The Sisters of Mercy Memorial Garden
Boroondara (Kew) Cemetery - Melbourne, Australia
This Memorial Garden was planted for the Sisters of the Good Shepherd who are buried together here. This project was undertaken with a team of young adults with special needs to develop confidence and skills in basic horticulture and won an award for Innovation in 2018. Works were a collaboration between Kew Neighbourhood Learning Centre, Burke and Beyond, Michael Tanner, Su Laird, Rachel Stephenson, Kew Cemetery Trust and Helen Page and began in September 2017.
A challenging site due to heavy clay soils we initially added newspaper, compost and mulch to improve and increase the water holding capacity of the soil
Drought hardy flowering perennials and ornamental grasses were selected to withstand the typically dry Victorian summer. These plantings add height, movement and interest over long periods and are relatively low maintenance, an important factor on the site.
