. I continue to upgrade my skills and have taken on the task of learning the design package Vectorworks. As a business my ongoing challenge is to establish systems to more closely align fees with the time put in. Currently I am working on several projects, mainly in surrounding suburbs.
Beddison Garden Designs
www.beddisongardendesigns.com
