Glen Wilson is a former student of Edna Walling's.
She agreed to tutor me on a one on one basis. I used to pay her one pound a lesson for an hour or two.
Glen Wilson on Walling:
...I can say she was of strong character and opinions; forthright but not arrogant and pleasant with a good sense of humour. One of my clients who met her described her as, "A character ...but every inch a lady."
Glen Wilson:
 started his landscaping career at 25 years of age.
was influenced by Walling, and Schubert's nursery's famous display gardens.
worked on several Walling gardens, including the Freiberg garden, a native garden located in Kew.
was employed by Eric Hammond for eight years as a designer, estimator and supervisor.
lectured in landscape architecture.
designed the courtyard at ER Squibb and Sons, developed the landscape policy for Patterson Lakes and designed the landscaping at Ainslie Village.
was named as one of our most influential writers on landscape matters by "Landscape Australia" magazine.
is a photographer, with three photographic exhibitions held at private galleries.
has published writings on landscaping in "The Age" and "Landscape Journal" amongst others.
He remembers:
Undoubtedly, one of the most important things she taught me was the use of space - which is what landscape design is really about. Planting design comes later. So many designers today indulge in clutter. Even a glance at her wonderful drawings immediately shows her beautiful use of space in relation to the main building and for the use of people. The only other designer that I can name who demonstrated this essential skill to such a high level in Australia, is the great Guilfoyle. [Royal Botanic Gardens, Melbourne.]
Edna Walling also always emphasised the skills needed to 'sculpture the surface'. She was big on handling the 'third dimension'.
...I regard her approach to Australian work to be of equal, if not greater importance. She seems to have been the first to realise that a change to native plants was not enough; we needed a change in philosophy, based on the natural Australian environment. European horticultural methods are often unsuitable from the design point of view, yet we still have trouble convincing many designers of this.
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