Gardens That Inspired My Meadow Phone Cases

I have always been in love with flowers. From being a little girl and picking flowers from the garden to ‘attempt’ to make into perfume with friends, to exploring parks, gardens and bushland, being outdoors in nature amongst flowers was always special to me. There is a sense of peace in a garden that I can’t seem to find anywhere else.

So it only makes sense that flowers are my favourite subject matter, and that I love to visit gardens for inspiration. The vibrant colours, the intricate patterns of petals and leaves, the delicate balance between order and chaos — all these elements come together to create a living masterpiece that changes with every season. I thought I’d share with you all three beautiful Victorian gardens that inspired my Meadow phone case series.

Alowyn Gardens

Yarra Glen, Victoria

Spanning over seven acres of manicured gardens, Alowyn Gardens can feel like you have stepped into a different world. This botanical paradise is located in Yarra Glen, Victoria. Hedged in from the outside world, this immersive garden is made up of multiple different types of gardens. From the more formal parterre and French provincial gardens, to the kitchen gardens and forest gardens, each piece of square metre of earth is something special.

The true centre piece of Alowyn Gardens is the grand wisteria archway —  a tunnel of cascading purple flowers that creates an ethereal atmosphere. It inspired me to design phone cases with looser floral motifs, that seem to flow over the edges. The silver birch forest with its stark white trunks against a backdrop of green foliage inspired designs featuring contrasting colours and textures. Towering hedges gives each space in Alowyn Gardens a secret garden essence, bringing back whimsical storybook memories, a vibe that I wanted to capture in my designs. The wildflowers growing in the forest gardens, and the blossoms in the kitchen garden and crab apple walk inspired the shapes of the dainty little flowers that form the intricate Meadow patterns.

There is something so calming about being in Alowyn Gardens. I could spend all day there and still have more to explore. They also have a cafe next to the maple courtyard, as well as a wonderful nursery stocked with over 1000 species to inspire your own green thumb. I love to go there in different seasons and see how the garden changes. I’m sure it won’t be long until I’m back there finding more inspiration for future designs.

Tesselaar Kabloom: Festival of Flowers

Silvan, Victoria

Tesselaar, located in Silvan, is truly a spectacular sight to see. Far more open than Alowyn Gardens, and planted seasonally, Tesselaar is all about row planting, with giant ribbons of flowers spreading through the open fields and downhill in a dramatic fashion, flowing like a wave of brightly coloured blooms. It really does have a festival atmosphere, with food trucks, entertainment and activities available. There are literally a million brightly coloured flowers to see, all planted together like someone has painted the landscape in coloured waves.

Yet my favourite part was the wildflower garden nestled at the bottom of the hill, by the quaint windmills, where all the off cuts and seedlings had been left to grow wild. Walking through the path that cut between the overflowing flowers, it felt like I was in an English cottage garden. There was something far more wild and whimsical about this little patch of tranquillity compared to the structure of the perfect rows of blooms that is Tesselaar’s trademark. For me, the magic is when you look closer at all the individual blooms, as it is the shapes, colours and textures of the flowers that intrigue me. There were many bright colours (I must admit I am usually a more pastel kind of girl), but I did find the bright purple blooms particularly striking. The Tesselaar Festival of Flowers truly was an impressive sight to see. I actually went during their Kabloom festival, so there weren’t any tulips! But I look forward to going back during their tulip season.

High Country Gardens and Maze

Goughs Bay, Victoria

Nestled amongst the mountains of high country Victoria and surrounded by bushland overflowing with gum trees and tea-tree, this garden is a little treasure. What was once a bare paddock, this maze and gardens is like stepping into a hidden gem. Planted in 2004 and enduring six years of drought, this maze towers above and stands strong. (There really is something so magical and fun about a maze.) Once you find your way out of the maze, there are many beautiful garden rooms to explore. The gardens themselves feel almost labyrinth like, leaving you wondering what you will discover around every corner, with sculptures and deciduous trees scattered throughout.

Whilst the hedge gardens, tree avenue, rose gardens and lavender garden are all stunning, it is the more wild cottage inspired gardens that have my heart. The little, rambling flowers is what I was drawn to for my designs. The perennial plants, including the asters, were just gorgeous. Perennial plants are so beautiful yet hard wearing — surviving the variations in seasons to flourish. There is great strength to their beauty.

These picturesque gardens nestled in the Victorian high country really are worth a visit (and kids love the maze and hunting for gnomes). There’s also a lovely cafe amongst the trees and an art gallery too. The gardens are located 15 minutes from Mansfield, but make you feel like you are in Europe, amongst French and English gardens.

All in all, it was definitely the cottage type gardens that inspired my Meadow series the most. For me, I think that the charm of cottage gardens lies in their seemingly haphazard arrangement. However, upon closer inspection, one can see the careful planning that goes into creating a harmonious blend of colours, shapes, and textures. This is also true with pattern design. Whilst the patterns appear to look organic and natural, great thought is taken with the placement of each flower. Oftentimes it takes many variations of the one pattern to get the balance just right. It is important to me that the design captures the feeling of being in a garden.

Every flower has a story to tell. I wanted my Meadow series to feel as if you are wandering through your own little cottage garden every time you pick up your phone. Life can be so busy and hectic — it is nice to have a little slice of nature.

If you are looking for a magical garden to visit, you won’t be disappointed with either of these three beautiful gardens.