Our Team

Shoso Shimbo PhD is an award winning ikebana artist and sculptor and he is a qualified garden designer (Japan Horticultural Society), specialising in Japanese gardens.

Shoso has been teaching the Japanese art of flower arrangement for over 30 years, and he brings a deep understanding of Japanese aesthetics as well as an intimate knowledge of plants and their inherent properties to all of his designs. For Shoso, designing a Japanese garden is creating a meditative installation with living elements.  

After visiting hundreds of gardens in Japan, he created his own home garden, which was selected as one of the top gardens in Glen Eira City. The image photographed by Ponch is a part of a collection in the Glen Eira City Council Galley. He has designed Japanese Zen gardens for both private residences as well as commercial properties. 

He is the founding director of Ikebana Gallery Award, first online ikebana competition, and Wa: Melbourne Ikebana Festival, in which he presented an ikebana performance with the Grigoryan Brothers in 2019. He will present another performance with Paul Grabowsky at Melbourne Recital Centre in 2022. Also, he is a vice president of International Society of Ikebana Research. Based on his teaching experience at RMIT, he developed online ikebana courses for Zoom Ikebana Dojo. He regularly runs Ikebana Introductory Class in Murrumbeena.

He has numerous publications on Ikebana and contemporary art and is a regular contributor to the International Journal of Ikebana Studies. A collection of his works, "Shoso Shimbo 2020: Ikebana and Environmental Art" is available with eBook.

Shoso has a BA in Eastern Philosophy, an MA in Japanese Studies, a Master of Fine Art and PhD in Education. He taught Japanese Aesthetics at RMIT University Short Courses until 2020.

Father and son Ben and Tom Dubbeld have the skills and experience to create gardens that will stand the test of time.

Ben Dubbeld. Originally from the Netherlands, Ben came to Australia in the early 1980s on a working holiday and immediately fell in love with the place, especially the typical Australian Flora and Fauna.
After settling in Melbourne permanently in the mid 80s, Ben became involved in the Landscaping and Construction Industry through his Earthmoving and Excavation business.

As a keen traveler and photographer, Ben enjoys visiting remote and outback places in his 4 wheel drive when he has the opportunity.

Tom Dubbeld. Tom has always been an avid gardener and he has a great interest in all types of gardens. He recently started his own garden maintenance business and brings enthusiasm and a fresh outlook to the team.

With an exceptional eye for detail and a great work ethic, Tom is willing and able to help you transform your garden into a place of inspiration for all seasons.