About the event
Celebrate National Water Week with Goulburn Valley Water and discover how to create gardens that thrive in our region’s dry summer climate. Join landscape architect Louise Costa and native plant specialist Cathy Olive as they share practical, inspiring ideas to help you design a garden that’s both beautiful and climate-resilient.
Whether you’re starting from scratch or looking to refresh your existing garden, you’ll leave with new confidence and a toolkit of ideas suited to your space. Every participant attending in-person will also receive a copy of the brand-new Let’s Grow: Waterwise Gardens handbook, developed with Louise and Cathy.
Meet the Experts
Louise Costa, a landscape architect from Rushworth, is one of Victoria’s foremost advocates on drought tolerant gardens and a celebrated figure with the Gardens for Wildlife program.
She is well known for her involvement in major garden projects throughout the region, having had a lead role in the design of the Shepparton Botanical Gardens at Kialla, the Climate Ready Garden at the Euroa Arboretum, the wedding deck and seating area at Mitchelton wines, and a major landscaping project at Winton Wetlands.
Participants will discover how Louise creates stunning gardens of all sizes that thrive with minimal watering. Her designs not only look beautiful but also support local wildlife habitats.
Cathy is the Development Manager at the Euroa Arboretum. She has worked in environmental education and landscape restoration in the Goulburn Broken catchment for the past 30 years.
In this time, Cathy has been collecting seeds, growing and planting native flora locally. Understanding where plants grow in their natural environments gives her a unique understanding of how those plants will grow in your garden and behave in cultivation.
Cathy will explore a variety of plants that complement Louise’s garden designs, focusing on those that are both practical and visually appealing. Her presentation will cover options for groundcovers, shrubs of all sizes, trees, and more.
Can’t make it in person?
A livestream will also be available so you can join from home.