Urban Farm

The Challenge

The owners wanted to create an urban farm where they could grow food, raise their young child, entertain, and be kind to the environment. They wanted to use as little embedded energy as possible in the new garden. One of the owners had a goal for flowers, a flowering cherry and bamboo, and one wanted mostly a food growing area. Both wanted a designated children’s play area.

The Design

The property was treated as three separate areas, and the public boulevard area was used as an auxiliary food growing area. The front garden houses the flowering tree, a perennial garden, flowering vines and the bamboo, which in combination provide a visual screen from a bus stop area. An entertaining area was incorporated into the front garden. The play area was built in the side garden, and the rear, sunniest area of the property was devoted to food growing. Engineered wood fibre was used for the pathways to minimise hard surfaces and provide a safe playground surface.

Before

After