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Jimmy Sing and Beci Orpin having a drink in her studio garden, with a brick graffiti wall and flowers behind them.

Yellow, white and purple flowers in an urban Melbourne garden. They're of varying heights with a brick wall in the background

Looking out into the courtyard garden from the studio, through wrought iron gates decorated with squares and circles.

Designer Beci Orpin checks what's blooming in her Brunswick studio yard with her garden designer Jimmy Sing.

Brunswick studio garden with soft edges

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Looking through the flowers and bushes towards the brick studio with a curved black corrugated iron roof.

Cosmos flowers extend into the sky against the backdrop of a brick wall with graffiti in Beci Orpin's Melbourne garden.

Beci Orpin, Jimmy Sing and a friend sit at outdoor furniture with drinks in her Brunswick studio garden.

Spear grass provides ground cover and is pictured alongside gravel and in front of a cement wall with graffiti.

  • (Austrostipa scabra) is a tough native that has tufts of feathery flower heads. Just watch out for the spiky seeds!
  • They've also used lots of — exotic flowering plants that are dormant during winter. "They are really fun on a budget because you can divide them in winter and spread them around," says Jimmy. It just takes a little patience to fill out a large space.
  • In summer, Beci says it's "all about the flowers." and have big, bright, daisy-shaped blooms. These need 4-6 hours of sun each day and to be kept moist during summer heat — a thick layer of woodchip mulch will help.
Cone flowers have a cone-shaped amber centre made of seeds that remain once the yellow petals have fallen off.

  • (Rudbeckia speciosa) bloom in summer and autumn. The flowers become interesting seed heads over time.
  • You may not think to include trees in a short-term garden, but (Viminaria juncea; pictured) and were selected for the taller layers as they grow quickly from a small size and have a relatively short life span. They can be transplanted in future or if they get left behind, at least the birds have had a home for a few years!
Crimson coloured fruit on a leafy sumac tree in a Melbourne garden, which can be transformed into the spice.

  • Ais a small tree that has surprised Beci and Jimmy with an abundance of fruit that can be processed into the versatile red spice. Growing food can be tricky if you don't have a lot of time or space, but adding one productive plant will add another layer of activity and interest to the space.
Close up of the the blue devil flower, which is a pale lavender colour with spikes like a star.

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