Our Story

Before 2010 I was a fanatical gardener on the North Shore of Sydney, Scott Bonner mower, Buxus hedges etc. However, in January 2010 I had a swimming accident whilst on holiday, which left me a quadriplegic. My daughter, Jacqueline (Jacqui), was about to start a degree in Landscape Architecture at UNSW. During her degree, for which she was awarded Honours, we would discuss at length the latest global trends in built landscapes. It was during this period that we discovered the new perennial movement and the incredible work of Piet Oudolf and other perennial movement pioneers. In 2016 I started looking for a farm with a garden that I could redevelop into my dream garden using the philosophies of these perennial movement pioneers. In February 2017 we found the ideal blank canvas at Ladysmith in the NSW Riverina.

The garden is now complete, but along the way we established a nursery to supply the volume and species of plants we needed for our garden. We are now passionate to share this truly magnificent new approach to gardeners in the Riverina, Victoria and Australia.

To improve the drought tolerance and resilience of the perennials, we collect seed banks each year from our garden and propagate them. Each new generation is becoming even more voracious in the climate of our region.

Our philosophy emanated from the many influential Horticulturalists and Landscape Architects worldwide such as Dan Pearson, Tom Stuart Smith, Piet Oudolf, Beth Chatto and Noel Kingsbury. Please feel free to Google them, especially Piet Oudolf’s garden on the Highline in New York.

The new perennial movement is about creating a garden with a wild and naturalistic aesthetic that works in symbiosis with the surrounding environment. Perennials and ornamental grasses are typically used in sweeping drifts of colour and repetitious combinations to mimic the patterns and rhythms found in nature.

Brett Stevenson

Gardening Enthusiast and Ideas Man
A self-professed gardening aficionado, Brett was inspired to leave behind his formal gardening ways and join the new perennial movement with his daughter Jacqui. Originally from the Central West, Brett runs a national Grain Marketing business from his new (flower-filled) post in the Riverina.
Jacqui Stevenson

Landscape Architect and Perennial Lover
Jacqui’s biggest inspiration is Horticulturalist and Landscape Architect Piet Oudolf. He inspires her to create organic and naturalistic landscape designs suited to the Australian climate. Her goal is to encourage people to spend more time outdoors in their gardens watching them evolve and change with the seasons. Jacqui discovered a lack of supply of the perennial species required, in particular those with genetic moderation to the Riverina region. This inspired her to create a nursery to provide garden enthusiasts in the Riverina and Victoria with these amazing plant species.
Lyn Percival

Nursery and Propagation Manager and Steve Irwin of Gardening
Lyn, our Nursery Manager, has worked in a variety of beautiful, large scale country gardens over the last 20 years in the Riverina. Lyn looks after our nursery and our showpiece garden, ensuring that all the species we grow are suited to the sometimes harsh conditions of the region.
Madeline Menzies

LPP Head Honcho
Originally from a little Central Western town called Nyngan, Maddie left the Sydney seaside to move to Wagga at the beginning of 2020. It was here that she met Jacqui, and like all great friendships, it was born out of a shared fence and a shared passion for kitchen gardening (not to mention some healthy garden competition). Over the years Maddie has dabbled in Landscape Architecture and Interior Design and has recently completed her Certificate III in Conservation and Ecosystem Management. As a lover of colour, beauty and seamless design, the atmospheric gardens of the perennial movement offer endless inspiration.

As Seen In

Ladysmith Park Perennials takes centre stage in the pages of Graziher Magazine’s Winter 2022 Issue #27.

Within the article, Graziher Magazine beautifully captures the essence of our very own landscape garden project and the journey that led to this remarkable chapter in our story.

Check us out in Gardening Australia too, with a segment focusing on how it all came to be with Brett and Jacqui.