Gardener on the Rise

Brenton Roberts, winner of Better Homes and Gardens ‘Garden of the Year 2023’, enjoys creating beauty, and making his home look its best.

Brenton's topiary corkscrews of Cupressus lusuitanica are a statement piece in the garden, and together with the clipped buxus balls, carry the garden throughout the seasons.

When horticulturist Brenton Roberts arrives home, hears the pleasant crunch of the gravel under the dappled light of Manchurian pears lining the drive, he leaves behind his day at the office and enters a calm, therapeutic space. He and his wife Libby purchased the property in 2012, five acres on a hillside with an original stone cottage and overgrown garden.



After clearing the slope at the front of the house, they set about creating two wide terraces. Brenton worked to a plan with his plantings, propagating plants suitable for the dry conditions, including echium, Sedum ‘Autumn Joy’ and S. ‘Matrona’, teucrium, lavender, euphorbias, bearded iris, agastache, and salvias, which he loves for their non-stop flowering. Grassy Miscanthus sinensis and Calamagrostis x acutiflora provide year-round interest. The varying textures and largely grey-green colours of the garden are enchanting.

The varying textures and largely grey-green layers punctuated with seasonal colour make for an enchanting scene.

Brenton planted cypress hedges to serve as a windbreak, particularly around the crushed quartz terrace where they often entertain. Additionally, he included London plane trees in this area to enhance the space and provide shade for their outdoor gatherings.



Brendon loves to clip, and his wonderful topiary corkscrews of Cupressus lusitanica are a showstopping feature of the garden, along with espaliered Manchurian pears, grapes and figs. There are many clipped ‘balls’ of English and Japanese buxus dispersed through the garden, providing structure and layers of colour.

Manchurian pears, underplanted with Sedum 'Autumn Joy' line the gravel driveway.

When they sank a bore in 2017 to get better water supply, the planting palette increased to include glossy dark green buxus and rhaphiolepis, used as hedging plants and more topiary balls.



While Brenton perfects the garden at the front of the house, Libby spends her time removing weeds and regenerating the bush at the back of the block. Their home has a gorgeous bushland setting. Our Ross Tour group were lucky to encounter a koala in an adjacent tree when we visited!

The family home is festooned with Crimson glory vine (Vitis coignetiae) and an espaliered Manchurian pear.

When asked about the challenges he has faced, Brenton declares the steep slope and the wind have been most difficult. He wishes he had planted windbreaks earlier rather than choosing the distant views. Branches of the Manchurian pears that line the steep drive will snap off easily in high winds – Brenton has sadly decided that he will need to pollard them to resist damage.



Inspiration for the garden has come from famous European gardens such as Villa d’Este and Versailles, as well as designers Piet Oudolf, Michael McCoy and Paul Bangay. The gift of a design consultation with Paul helped him sharpen his plans.

When asked his favourite season, Brenton admits he loves them all. The bare structure in winter, blooms in summer and grasses and colour in autumn. However, spring has the edge, as the pear blossom underplanted with re-emerging sedums are a thrill after the long bare winter.

Brenton’s garden tips:

• Plant windbreaks early

• Repeat successful plantings and propagate plants to keep costs down

• Don’t be afraid to clip! If you make a mistake, it will regrow. Practice on simple, fast growing plants.

Brenton and Libby with their youngest children, Maya and Billy.