ABOUT THE EVENT:

On Tuesday 29th October at the Red Mill Distillery, Balmain, join Paul Bangay & Richard Unsworth in conversation with Robin Powell.

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.

Garden designer Richard Unsworth offers advice on how to select landscape materials that sit effortlessly in the landscape, planting combinations that thrive in different settings, and discusses principles of bush regeneration and restoration. Whether large or small, urban
or rural, every garden and every gardener can benefit from wildening their surroundings to reconnect with nature.

Copies of Big Garden Design and The Natural Gardener will be available for purchase at the venue through Roaring Stories, with Bangay and Unsworth signing copies after the discussion.

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ABOUT THE VENUE

We are thrilled to announce a new addition to our lineup of venue partners for author events. Red Mill, located in the heart of White Bay, offers guests an exceptional experience within their distillery.

Red Mill is based in the historic White Bay Steelworks, just across from the inner-west icon, the White Bay Power Station. Red Mill makes small batches of high-quality Rum to age in a special barrel program, blended and bottled in their wonderful, industrial home. Visiting Red Mill is a chance to see the workings of an artisanal distillery, in the historic surrounds of this remarkable building. Refreshments available to purchase include wine, beer and a signature Red Mill cocktail. We look forward to welcoming you to this unique venue. Entrance via red door on Mullens Street.

Attendees are asked to arrive at 6.30pm for a 7pm start. Seating is unallocated – another reason to arrive early to secure an optimal spot.

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ABOUT THE BOOKS

Big Garden Designs

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 allée 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.

The Natural Gardener

From the earliest crop plantings to the most elaborate formal gardens, humans have cultivated gardens for millennia. Recently there has been a shift away from clean lines and perfectly trimmed hedges to more naturalistic plantings: the new natural garden is considered and curated, taking its cues from the surrounding landscape. Plants are laid out asymmetrically, but still are balanced, random in appearance, as though seeds have blown in and germinated where they fell.

Garden designer Richard Unsworth offers advice on how to select landscape materials that sit effortlessly in the landscape, planting combinations that thrive in different settings, and discusses principles of bush regeneration and restoration. Whether large or small, urban or rural, every garden and every gardener can benefit from wildening their surroundings to reconnect with nature.

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ABOUT PAUL BANGAY

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 twelve books on garden design.

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ABOUT RICHARD UNSWORTH

Richard Unsworth is a garden designer, writer and the owner of outdoor design store Garden Life based in Sydney. He has contributed to the garden pages of both Belle and Good Weekend magazines. Passionate about the natural environment, he spends his free time restoring the garden at his heritage home in Pittwater, and helping people better connect with nature and with each other through a series of bushwalks to raise money for the Indigenous Literacy Foundation. His previous book include Garden Life (2014) and The City Gardener, which published in 2021.

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ABOUT THE HOST - ROBIN POWELL

Robin Powell was for many years the garden columnist for The Sydney Morning Herald. She is also a garden tour leader, a role that takes her to gardens around the country and further afield introducing travellers to wonderful gardens and the people who make them. Robin gardens in Sydney’s inner west.

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TERMS & CONDITIONS

Refunds

Please note that tickets are non-refundable unless the event is cancelled or postponed due to extenuating circumstances. Refunds are not issued within 48 hours notice of event date. Humanitix fee is nonrefundable.

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This event is presented by Roaring Stories Bookshop Balmain and Thames & Hudson

With thanks to our venue partner Red Mill.

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Paul Bangay & Richard Unsworth in conversation with Robin Powell

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