With most of his recent works in Melbourne, Mr Martin is collaborating with landscape designer Red Rocket to create gardens in Camperdown that people will travel to see.

He is well known in the south-west for his Noorat garden Wigandia, which was twice voted Australia’s best garden and has featured in books and on television over the past decade.

Mr Martin said he was pleased to return to work in his quieter home community.

“This is a sea change from my usual metro work,” he said.

“I usually do city work, but thought ‘why not do a bit more locally’ and it’s a great collaboration. It could well be an ongoing thing because I’m certainly enjoying the fact I don’t have to commute to the city for it.”

He said his designing process considered the people using the garden and what they wanted represented. “I’m not interested in creating gardens about me. I want to create gardens for the people about the property.

“There are elements of plants from the 19th century, from the big squatting days through to modern times.”

Mr Martin said the historical significance of gardens was often overlooked in Australia.

It is a busy time for Mr Martin, with Dalian University of Technology in China featuring his Wigandia garden in a magazine and international design book.