Centre for Mental Health’s The Balance Garden

The garden uses crushed site waste as aggregates producing a wealth of wildflowers, grasses and hardy shrubs that thrive in stressful environments, as well as sand piles and habitat layers for wildlife.

Large concrete pieces reclaimed from waste salvage make up a central area overlooking a clear pool. Suspended steel walkways allow movement through the space and access to the wild planting layers. 

At the heart of the garden is a ‘mushroom den’ made from a reclaimed steel-clad shipping container. The planting layers contour from wetland towards a denser, shadier canopy of food forestry and ‘edimentals’ while ‘weeds’ are celebrated as an important part of urban ecology.