A new Test Garden opens at Fed Square
The Melbourne Arts Precinct Transformation is bringing an expansive 18,000-square-metre urban garden Laak Boorndap to the heart of the Melbourne Arts Precinct.
While construction for Laak Boorndap is under way, visitors and locals in Melbourne can now visit a pop-up Test Garden at Fed Square.
This Test Garden provides a window into Laak Boorndap, demonstrating the dense and naturalistic planting style of the garden and offering a test bed for programming, research and conversations about climate change, biodiversity and ecology.
The Test Garden is designed by Hassell, in partnership with Super Bloom, James Hitchmough and Nigel Dunnett.
It has been designed to thrive in an urban setting, responding to the specifications of the site, and has been built on a deck at the Skyline Car Park at Fed Square.
Like Laak Boorndap, the Test Garden features climate-resilient plants that can survive hot, dry conditions in shallow soil. The garden boasts 63 different plant species that are designed to showcase beauty and plant variety year-round.
The diverse selection of plants requires minimal intervention and irrigation to flourish, making each one uniquely adaptable to our planet’s changing climate. These plants have also been chosen to help attract birds, bees and insects to create a more complex ecosystem and bring more biodiversity into this part of the city.
Experimentation and research are placed at the centre of this project through a new research partnership with the University of Melbourne, which is undertaking rigorous scientific testing of plants at the horticulture campus in Burnley.
This project is one of many, as community groups, councils, and neighbours across Melbourne create gardens with a focus on thoughtful planting, fostering biodiversity, and changing our relationship to nature in an urban environment.
The Test Garden is open day and night at the Skyline Car Park at Fed Square, overlooking the Birrarung. From March, take part in a variety of public programs, events and workshops at the Test Garden to find out more about creating climate-resilient gardens and promoting biodiversity.
The Test Garden is presented by MAP Co and has been generously supported by Bupa.
To find out more, visit fedsquare.com •

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