Big Garden Design by Paul Bangay

A garden that cannot be seen in one glance entices people to step outside with a sense of wonder. Landscape designer Paul Bangay has an extraordinary ability to envisage scale and create gardens that feel as though they've been there forever. These gardens are places to explore.

They emerge from the countryside, with borrowed landscapes and dramatic views as key elements. Within each design, Paul creates spaces that bring a different experience of the garden. Vast lawns are bordered by wild grass terraces or dramatic herbaceous borders that flower all year round. An allee of trees directs the eye to mountains in the distance. Outdoor dining areas create intimate vantage points within the broader scale. Jasmine-covered walls diffuse exquisite scent on summer nights.

From grand gardens in France to a forest grown from saplings, join Paul on this tour de force of projects complete with lakes, mountains and walled gardens. For each project, Paul shares the design process, as well as garden plans and extensive planting lists.

Simon Griffiths' photography of these gardens from around the world captures the sublime form, light and generous landscapes.

Big Garden Design documents a designer who relishes the challenge of working at scale and the principles of landscape design from the most precise detail to the grandest vista.

About the Author

Paul Bangay OAM holds a Bachelor of Applied Science (Horticulture) from The University of Melbourne. In 1994 he was granted a Victorian Arts Centre travelling scholarship to further his study of landscape design in Europe and the Americas. He won the Mobil Pegasus Award for the best contribution to the Melbourne International Festival of the Arts (1989). In 2001 Bangay was awarded the Centenary Medal for his contribution to public design projects and in 2018 he was awarded a Medal of the Order of Australia (OAM) for service to landscape architecture. Since 2020 he has served as a trustee for Cruden Farm, and since 2018 as an ambassador for Prince's Trust Australia. He is the author of eleven books on garden design.