VERTICAL GARDEN GETS GROWING AGAIN

Image via Bohem

The luxury Bohem apartment complex, developed by Starfish Development, is situated on Wright Street in the heart of Adelaide. Bohem features 224 one-, two- and three-bedroom apartments, all offering spectacular views of the city, hills or coastline. Designed to meld with adjacent Whitmore Square park, Bohem features over 3000 plants to create lush, hanging gardens and a calm, peaceful escape from city life.

Of particular renown is the remarkable entryway, which features a 22-metre vertical garden that is abundant with lush hanging greenery – the first of its kind in South Australia.

The six levels of this vertical garden required urgent replacement due to the incorrect soil being used throughout the initial construction, which had caused many of the plants to die out. Plants were also creeping over into the apartment balconies instead of towards the streets, which had been the initial design intention. As such an integral part of the apartment complex, it was imperative that the gardens be fixed as soon as possible to maintain the lush luxury that the building is known for.

It was also important that the works were completed with minimal disruption to both the residents and the very popular Arbour Kitchen café that sits at the front of the building, adjacent to the entrance.

Ambience Gardens came to the rescue. A renowned landscaping contractor with a longstanding reputation in Adelaide, the company was more than capable of taking on the important job.

The team began with vacuuming 23 cubic metres of sandy loam out with a truck to be transported offsite. Replacement potting mix that is formulated by Bio Grow as a customised free-draining mix was then inserted into the balcony planters. Following this, boom and scissor lifts were used to transport over 450 pots that had been filled with the replacement soil to fill the now-empty planter boxes.

Chevron Traffic Management contractors were called in to help manage the risk and ensure the flow of traffic, as one lane was required to be closed to accommodate for the vacuum truck, boom lift and skip bins.

Creeping plants, selected and supplied by Heynes Wholesale Nursery, were planted in the planter boxes along the balconies and wire mesh was installed to help train the plants to crawl over the wall, as was the original intention. The works ensured that the vertical wall was just as spectacular as it was when it was first planted, and will grow to be even more stunning thanks to the new soil and shaping wires. 

The plant works for Bohem apartment complex were completed within the allocated time frame, including extensive night works, which were undertaken to ensure minimal disruption to the Arbour Kitchen café. Residents were notified and the job was completed in a timely fashion with great results.

To specify Ambience Gardens for a landscape project, send an enquiry to the team today via the link below.