AS ARMIDALE swelters in extreme hot and dry conditions, a specially-designed water wise garden at The Ascent Group’s Walker House is thriving.
The purpose-designed facility for five residents with high levels of disability was built two years ago through a partnership between the State Government and the local community.
Last week, guests were invited to a special morning tea to thank representatives from the Greater Building Society (GBS) for a $50,000 donation to the $1 million complex.
Ascent’s acting chief executive Diane Gray said the support the project had received from local organisations like GBS and from the community to build Walker House had been “marvellous”.
“Often these donations are made at the building stage and the donors don’t get the chance to see the results of their generosity, particularly how well the house and garden are performing in the harsh weather we are currently experiencing,” she said.
“We are delighted that representatives from Greater Building Society are here to see how successful the project has been, both the purpose-built interior and the garden built by the Rotary Club of Armidale which has matured and adds so much to the quality of life for our residents.”
Celebrity gardener Brendan Moar drew up the garden design with sheltered areas and pergolas for the facility’s high need residents to enjoy the outdoors at most times of the year and also chose plants and shrubs that would prosper in extreme conditions.
He said his brief had been to develop something that would meet the needs of residents and also contend with a frost hollow which determined the plants used and a need for low care maintenance.
Ms Gray said all the planning to make Walker House and its garden area sustainable had paid off.
“It is meeting the aspirations we had for it,” she said.
“Residents here have high range disabilities and before this complex was built there really was nothing that catered exclusively for their needs.”
