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JOURNAL OF THE AUSTRALIAN INSTITUTE OF LANDSCAPE DESIGNERS AND MANAGERS. SERVING LANDSCAPE AND GARDEN PROFESSIONALS ACROSS AUSTRALIA.
ISSUE 46WINTER 11
InspIratIonal FlorIade
Inner CIty student desIgns
Cypsella at MIFgs
sustaInable soIl nutrItIon
Fellow proFessIonal
what Is a garden worth
14 landscape outlook
Above. Windbreak at Marrickville – structural and fun.Top Right. Nicola Cameron.Right. Parsley Bay garden courtyard – a perfect place to reflect and relax.
would spend lunch time under a big old gum tree creating miniature
landscapes - usually farms out of the contours of the trees roots.
These farms were on a small scale compared to the bushranger forts
with stock yards I created on week ends by the creek.”
However, like many landscape designers, Cameron spent her early
career gathering skills and qualifications not directly related to the
profession of a landscape designer. She spent three years at NSW
College of Fine Arts, majoring in film and photography with a desire
to film documentaries of different people, cultures and landscapes.
Here she found nature and its varied landscapes, colours and
textures intriguing and spent her early twenties looking through a
lens, discovering the importance of composition, depth of field,
light and shade. These elements of photography have not been
wasted in her transition to landscape design.
Initially Cameron used these skills in the television industry but the
pull of nature was strong. She studied horticulture and design,
while working in garden maintenance.
Fellow proFessionals – niCola CaMeronstory: lyn Morehen MaIldM, MhMa
In November 2010 I was privileged to hear Nicola Cameron speak at
an AILDM seminar held at the Greengate Hotel in Sydney. I was then
delighted to sit next to her at dinner. Cameron is an AILDM member
and the winner of several design awards. What attracted me to her
work, and inspired me to write this article, is her direct approach
based on many facets which inspire her contributions to our design
world. Too often I have listened to designers who, having found a
‘winning formula’ stick to it. Not Cameron and her staff at ‘Pepo’.
They are constantly refining the processes and ideas that form the
basis for their award-winning designs. The outcomes, with client
approval, are then landscapes that exceed clients’ expectations, fit
the environment, and are fun and very livable.
baCkground and the Journey to desIgnChildhood memories reflect Cameron’s lifelong passion for the
environment.
“I remember clearly in the 1970’s when roller skating was the craze
at my school. Being a lanky eight year old with no skating skill, I
winter 2011 15
pepoCameron found that these maintenance clients valued her design
skills and so she started ‘Pepo’ (Pepo is Latin for ‘sun ripened’).
With Pepo she can produce gardens that are functional, edible
and sculptural for her clients. She believes that working with clients
is a real privilege. A designer works directly with the people who
will use the space and asks them “how do you intend to use this
space, what is your lifestyle, how do you spend your weekends,
talk about your family, the food you like. Will your garden be your
sanctuary for solitude and pondering or a play space for fun and
learning?“ Cameron and Pepo are simply not designers with a rigid
garden formula.
Her designs incorporate such factors as wind, as well as the
current trend for edible garden components. She believes there
should be something edible in every garden, and that it should
enrich her clients’ lives.
how the praCtICe worksPepo employs twelve people - all passionate about their work. The
scope ranges from design to construction and maintenance. Their
great emphasis is quality. The process itself is well defined, but
improvements and imagination are encouraged. Cameron realised
that the level of detail required to produce her designs meant Pepo
needed to produce fine computer generated plans, so she took on
a Landscape Architect.
Pepo’s favourite projects are residential. The reward is in seeing
families enjoy the outdoor space.
InspIratIonRoberto Burle Marx inspires Cameron. Cameron feels Marx is a
great believer in the detailed process and how it leads to depth
and beauty. In Marta Iris Montero’s book Burle Marx, The Lyrical
Landscape she writes:
“Despite the wild aspect of Burle Marx’s compositions, there was
nothing more consciously formalist than their gestation, aiming at a
definitive, finished object: a taming of nature which at the same time
accepted the unfathomable side of living things but rejected anything
alien to his design. He formulated his compositions with the utmost
care and rigor, either through drawings on paper in his workshop or on
site as the forms actually materialized. Nothing was left to chance.”
Cameron’s husband and business partner James Perkin provides
Cameron with the encouragement to keep going. Graham Fletcher at
Ryde Tafe provided a framework for Cameron’s initial design works.
award wInnIng gardensCameron and Pepo won two AILDM awards in 2010: winner of
the residential landscape design between $40,000 and $100,000
(Marrickville) and highly commended in the residential design over
$100,000 (Parsley Bay).
The Parsley Bay brief was to ‘mess up the architecture and design a
garden that was flowing, loose and importantly did not have a designed
look’. The award winning design included chooks, a vegetable garden
and a handcrafted pergola. The feature, hand crafted pergola at the
entrance court was designed by Francesco Petrolo a Sydney based
Blacksmith. The beauty of this art work is in its seamless integration with
Above. Herbs and vegetables – a necessity in all gardens. Above right. Parsley Bay entrance pergola – a play on light and form.
Pics: Saffrine Nydegger
16 landscape outlook
the garden and its timeless, beautiful form.
In a completely different location and brief, the Marrickville award
winning garden was not much more than Buffalo grass and Grevillea
robusta when Pepo first arrived. The microclimate was hot, dry
and windy making the garden an unpleasant place to be. Wind
breaks enhancing the garden but not dividing the space had to be
designed. The resulting windbreak is functional, fun and structural.
The awards have led to more clients who found Pepo on the AILDM
website. Cameron says “this is great because it means that AILDM is
working and respected”. The award publicity also meant Pepo’s and
Cameron’s profiles were highlighted in various national magazines.
keepIng up to dateCameron believes that keeping up to date is important. She
subscribes to several design magazines and thinks it essential to
be an active member of organisations such as AILDM and AIH. She
maintains that “as professionals we need to continue to develop
standard practices across our industry and define ourselves to the
community as being able to offer a quality service and a successful
result. Then the public will be able to differentiate between an
AILDM design practice and a run of the mill landscaping company,
and thus see the value in such a design process”.
ConClusIonOver the last ten years Cameron has grown professionally and along
with her partner and staff has developed Pepo into an award winning
business. They enjoy the fact that their designs, constructions and
maintenance give so much pleasure to their clients.
Cameron believes that gardens are an investment. She believes
the design process is an important element of that investment.
It is an insurance policy that reduces the risk of mistakes in the
construction and ensures mutual understanding of the planned
result. Cameron believes it is the only fair way to enter into a
relationship with a client.
Hi-end Residential or Large Scale Commercialplus Alpine Quality equals Award Winning Results.
Alpine Nurseries1099 Old Northern Road, Dural NSW 2158Telephone: (02) 9651 0999 Facsimile: (02) 9651 0988Email: [email protected] Website: www.alpinenurseries.com.au S8
03179
Residential Commercial
Above. Chooks – growing popularity in today’s gardens.