WA's best gardens

A Burns Beach garden by eScape Landscape Architecture, one of the winners of the 2014 LIAWA awards.

WA homeowners are increasingly seeking professional help to boost the value of their 'fifth rooms', according to Landscape Industries Association of Western Australia (LIAWA) executive director Esther Ngang.

Ms Ngang said this year's LIAWA awards, which were announced earlier this month, highlighted the increasing value homeowners were placing on their gardens and their willingness to invest in creating amazing spaces.

"We've noticed it is more and more common for homeowners to obtain professional design drawings and engineering details for the install of an alfresco, a pool and spa, plus all the other mod cons," she said.

"This is an indication that people realise the long-term enjoyment of replicating your fifth room on your favourite holiday resort, so it can be enjoyed year-round."

The awards, jointly presented by LIAWA and Irrigation Australia, recognise the best gardens and commercial projects across the State.

Big winners included Ryan Healy's Newforms Landscape Architecture and Matt Huxtable's Phase3 Landscape Construction, who saw their team work on the Mundaring Weir Project take out three awards. Mr Huxtable's winning streak continued on his joint entry with Josh Byrne & Associates (JBA), winning the overall contractor award for the Josh's House project in Hilton.

JBA also took out the sustainable (residential) category for the project, which well-known environmental scientist and Gardening Australia presenter Byrne devised to showcase sustainable design in action.

"I was thrilled to win the three awards, especially the award for the overall winner in the contractor category," Byrne said. What made it so special was that this project really has been about team work, and sharing our ideas, winning an award like this is great recognition.

"I think what made our project stand out was that it is a clear demonstration of how a range of sustainability measures can be integrated into a home and landscape that is also beautiful and cost-effective.

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WA's best gardens