A woody meadow in the heart of the city

Walk along the open space of Birrarung Marr downhill from Federation Square in central Melbourne and you’ll find a large garden bed beside a wide path. It’s often filled with cyclists or people heading towards Melbourne’s famous sports precinct. At the moment there’s not much to look at, but make a note to visit again soon. The garden is one of the first being established under the Woody Meadow Project.

As researchers study and care for the hardy natives in this garden, it is hoped many other ‘woody meadows’ will soon appear across Australia’s second-largest city.

Modelled on natural heathland plant communities across southern Australia, the aim of the project is to create visually interesting landscapes that require little ongoing maintenance, such as irrigation and labour, to sustain them. Self-gardening gardens, if you will.