‘Unlike people, gardens never strive for perpetual youth – they want to look old from the day they were born. Their greatest glory comes with maturity.’ Thomas D. Church
Profile Matthew Stone has been working in the landscape gardening industry for more than 12 years, beginning as an apprentice of Yates Landscaping P/L in 1993. Matthew had the rare opportunity of learning his trade from one of Melbourne's original master landscapers, having completed gardens such as 'The Herb Garden' located in Melbourne's Royal Botanical Gardens. After completing his 3-year apprenticeship period under the watchful eye of this talented gentleman, Matthew's natural ability in the field enabled him to lead straight into working on the construction of the exquisite gardens of acclaimed Landscape Designer Paul Bangay, of PRB designs. During this period Matthew had the unique opportunity to benefit from the designs and teachings of a true genius in his profession. Following this period Matthew continued to diversify his experience by going on to work for one of Melbourne's largest commercial operators 'Warrandale Industries' on projects such as the 'Sanctuary Lakes' and 'Beacon Cove' estates along Port Phillip Bay, both of which have won numerous awards of excellence.
The idea for Outback Garden Concepts originally developed in Darwin in 1998 during a 12-month stint working on Darwin's beautiful tropical gardens in and around the Fannie Bay and Parap areas. It started on a small scale with a few basic tools that consisted of literally a wheelbarrow and several hand tools. After the completion of a contract in Sandy Bay, Tasmania, Matthew, in an attempt to bring all of this prior diverse and unique experience together, eventually positioned the business in Warrandyte, Melbourne. On the verge of the majestic Yarra Valley, Warrandyte is not far from where he was raised as a child. The business took off as a small gardening and landscape construction company with a modest base of clientele from the local area, and contacts that had been established over the years prior. Word of mouth promotions and a number of key clients saw the business expand to employ one full-time landscaper and several skilled labouring staff plus a part time bookkeeper. The tool inventory increased considerably to allow for a broader scale of landscaping and style of gardening, with multiple jobs being accomplished at the same time. Clientele extended to the inner eastern suburbs of Surrey Hills and South Melbourne and the outer eastern suburbs such as Belgrave, with occasional projects on the Mornongton Peninsula. Clients began to take Matthew and his team with them as they moved between properties and this, in Matthew's eyes, was a true sign of accomplishment. |
