LA MUXLOW, a landscape designer working on Wurundjeri Country across Warrandyte and surrounding suburbs, has again won first place at the Melbourne International Flower and Garden Show, this time in the balcony garden category for her garden “Immerse”.
Known for creating highly-considered, elegant gardens for new homes, extensions, acreage properties and pool landscapes, La Muxlow Gardens offers a personalised approach to all their projects.
As a local studio, the team brings a strong understanding of the area’s climate and soil conditions, delivering thoughtfully resolved plans and guiding clients through the entire construction process.
While Immerse was designed for a compact balcony setting, it was conceived to showcase the studio’s signature style: naturalistic elegance, considered colour and material selection, sculptural low-maintenance planting and inventive solutions for challenging spaces.
The show garden demonstrates how these principles can easily scale, forming part of a much larger residential landscape.
Built by Liven It Up Trade Services from Research and supported by Aumanns in Templestowe, Immerse transforms an exposed, overlooked balcony into a multifunctional garden room — a private sanctuary shaped for modern urban living.
Terracotta breeze blocks wrap the side, filtering wind and views of neighbouring buildings and the street below, while introducing warmth, patterned dappled light and a sense of enclosure.
Planting is layered across every plane, including irrigated overhead troughs that double as a pergola for shade.
Filled with low-maintenance trailing plants like Pelargonium, Hardenbergia, Rosemary and Sedums planted in light-weight soil mix, these trailing plants cascade down to create a new type of living green roof.
Draining down the central pergola post, into the wicking beds below, and then out to discharge, this planted pergola is designed to minimise water-use and keep maintenance to a minimum.
Custom-designed furniture allows the compact footprint to perform multiple roles.
A daybed converts into a two-seater sofa, a swing-out table adapts from workspace to lazy susan, and integrated storage keeps the space functional without clutter.
Features such as a copper pizza oven and concealed laundry further extend the usability of the garden, enabling it to transition seamlessly from quiet morning routines to entertaining and movies under the stars.
Photos: SATOMI MATSUMURA
In La’s words,
“Immerse is about creating a sense of escape and connection — even in the most exposed environments.
It shows how thoughtful design can completely transform the way a space is lived in.”
The garden captured attention at the show for its soft, welcoming quality, attention to detail and refined colour palette, reinforcing La Muxlow Gardens’ reputation for delivering deeply considered, liveable landscapes — no matter the scale.
