ABOUT
Sharon Harris Garden Design is a bespoke garden design business defined by a passion for plants and for creating spaces that are beautiful and individual. We pride ourselves on having no definable style but rather the design of a garden should be defined by the client and the site.
The business was established by Sharon Harris in 1992, and from day one its motto has been “Creating Individual Gardens“.
Sharon’s plant knowledge is extensive ranging from perennials, to grasses, to succulents, to cacti, to woodland, and more formal plantings. Sharon’s love of an eclectic variety of plant types enables her to create plant combinations which challenge what is normally expected in a planting design.
There is a strong emphasis on plants in her designs as opposed to relying heavily on hard landscaping, with the plants and planting fundamental in creating both form and structure. Sharon’s designs both large and small gardens in Melbourne and Mornington Peninsula and now in Eastern Victoria and South-Eastern NSW where she lives in Bendock.
SHARON'S PHILOSOPHY
The underlying philosophy in my design practice is that a garden should be a space that speaks to the soul; when all the elements in a garden are in balance no one aspect of the garden stands out. When all the elements work together a space is created that welcomes and envelops you. Gardens need to be practical as well as beautiful, function and beauty can be, and should be, the same thing. To ensure that these two aspects are seamless is what influences all my decisions in both my own garden and in my designs. Gardens are not static, they are living, dynamic works of art that should be beautiful and liveable.
Fundamental to me as my role as a garden designer is to create a garden that a client would create for themselves if they had the ability to. A Garden is something different to each person and the role of a garden designer is to understand the client, their requirements and their needs… Whether the garden is to be a simple garden in layers of different greens; a vegetable garden; a drought tolerant garden; a meadow garden or a shade garden, or a combination of many different styles. The most important thing to remember is that it is not my garden but the client’s garden.
A space that is as peaceful as it is beautiful. No matter what challenges we face as garden designers, this is the kind of designed space I always strive for.
OPPORTUNITY FARM
Opportunity Farm