It's not just plants that shift when you move between regions.
Materials do too.
In Connecticut, I worked with a familiar palette.
Granite.
Bluestone (Sandstone).
Fieldstone.
Steel edging.
Construction details shaped by freeze-thaw cycles and seasonal change.
There was a predictability in how things were built — and how they aged.
In Melbourne, that changes.
Brick.
Bluestone (basalt).
Castlemaine stone.
Timber edging.
Different materials. Different availability. Different performance under heat, UV, and dry conditions.
What holds up well in one climate doesn't always translate to another.
And neither do the details.
That shifts decisions early:
- what materials you choose
- how you detail edges and joints
- how surfaces perform over time
It's not just about how something looks.
It's about how it lasts.
And like planting, instinct only takes you so far.
You must understand how materials behave in that specific context.
Design isn't just about selecting materials — it's about how they perform where they're placed.
And that same thinking carries into the next layer of design: water.
For landscape architects and designers — how have material choices or detailing changed when you've worked in a different region?