Designing Australian Bush Gardens

Betty Maloney (1925-2001) and her sister Jean Walker were pioneers of Australian bush gardening design.

Betty’s garden in Frenchs Forest (Sydney) was, in her lifetime, the most celebrated and best-known bush garden in Australia. Betty and her husband Reginald purchased the Frenchs Forest land in 1954 to build a home, but instead of clearing the land (as was typical practice at the time), kept much of the native bush which became the basis for the garden.

Maloney illustrated and co-authored 15 books including, with her sister Jean Walker, Designing Australian bush gardens (1966) and More about bush gardens (1967). The former was based largely on the Maloneys own garden.