With her cottage-style garden full of native plants, hardy exotics, and colourful annual blooms, Southern River homeowner and eager gardener Sarah Clarke has won the City of Gosnells Sustainable Garden Competition.
Through the competition, the City aims to engage residents in supporting local biodiversity, promoting practices, and encouraging the creation of sustainable, liveable communities.
Supported by The Retic and Landscape Shop in Southern River, the competition awarded prizes of $500 for first place, $250 for second place, and $100 for third place to the top three garden entries.
Initially, when Ms Clarke moved into the home in 2020, she installed a lawn on the front verge.
Wanting to create a more sustainable garden that would attract bees and wildlife such as birds and frogs, Ms Clarke soon realised a lawn was not the best choice and began reimagining the space into a ‘pollinator haven’.
She also wanted to complement an Agonis flexuosa, commonly known as a peppermint tree, which had been planted by the City, and now believes the garden has become a thriving habitat for local wildlife.
“Even though my front yard and verge is small, I’ve got so many pollinators, birds, and frogs visiting my garden,” Ms Clarke said.
“It just shows that, even with a tiny space, you can still have a positive impact on the local environment.”
Mayor Terresa Lynes and City of Gosnells Councillors visited the top three garden entries to conduct inspections before selecting a winner.
Impressed by Ms Clarke’s verge garden, which attracts many local birds, including magpies and willy wagtails, Mayor Lynes was struck by the garden’s charm and its contribution to the local ecosystem.
“This garden has demonstrated how it is possible to create a beautiful verge garden on a smaller lot,” Mayor Lynes said.
“You can see the passion and dedication that has gone into establishing this garden, which is bursting with colour and fragrance and is also much-loved by the local wildlife – especially the bees.”
Southern River resident Kyle Wood came in second place, winning a $250 prize, while Swati Sankhla’s Canning Vale garden took third place, earning a $100 prize.
For more information on sustainable gardens, visit gosnells.wa.gov.au.
