Meet the team
Ben Hutchinson
Landscape Designer, Natural Pond Specialist and Horticulturist
“Australia has some of the world’s most wonderful and unique species of plants and I want to introduce them into people’s gardens and lifestyles.”
I’ve been in the landscape and horticulture industry for a decade now, starting out as a nursery hand while I completed my qualifications in Horticulture and Landscape Design. I started my career as a Chef working in restaurants across Melbourne, but realised my true passion was outside and not in a kitchen (although I still love cooking!). Since making that change, my passion and skills have grown exponentially and every day I get to do the best job in the world – create beautiful Australian native gardens.
I remember when I started working in a nursery, it blew my mind at the sheer number and variety of native plants we have available on our doorstep. When the wholesale nursery trucks would roll up, I’d get so excited to see what they had to offer. And that made me want to share these amazing plants with my customers, and it still does today.
I draw my inspiration from all sorts of places, but mostly from looking to our local landscape with the vast palettes of colour, texture and combinations of what our country’s flora has to offer. I take note of how wildlife interacts with the local landscape to build gardens that attract the most diverse collection of birds, lizards and insects – a very exciting and unexpected result for our clients.
To say I love water is an understatement. Creating natural water features and ponds is the most amazing part of what I do and to share this with others is so rewarding. As a Certified Aquascape Contractor, I use a method which utilises natural filtration, no chemicals and bespoke designs. I work with the best rock that suits the site and local landscape to make these water features and ponds feel like they’ve always been there.
Jack Cullen
Landscape Designer & Natural Pond Builder
“Nature is the perfect classroom to gather and learn about how plants, water, rock and animals all interact together and it will teach us how to create the perfect environment in our yards.”
The natural world has always been the centre of my creativity and day to day life. Following a career change from coral propagation and retail aquarium management I decided that I would like to be outside and close to nature while still expanding my creative side. I love working with plants as there is seemingly an infinite amount to learn about them and with such a variety of species, every garden has the potential to be so different yet fulfil the same niches. My particular area of interest in plants is bird and insect attracting species as they support biodiversity and create a new element of interest in the home garden as it will change everyday and give the homeowner something new to explore when they discover species unfamiliar to them in their own backyard.
For landscapes we construct with bodies of water such as creeks or ponds the biodiversity factor increases even further with frog species, fish species and many other fascinating water dwelling creatures. Witnessing a creek or pond construction from start to finish is one of the more rewarding jobs, imagining and creating a waterfall in your head and observing it coming to fruition for the first time is quite special, not to mention the clients reaction when the pumps are switched on for the first time. My background and 10+ years in fishkeeping and water quality management helps me to aid the team in construction and after completion support for our clients.
Much of the elements and concepts I create are birthed in nature itself, from going on bush walks and camping to straying off the paths and leaving it to my compass. I am always trying to gather unique concepts from nature and trial them in construction. Nature is the perfect classroom to gather and learn about how plants, water, rock and animals all interact together and it will teach us how to create the perfect environment in our yards.
