A New Zealand landscape designer has again achieved international recognition, winning gold and Best Feature Garden at China’s prestigious Shenzhen Greater Bay Area Flower Show, one of just seven global masters selected for the competition.
Jules Moore, who owns JM Landscape Design and Touch of the Tropics Garden Centre in Auckland’s Whenuapia, was invited to represent New Zealand at the expo after submitting a portfolio of previous gold medal wins spanning her 45-year career.
“Ocean’s Edge” is reminiscent of the New Zealand coastline and the bounty that comes from the sea, says Jules. “We have such a profound connection to the coast, and I think every New Zealander is touched by it in some way – walking along the beach, building sandcastles, fishing off the rocks, or going yachting, surfing or swimming.”
Collaborating with co-designer and daughter Alayna Bradbury and son James Moore, along with her colleague Ru Zhang who accompanied her to China, Jules brought to life a seaside scene featuring the legend of Maui – represented by a galvanised steel hook, paua slab steepers and some 2,500 plants surrounding a mammoth conch shell centrepiece.
“I chose a conch because of its spiral interior, symbolising the connection between the sea and the inner ear, and the way we listen to the ocean through a shell.”
The 160 square metre design, assembled on-site in Shenzhen, features hundreds of purple flax, lupins and succulents, all sourced in China to represent the colours of the Kiwi coast.
Maui’s hook was transported through customs then welded onsite by Chinese craftspeople – and New Zealand’s stunning waves were represented using an elaborate curved pipe and water system, recycled blue glass and tiny white pebbles.
“It’s definitely brought some challenges,” says Jules of the construction of her piece. “It’s interesting to communicate my exact vision and design in a short build timeframe. When creating my kina, we had to make a last minute trip to a haberdashery store for the right type of decorative beads, then thread them with wire to create the stunning look we were ultimately after.”
An oyster platter was sculpted from scratch with Jules’ fingers deep in plaster, twisting and reshaping chicken wire until they were perfect, handpainting and finishing with pearls.
“Oysters are both a cornerstone of New Zealand’s coastal identity and a prized delicacy in Chinese cuisine. The platter pays tribute to the closeness of our two countries, particularly around our trade ties.”
The panel of judges from across China was particularly impressed with the garden’s soundtrack, recorded using both traditional Māori and Chinese instruments, along with whale song and vocals by Jules and her son. They also commented on the garden’s paua fingerprint motif, which Jules included as a way of referencing human connection to nature. “Kiwis are particularly passionate about their environment – we might leave our footprints on the sand but we also leave our fingerprints in nature.”
The exhibition, which took place through March 2026, featured designers from England, the United States, China and South Africa. “It’s a highly competitive international field so I’m very proud of my win,” says Jules, who has enjoyed a distinguished international career, taking gold for New Zealand in Singapore in 2024.
The designer also took out Supreme Winner at the 2018 New Zealand International Flower and Garden Show, and a gold and People’s Choice awards at the Ellerslie Flower Show in 2005 and 2007. But Jules says she’s not a household name in New Zealand. “I think only people in specific garden circles would know me, although I’m definitely gaining a lot of attention in Asia.”
Jules has since travelled home to New Zealand but is already fielding enquiries about a return to China. “The garden is being disassembled now for relocation, but there are murmurs that Ocean’s Edge will be given a second life in coming months.”
