A garden, a maker and the flowers between: Jess Wood’s Maleny paradise

Some afternoons just stay with you. The kind where time slows down, conversations wander and the kids disappear into the garden and come back with grubby hands and flowers. That’s exactly how it felt visiting Jess.

Jess is the maker behind the instagram account @herbmeetsfleur, where she shares the most beautiful, moody images of flower arrangements all grown and gathered from her garden. I'm embarrassed to admit that I knew Jess as a fellow local but I didn't know about her garden and all the beauty she creates until very recently, so I wasted no time reaching out to discover more. 

We spent the afternoon wandering her garden in Maleny chatting all things plants, gardens and creativity while our kids played amongst the blooms. It’s one of those gardens that reveals itself slowly with terraces, dry stone walls and pockets of flowers everywhere you look. There’s a feeling to it that’s hard to describe, thoughtful, enchanting, relaxed and clearly ever evolving.

A life shaped by making

Jess grew up in the leafy inner eastern suburbs of Melbourne, surrounded by creativity from a young age. “I’m an only child and my mother always encouraged me to craft. She and I would sit for hours together making.” She spent a lot of time with her grandparents too, where her Pop had a prolific vegetable garden. She remembers picking strawberries and carrots and climbing the apple tree, simple moments that clearly stayed with her. Later came horses and years spent riding and being outdoors, which gave her a strong connection to the natural world.

She went on to study nursing, a career she describes as grounding and incredibly rewarding. “Caring for people is a great privilege. Every shift reminds you of the precious nature of life and good health.”

Alongside that, her creative side continued to evolve. After moving to Fremantle in her twenties, she took up ceramics and fell in love with pottery, something she still practices today - using her creations to hold flowers from her garden. She has a separate instagram account for these creations which is @woodmeetsclay.

Now, as a mum of two young kids - Eva and Landon, her days are a mix of “tending to little people, plants or patients”, which feels like such a beautiful way to describe it. The garden has become another creative outlet for her and a place to find a bit of calm.

Creating a garden from scratch

The garden itself began as a pretty big leap. In 2021, Jess and her partner Matt made the move from a two bedroom apartment in Fremantle to 3.5 acres in Maleny, without having seen the property in person. When they arrived, it was completely overgrown, more jungle than garden but the north eastern view made it feel worth it straight away. The main house looks out over a eucalypt lined valley and down the hill there’s a dam that attracts an incredible amount of birdlife, even a resident platypus.

Rather than rushing in, Jess approached it slowly. She volunteered at the local Barung Landcare nursery to learn about plants in the area, observed the garden for a full year, and then began sketching out a plan. With the help of a local dry stone wall builder, those early ideas started to take shape across the steep slope. “When you don’t have a blank slate the process has to be a bit more organic,” she said, and you can really feel that in the way the garden has come together.

Originally Jess was drawn to naturalistic perennial planting, inspired by designers like Piet Oudolf. But after experimenting in a small test patch, she discovered a love for growing and arranging cut flowers and the whole vision shifted. Without any flat land for a traditional cutting garden she began weaving flowers throughout the landscape instead. It makes picking for a bouquet a bit more of an adventure but also gives the garden a really layered, immersive feel.

The Joy in it all

“It’s a gardener’s garden,” she said. “It never looks the same one year to the next.” Some plants thrive and self seed, others don’t quite work and are moved on. It’s constantly changing and she sees it now as a lifelong project rather than something to ever be finished.

When I asked what brings her the most joy, her answer was simple. “Observing the process of a flower go from a seed to bloom never ceases to amaze me.” She spoke about those small, fleeting moments, a poppy opening or aniris unfurling, and how they still make her stop and take it all in.

Favourite flowers are hard to choose, but for Jess, scent plays a big role. She loves the rose Jude the Obscure, and tuberose, both for their incredible fragrance.

Of course, it hasn’t all been easy. The combination of steep land, heavy summer rain and dry winters makes gardening here a challenge. “Everything has to be carted by hand,” she said. Plants can rot in the wet, then struggle again as the clay soil dries and cracks. Over time, she’s learnt to work with those conditions, choosing plants that can handle both extremes and slowly adding paths to make the garden more manageable.

A love of sharing 

One of the things I loved most was hearing how Jess shares what she grows. She regularly puts together beautiful, generous bouquets for friends and I was lucky enough to take one home. It filled our living room with colour for a full week. “One thing about gardeners, they’re a generous bunch,” she said, and it really is true.

She also shared a simple way to think about creating a bouquet, which I thought was so helpful. It comes down to three shapes, umbels, spires and discs, layered together with foliage. From there, you can add grasses, seed heads or anything a bit unexpected. “The more whimsy the better,” she said. The spiralling technique takes practice, but part of the joy is simply playing with what you’ve picked and seeing how it comes together.

Jess mentioned she’d love to run workshops one day, teaching people how to create their own seasonal bouquets from what they grow. After spending time in her garden, I have no doubt they’d be something really special.

Her garden is still unfolding, and I think that’s what makes it so lovely. It’s not trying to be perfect. It’s thoughtful, creative and full of life, a space that reflects both the landscape around it and the person tending it. A really beautiful reminder that gardens don’t need to be finished to be meaningful.

Photography by Julia Rose Vanharen @julia.rose.vanharen