Melbourne based, Eugene Gilligan Garden Design was established in 1986, expanding to include a horticultural division in 2003 to establish and maintain designs from concept to maturity. Their  diverse porfolio ranges from city courtyards to family gardens and larger scale properties, LUXURY LIST spoke to Director, Eugene Gilligan about his business.

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What was the inspiration for establishing Eugene Gilligan Garden Design in 1986 

Gardening was my hobby from a very early age - I was lucky to have grown up in a large garden in the eastern suburbs, so most Saturdays were spent working with plants and maintaining our home garden. My parents gave me the freedom to experiment with various areas of the garden, adding terraces, vegetable and picking gardens. Establishing my own practice seemed a natural step forward.

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What do you enjoy most about your profession

I really enjoy working on the initial concept design stage for new projects. As well as this, I love working alongside my staff on plant placement and planting new gardens.                                                                                          

EGGD has built a portfolio of both classical and contemporary garden designs. Where do you draw inspiration for each project?

We draw our inspiration from our clients lifestyle, the architecture of the site and the site’s location and conditions. 

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EGGD offers a complete service of design, soft landscaping and maintenance, how does this benefit your clients?

I am able to work alongside my specialist horticultural team, EG Horticulture to oversee the installation of the soft landscaping for our projects. This is a huge benefit to our clients as it creates a seamless link between our design and the installation of the project while also allowing us to be involved in the project from concept to completion. EG Horticulture then goes onto to maintain our gardens into the future which allows us to see the gardens as they mature. 

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What advice would you give to a new client? 

Designing gardens and achieving consistent successful outcomes is not easy. Select a designer who has a strong portfolio of work and a reputation of high quality established gardens. Good designers will also introduce you to great builders and contractors which will allow you to bring the design to life. 

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What is the most interesting brief you’ve been given by a client? 

To design a chaotic, jungle-like garden. 

Did you take it on? 

Yes - although we created a more controlled jungle instead! 

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Do you have a favourite project?

I have an attachment to some of my early gardens but no particular favourite. Every job is different and I have favourite parts of them all. You can find more images of our gardens on our Instagram page @eugenegilligandesign

In the whole world, which is your favourite garden design? 

That’s a difficult question - one of my very favourite designers is Fernando Caruncho, I particularly like his design for Casa del Agua in Greece.

Why?

The stonework, combined with the beautiful transition in levels, and simplicity and repetition of planting palette is extraordinary.

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What are your hobbies outside of landscape architecture?

Most of my weekends are spent in my own garden. I also like longboard surfing along the west coast in Victoria, and have an interest in 911 Porsche cars. I recently started an instagram page @egworkshops where I post about my cars and other cars I enjoy in my spare time. 

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