Edna Walling
Encyclopedia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
's most influential landscape designers
Landscape architecture
Landscape architecture is the design of outdoor and public spaces to achieve environmental, socio-behavioral, or aesthetic outcomes. It involves the systematic investigation of existing social, ecological, and geological conditions and processes in the landscape, and the design of interventions...
.
Walling grew up in the village of Bickleigh
Bickleigh
There are two settlements in Devon with the name Bickleigh:* Bickleigh, Mid Devon — a village near Tiverton* Bickleigh, South Hams — a village near Plymouth...
in Devon
Devon
Devon is a large county in southwestern England. The county is sometimes referred to as Devonshire, although the term is rarely used inside the county itself as the county has never been officially "shired", it often indicates a traditional or historical context.The county shares borders with...
, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
. When she was 14 years old she emigrated to New Zealand
New Zealand
New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...
and three years later moved with her family to Melbourne
Melbourne
Melbourne is the capital and most populous city in the state of Victoria, and the second most populous city in Australia. The Melbourne City Centre is the hub of the greater metropolitan area and the Census statistical division—of which "Melbourne" is the common name. As of June 2009, the greater...
, Victoria, Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
.
Walling studied horticulture at Burnley College
Burnley College
Burnley College is a further education college based in Burnley, Lancashire.- New College Site :Situated on Princess Way , Burnley in Lancashire...
and after some years as a jobbing gardener she commenced her own landscape design practice in the 1920s.
In the 1920s, Walling began to develop a village at Mooroolbark
Mooroolbark, Victoria
Mooroolbark is a suburb of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, 31 km east from Melbourne's central business district. Its Local Government Area is the Shire of Yarra Ranges. At the 2006 Census, Mooroolbark had a population of 19,335...
on the outskirts of Melbourne called Bickleigh Vale. With its unique collection of charming houses and gardens Bickleigh Vale is one of her most acclaimed achievements. The first cottage she built was for herself and named after the village of Sonning
Sonning
Sonning, occasionally called Sonning-on-Thames is a village and civil parish in the Borough of Wokingham in the English county of Berkshire, a few miles east of Reading. The village is situated on the River Thames and was described by Jerome K...
on the River Thames
River Thames
The River Thames flows through southern England. It is the longest river entirely in England and the second longest in the United Kingdom. While it is best known because its lower reaches flow through central London, the river flows alongside several other towns and cities, including Oxford,...
in England. She sold subdivisions of the land only to people who were prepared to accept designs for cottage and garden prepared by her.
In 1926, Walling began contributing regularly to Australian Home Beautiful. Her design practice grew and she worked across Australia, in Perth, Hobart, Sydney, and Buderim in Queensland. Her Victorian commissions included designing the lily pond for Coombe Cottage, Dame Nellie Melba's
Nellie Melba
Dame Nellie Melba GBE , born Helen "Nellie" Porter Mitchell, was an Australian operatic soprano. She became one of the most famous singers of the late Victorian Era and the early 20th century...
residence in Coldstream
Coldstream, Victoria
Coldstream is a locality and township within Greater Melbourne beyond the Melbourne metropolitan area Urban Growth Boundary, 36 km north-east from Melbourne's central business district. Its Local Government Area is the Shire of Yarra Ranges...
; Durrol for Mrs Stanley Allen Mount Macedon; Cruden Farm garden for Mrs Keith Murdoch (now Dame Elisabeth
Elisabeth Murdoch (senior)
Dame Elisabeth Joy Murdoch AC, DBE is an Australian philanthropist. She is the widow of Australian newspaper publisher Sir Keith Murdoch, and the mother of international media proprietor Rupert Murdoch. When Keith Murdoch was knighted, in 1933, she was styled Lady Murdoch...
), Langwarrin
Langwarrin, Victoria
Langwarrin is a suburb in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, 43 km south-east from Melbourne's central business district. Its Local Government Area is the City of Frankston...
(Gardening Australia website: Cruden Farm). One of her most intact NSW commissions is Markdale, Binda (http://www.markdale.com).
Her designs were heavily influenced by her experience of the Devon countryside as a child and designers such as Gertrude Jekyll
Gertrude Jekyll
Gertrude Jekyll was an influential British garden designer, writer, and artist. She created over 400 gardens in the UK, Europe and the USA and contributed over 1,000 articles to Country Life, The Garden and other magazines.-Early life:...
.
She was the author of several books on landscape design:
- Gardens in Australia 1943,
- Cottage and Garden in Australia 1947 and
- A Gardener's Log 1948
In the 1950s, Walling became interested in the conservation of roadside vegetation and was a prolific writer in the press on the subject as well as her 1952 book The Australian Roadside.
In 1967, she moved from Melbourne to Buderim.