The Yarra Ranges sports some of the best yards and gardens, from little to large, but they don’t just design themselves.
In that case, who better than a local with an understanding of the lay of the land in the Yarra Ranges to help make your next landscaping vision a reality.
Principle, Landscape Designer, Horticulturist and Landscape Contractor at Australian Quality Landscaping (AQL) Wayne De Klijn is based in Seville and has 43 years of experience in all aspects of landscape design, consultancy, project management and landscape construction of a range of project types and scales.
Mr De Klijn ensures AQL strongly adheres to his high standards, ensuring they are articulate in design implementation, overseeing construction documentation and preparation of tender documents and quality assurance systems.
AQL has experience in anything you could want to incorporate into a garden, including:
Pools to enjoy in the summer sun
Water gardens and features fit for aquatic life
Material features and retaining walls to rejuvenate a space
Entertaining spaces to host friends and family
Bird havens for feathered friends to frequent
Native gardens for a natural and uniquely Australian outdoor environment
Vegetable and edible gardens for the growers who like it fresh.
Alongside Mr De Klijn at AQL are landscape architects Rhys Cousins and Shivanjli Khari.
Mr Cousins holds a Master of Landscape Architecture from RMIT University and is a creative practitioner working across design, art and landscape architecture in
practice at AQL and academia through his sessional staff positions at RMIT University and Melbourne University. His work looks to create spaces for meaningful experiences between people, through mediums such as landscape.
Ms Khari holds a Master of Landscape Architecture (1st Distinction) from the School of Planning and Architecture in Delhi, India with eight years of experience in the industry. Ms Khari is a creative individual who is not afraid to challenge the status quo and is driven by the quality of work. She believes successful design is not only good ideas, but also knowledge and the practicality that allows the design to be ultimately carried out.
Since AQL’s establishment, Mr De Kljn has been committed to providing opportunities for others in the industry, employing and mentoring nine landscape architect students to graduation and a further 10 to 12 qualified landscape architects over the years.
Such is the quality of the work at AQL, Mr De Klijn has been a guest lecturer at Melbourne University and AQL projects have been submitted as study cases, setting the standard for students set to uphold the quality of landscape design in the years to come.
Mr De Klijn has also been a judge at the Melbourne International Flower and Garden Show and will be at the event again this year from 29 March to 2 April providing free garden design consultation.
Before he joined the judging panel, Mr De Klijn’s work in Outdoor Landscape Design had also won him four gold medals, one silver medal and two bronze medals at Melbourne International Flower and Garden Show himself.
His accolades don’t end there, with 18 combined awards and commendations at the Landscape Industries Association Awards of Excellence.
