David and Alison Aplin’s garden won the sustainable landscape section, announced at a ceremony held at the Grand Hyatt in Melbourne.

“We entered a portion of our own private garden covering 1600m2,” Mrs Aplin said.

“Sustainability has been a passion of mine for 30 years. We have been practising garden design and landscaping for a very long time.

“My background is horticulture which means my knowledge of sustainability comes through plants. In our garden I have followed the practise of the three Rs — reuse, reduce, recycle.”

Mrs Aplin incorporated a number of initiatives to increase the sustainability of the garden.

“It is how the site is interpreted at the outset, with professional eyes, that makes gardens sustainable. We have won numerous awards in the past, but this is the icing on the cake,” she said. 

“I’ve used a mix of native and exotic plants and we also have lawn which provides cooler ambient temperatures.

“We have a massive collection of trees which help to insulate our home in summer. We also collect our water to irrigate new plantings.”

The Timandra garden has a very diverse plant range, that provides nourishments for different types of birds.

“We were absolutely stunned and very proud at the same time,” Mrs Aplin said.