Welcome to Aqwest's waterwise garden - it's free and open to the community! Although Aqwest's Water Services Centre is now located at 2 Hayes Street Bunbury, you can still visit the waterwise garden at 5 Mackinnon Way, Bunbury.
The garden features native plants and shrubs from the South West, with the type of plant, flowering times, watering, size, soil and habitat explained on QR codes and information sheets.
Local Noongar bush tucker, bush medicine plants and seasonal vegetables in raised garden beds have also been planted.
There are three types of lawns on display, with information on growing and sprinkler run times. A range of mulches have been used throughout the garden to illustrate the correct use.
A sprinkler demonstration station has been set up in one part of the garden and visitors can press each button to see sprinkler flow rates and the suggested run times.
By developing a Waterwise Garden, which shows an amazing array of native plants and how to grow and look after them, Aqwest hopes to assist people to develop their own waterwise garden.
Where is the garden?
The garden is located at 5 MacKinnon Way, Bunbury and can be viewed at any time.
Please note - Aqwest's Water Services Centre is now located at 2 Hayes Street, Bunbury.
The team behind the garden
Thank you to Vivienne Hansen and John Horsfall, authors of "Noongar Bush Medicine" and "Noongar Bush Tucker" and UWA Publishing, who kindly gave permission to use information about the plants from their books on the Aqwest website.
The garden has been designed and installed by Bunbury landscaping company Verve Landscapes, which has been endorsed by Irrigation Australia as a Waterwise Garden Irrigator. For more information visit the Waterwise Program website.
The fantastic team at Activ in Bunbury maintains all of Aqwest's water treatment plant and office gardens. They have helped install the mulch and will maintain the new garden.
All new plants have been sourced from the Leschenault Community Nursery in Bunbury which is not-for-profit and run by volunteers who look after more than 300 varieties of native species.