After building a memorial wall in December 2016, St. Joseph’s Catholic Church in Goodwood required an upgrade to their existing grounds. The howling summer southeaster wind greeted us consistently during our initial site visits and we looked forward to creating solutions that could withstand the elements.
ANALYSIS
The memorial garden was the first part of the project and seating was an important consideration here. As a place where people paid tribute to their loved ones, we built a curved rock bed in front of the wall comprising of river rocks in various sizes with flower vases countersunk between them. Recycled plastic wooden benches were used for seating on the newly paved area. They met the requirements of not being fixed, yet heavy enough not to carry away or blown over.
EXECUTION
Pots of various shapes and sizes around the church building had to be emptied and replanted with suitable plants. Save for a few that stood in the shade at the back of the building, we opted for the likes of Metrosideros, Carissa, Rhaphiolepis, Portulacaria, Searsia crenata and Ficus for the larger pots to ensure a tough and hardy match for the local conditions. The succulent mix bowl pictured on the left was particularly fun to do and have since grown so much that you can hardly see any of the pebbles.
The existing garden beds bordering the street were cleared of unwanted, older vegetation. Established shrubs that could still provide future interest were trimmed and kept. We interplanted with hardy, water-wise shrubs and ground covers and mulched the completed beds. Additional recycled plastic benches were later installed after the lawn had been replaced with paving.
