Alma
Transforming an urban backyard into a vibrant family-friendly edible garden
Type: Residential Location: Ormeau, Queensland
Design Installation Maintenance

Project Overview
Client Information:
Jay and Kristina, a young family with children, wanted to create a low-maintenance backyard that not only provided a beautiful and functional space but also served as an educational experience for their kids. Their vision was to teach their children how to grow food and understand where it comes from while fostering a connection to nature.
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Productivity & Education
Design a productive space incorporating fruit trees, vegetables, and herbs to ensure regular harvests.
Develop a garden layout that teaches children how to grow food, offering hands-on educational opportunities about the origins of their food and sustainable practices.
Biodiversity Enhancement
Integrate a variety of flowers and plants that attract pollinators (bees, butterflies) and other beneficial wildlife to support ecosystem health.
Ensure plant selection complements the food-growing elements while enhancing the natural beauty of the space.
Family & Community Gathering
Create a cozy, inviting fire pit seating area to serve as a central hub for family gatherings, entertaining guests, and building community connections.
Incorporate elements that encourage outdoor bonding and storytelling in a relaxed setting.
Functionality & Aesthetic Appeal
Design the layout to optimize accessibility and usability for all family members, from children to adults.
Ensure the garden design is visually inviting, blending natural beauty with practicality to create a space that the entire family enjoys spending time in.
Sustainability
Use sustainable materials and gardening practices, such as composting, water-efficient systems, and native plants.
Emphasize low-maintenance features to align with the client’s needs for ease of care and longevity.
Interactive & Multi-Purpose
Incorporate elements that allow the garden to serve multiple purposes: an educational space, a family retreat, a wildlife-friendly habitat, and an area for entertaining.
By balancing productivity, sustainability, and family-oriented design, the "Alma" project aims to create a vibrant, multi-purpose backyard that enriches the lives of its users while fostering a deeper connection to nature and the community.
The Plans
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Features and Highlights
Cozy Fire Pit Area
A welcoming fire pit space with comfortable seating, ideal for family gatherings, storytelling, and creating cherished memories under the stars.
Lush Orchard
A diverse orchard featuring mulberry, fig, olive, lemon, mandarin, apple, banana, pomegranate, and passionfruit trees, offering a variety of fresh, seasonal produce.
A vibrant berry patch with raspberries and blueberries for homegrown treats and a playful element for children.
Productive Veggie Garden
A thriving garden with an abundance of salad greens, herbs, tomatoes, and seasonal vegetables, promoting a sustainable lifestyle and hands-on learning for the family.
Magical Food Forest Understory
Beneath the orchard, a picturesque understory of perennial herbs and flowering plants creates a magical mini food forest that blends beauty, functionality, and biodiversity.
Supports pollinators and beneficial wildlife, enhancing the ecosystem’s health.
Sustainability and Aesthetic Harmony
Designed to balance aesthetics and productivity, the garden provides a tranquil retreat while fostering a deeper connection to nature.
Low-maintenance features ensure easy care while maintaining long-term environmental impact.
This multi-purpose garden is a harmonious blend of beauty, functionality, and sustainability, offering an inviting space for relaxation, education, and community connection.
Innovations
The layering of the fruit tree understory into a miniature food forest is not only visually stunning but also promotes biodiversity, improves soil health, and creates a low-maintenance, self-sustaining ecosystem.