About Me

My name is Christina Marcella Baxter, I grew up in Sydney in a home filled with art, ornaments and traditions from my mother’s homeland. My South American roots and visits to my grandfather’s Avocado Farm there, had a strong impact on my creativity, love of land and shaped my aesthetic.

After studying design at UTS, I spent my twenties living in Spain and Ireland. It was in Ireland and the UK that I found a love for cottage gardens and formal gardens. In Spain, the Gaudi landscape architecture and the Alhambra, confirmed my need to return home and study horticulture and landscape design. After completing my diploma at Ryde TAFE in Landscape design/horticulture and a Certificate 3 in Structural landscaping I worked as a designer in a design studio.

Very quickly I realized that to design gardens you must know your plants. For a good garden needs to be made by someone who knows, understands and loves plants. The Southern Highlands NSW was the place for me to learn this. I learnt greatly about landscaping and horticulture by spending many years on “the tools” working alongside gardeners and landscapers here. In particular, with my time trained by the head gardener at Oldbury Farm and working with Conway Landscaping and Design.

Since 2019 all the Knowledge, skills, experience and passion I have gained has accumulated in me being able to start CMB Creative Gardens and allow myself the immense pleasure of working on my own projects.

My 20 years in the industry have resulted in extensive experience, passion and a vision to make beautiful gardens that connect people to nature and enrich their lives for many years.