Educating and inspiring our community
Demonstration Gardens
Our Bay OK demonstration gardens showcase a variety of beautiful gardens.
Located across Busselton and Dunsborough, the gardens are all low nutrient, waterwise and use WA native plants to support local biodiversity.
Together, with our partners, we are using the gardens to support our community in creating Bay OK gardens while providing increased amenity in our urban spaces.
Low nutrient and water efficient verge landscaping
Busselton Youth and Community Centre Verge Garden
This garden was designed by Josh Byrne, exhibiting some of the key low nutrient and water efficient landscape approaches that can be used in your own garden. It incorporates vegetated swales to capture stormwater, increase groundwater recharge and reduce water and nutrient run off into waterways. Planted native sedges and rushes strip nutrients from collected water.
Supported by City of Busselton and the South West Catchments Council, through funding from the Australian Government’s National Landcare Program.
Low nutrient and water efficient with reduced grass areas
Naturaliste Community Centre Landscaping
Designed and installed by Total Horticultural Services, this landscaping replaced lawn turf that required irrigation and regular maintenance to keep it healthy and attractive. This native garden requires a lot less water, and minimal fertiliser and weeding to keep it looking great. The design incorporates a vegetated verge, a coastal garden with blue palette, a bold colour wildflower garden and a more subtle area of pink and purples.
Supported by City of Busselton and the Revitalising Geographe Waterways program.
Water conserving native garden
DWER and GeoCatch Office Verge Garden
Created in 2012, the unused lawn verge was transformed into a vibrant low nutrient, water wise garden providing habitat for the birds and insects of the Busselton CBD. It features native plant species that are suited to sandy soils and the local climate.
Supported by the Department of Water and Environmental Regulation (DWER).
Unirrigated low nutrient, waterwise garden on a flat site
Water Corporation Vasse Diversion
West Busselton Waterways Friendly Garden
Designed and installed by Total Horticultural Services, this Bay OK garden complements the car parking and picnic area developed on a previously unattractive site next to the revitalised Vasse Diversion. Once established, this attractive native garden will not require watering or fertiliser applications to look great in the long term. The site is flat so the garden design features a series of plant species groupings, ordered so that the mature garden will be a wave of heights and colour through to the rear.
Supported by Water Corporation, City of Busselton and the Revitalising Geographe Waterways program.
Coastal garden with design solutions for a flat site
Freycinet Park Coastal Landscaping
Designed and installed by Total Horticultural Services, this Bay OK garden features old jetty timbers with shaping and mounding to soften the flat site. It features a limited palette of WA native plant species selected for their foliage colour, dwarf habit and ability to grow in coastal conditions with low water requirement. The critical step in establishing this garden was to firstly improve the soil with applications of clay and compost to keep moisture and nutrients in the soil and out of the Bay.
Supported by City of Busselton and South West Catchments Council, through funding from the Australian Government’s National Landcare Program.
Good practices in Firewise garden design
Dunsborough Fire Station FireWise Garden
Designed and installed by The Forever Project, this garden shows homeowners how to design and install a FireWise landscape. The garden features signage displaying eleven tips on how to make your property safe in the event of a bushfire and stresses the importance of planning a garden that can withstand a bushfire.
Supported by City of Busselton, Department of Fire and Emergency Services and The Forever Project through funding from Australian Government National Emergency Agency
Low nutrient and water efficient with reduced grass areas
Public Open Space Estuary Friendly Landscaping
For this public open space area on Layman Road in Geographe, developer Aigle Royal has installed landscaping that is sensitive to the natural values of the Vasse Estuary it overlooks. This landscaping features a reduced lawn turf area and native gardens that require a lot less water and minimal fertiliser to achieve a long term attractive healthy appearance. There is a dedicated area of Bay OK Garden within this landscaping exhibiting local native plant species that thrive in sandy, salty, exposed coastal conditions.
Supported by Aigle Royal and the Revitalising Geographe Waterways program.
Starting your own garden and need some advice?
Send us a message and our Bay OK officer will be in touch!
