“When you go home, tell them of us and say, for your tomorrow we gave our today.”
Planting and Landscaping
Design Team
Peter Blizzard, Memorial Designer
Peter Dunn, Morton Dunn Architects
THA Landscape Architects
Rex Hollioake, Memorial Committee
Ian Rossiter, City of Ballarat
Key Elements
To complement the sculpture; low demand for water.
Design Principles
Strong lines, simple layout and uncomplicated planting themes to provide a peaceful environment for contemplation and reflection.
Layout and Materials
Bands of crushed Dromana Granite (20mm diameter) were used to separate and define planting areas. Within the bands are geometric grids of low planting and a strong arc edge of existing Cretaceous sp. (Hawthorns). The bands are bound by a broad crescent edge of matching crushed granite that creates a strong edge.
7mm diameter crushed Dromana Granite has been used as gravel mulch throughout the planting areas to complement the colour scheme of the sculpture as well as providing a low maintenance surface. Improved subsurface drainage and slight mounding of planting areas has provided a desirable growing environment for the plants.
Planting
Xanthorrhoea Australis (Austral Grass Tree) has been used extensively as its simple striking form moves with the breeze, has a dramatic sculptural flower stem and, importantly, has a low water requirement. It can be found throughout the Australian landscape and reflects the concept that the men and women who served their country came from one vast landscape.
Acknowledgement
The Trustees wish to thank the City of Ballarat and the Friends of the Botanical Gardens for their guidance in the choice of these plantings.
