Sow What?: Styling in the garden

Tucked into the back of uber cool store Don't Tell Phyliss is this tiny boutique plant nursery and home to Sow What urban landscape design practice. Soon to undergo a major restructure, Sow What products will soon be intergrated throughout Unit Concepts (Braddon) and Don't tell Phyliss (Kingston) giving owner and principal designer Melanie Neist more time to do what she loves best... designing hot courtyards, baclonies and living interior and exteriorscapes for Canberra's homes and commercial spaces.

Plants stocked are "different to the run-of-the-mill offerings" says Mel of her sculptural and often striking forms. With quirky touches like plants in delicate teacups and in the coolest hanging bird feeder, anything goes.

So what are the garden trends in Canberra right now? "Gardens are getting smaller so we find ourselves specialising in small gardens: balconies and courtyards for the most part. And clients want double duty from their gardens, so we are designing alot of edible gardens, with herbs and dwarf fruit trees which are fantastic for smaller spaces."

And on the drawing board right now are designs for 2 exhibition gardens for Gardening Australia's exhibit at the My Place Expo, currently traveling the country, the expo will be in Canberra April 5 and 6.

Look out for some new high end show-stopping products for your garden toward the end of the year, but for now Sow What are having a moving sale... don't tell Phyliss ;-)