Hawker Body Corp Garden Refresh, Phase I

Designed and established: 2024/25

Location: Hawker, ACT

The backstory: Our clients, a body corporate of 14 houses and townhouses, felt that their street facing garden was tired, lacked consistency and was in need of an uplift. They committed to a progressive refresh, and volunteered time to improve their own skills with coaching from the team, keep costs down and to maintain their sense of pride and connection in their homes.

Brief: Create consistent plant-palette and principles for on-going planting and renewal plant. Apply a soft, naturalist planting plan with a preference for natives, to reduce on-going maintenance and watering costs. Permission to remove plants that are incongruent with longer term design. Create consistent look and experience for all residents, across multiple drive-ways. Arrange with residents to undertake planting and provide coaching on building and maintaining a landscape. Initially deliver a demonstration space to provide proof of concept for further roll-out, over multiple years.

Size: Large - externally facing gardens, that stretch over 4 driveways and 14 residences.

Output: Low-maintenance (reduced pruning, tiding, weeding and watering) and consistent planting palette, with 5 key principles delivered. Phase I (demonstration space) delivered, with phases 2 and 3 planned for 2026/2027. 90% survival rate of tube-stock planted in ground. High engagement from residents, with a several working-parties and on-going nurturing plans established. Strong desire for design to continue to be rolled out progressively, with planting at driveway entrances underway during late 2025/early 2026.