ABout
In 1996 Mary Graham established The Contrary Garden to offer design and consultation services to clients to help choose suitable garden styles for homes ranging from small courtyards to large scale estates. Garden themes are many and varied- coastal, Japanese, native, formal, controlled wild… or whatever your heart desires.
Mary can help you choose water features and other forms of ornamentation for your garden which suit both your personal sense of style and the architecture of your home.
The Contrary Garden has been featured on Burke's Backyard, Outdoor Design and Living and projects have been designed for Swinburne (2004 – Award for Best Waterwise Planting), South East Water (2005), Takasho (2010) at the Melbourne International Flower and Garden Show.
In 2008 The Contrary Garden became a member of Sustainable Gardening Australia’s ECLIPS (Environmentally Certified Landscape Industry Professionals) programme and Mary has been enthusiastically teaching clients about the virtues of sustainable gardening practices to help save our fragile environment.
Mary has been a member of The Mediterranean Garden Society since 1996. Overseas visits to Greece, Italy, France and Spain have inspired the use of Mediterranean plants in many of The Contrary Garden designs and more recent visits to South America, China and Iran have broadened her plant palette further in the use of plants that cope much better with drier conditions, while still creating a beautiful garden.
My Approach.
Concept Plans and Planting Plans can be drawn for you or Mary can simply advise you on the best ways to proceed with your project, paving choices, plant selection and lighting.
This process will ensure that your garden reflects your personality, and also that you are able to learn about plant tending and care without stress. Your garden will be your unique oasis of calm and serenity in today’s busy world.
In every project, Mary begins by listening and observing on site, assessing the architecture, site conditions and personal client style, to enable their dream garden to become a reality.
