Designed by Peter Donegan and built by Semken Landscaping, ‘A Moment in Time‚ presented by Daisy’s Garden Supplies has been awarded the People’s Choice Award for the Melbourne International Flower and Garden Show 2024.
The nine day build featured show garden is story of an Air Force veteran who returns to a place he hoped to be able to recall home and aims to show what is when there is no head stone to one who has not fallen and, though a body is not lost, there remains a mind that can never be the same as it was prior.
The garden features a fragmented path winding to an aged, grassed roof wood cabin and a Piper PA-28 Cherokee aircraft, the project that once was a wished for return to flight of a then younger man, not complete in its repair or trajectory stalled by tree growth over time, stimulated only by the turbulence of what comes with the witness of conflict.
The garden design was born during Peter’s time designing the gardens at 13th Century Château de Péronne (France) and the Irish World War 1 centenary peace garden.
Through collaboration with the Australian construction team the design has evolved to be set in South-Eastern Australia in the early 1980’s. The garden intends to highlight the difficulties some veterans may face when returning to their former lives or when trying to create a new path post service in the Air Force. Whilst this garden portrays an Australian setting, the obstacles and struggles our veterans may face are shared by their counterparts across the world.
The garden is in support of the Defence Force Welfare Association (DFWA) whose purpose is to promote and protect the interests of serving and former members of the Australian Defence Force and their families. We hope this project will honour the heritage and proud traditions of the Australian Defence Force.
The gardens intention is to highlight the struggles some may face when returning to civilian life post service in the armed forces and it has been an honour to hear the stories of veterans and their families and we thank all of those who have served, past or present.
May a safe and secure retirement await you and we hope you find your own moment in time in a place that brings you peace.
If you or a family member is in need of support help is available from many wonderful organisations such as Defence Force Welfare Association. We encourage you to reach out and discover how they can assist you.
Last year Donegan became the first Irish landscape architect invited and accepted to design at the Melbourne International Flower and Garden Show winning Gold Medal, which is the Southern Hemisphere’s largest and most prestigious flower show.
As well as being the designer selected to create the 2024 show’s featured garden, Donegan also returns to the Melbourne competition as a garden judge.
Peter Donegan Garden Design is an international and local landscape architecture and garden design practice based in Dublin, Ireland borne in 2001.
