A Garden Designed for Healing and Safety
Formline Helps Shape a Firewise Garden at Rockingham General Hospital
Landscape design can play an important role in creating spaces that are not only beautiful, but also functional, resilient and supportive of the people who use them.
StrataGreen, one of our WA-based suppliers, partnered with The Forever Project to supply Formline Landscape Edging for Rockingham General Hospital's new Firewise Garden — a thoughtfully designed outdoor space supporting both healing and safety.
Designed and built by The Forever Project, the garden provides a calming outdoor environment for patients, staff and visitors while also forming part of a considered Firewise approach to the hospital grounds.
A Garden Designed for Healing and Safety
Located alongside surrounding bushland, the new garden demonstrates how landscape design can contribute to both wellbeing and bushfire resilience.
A carefully selected range of Australian Firewise plant species has been incorporated throughout the garden, chosen with characteristics such as low flammability, resilience and suitability for the local climate in mind.
At the same time, seating and gathering spaces provide opportunities for hospital staff, patients and visitors to step outdoors, take a moment away from the clinical environment and connect with nature.
The result is a landscape that brings together safety, sustainability, functionality and human-centred design.
Shaping the Garden with Formline
Formline steel landscape edging was incorporated throughout the project to create the structured raised garden beds that help define the space.
The crisp lines of the steel provide a strong architectural contrast against the softer planting, helping establish clear garden areas while maintaining a contemporary and considered landscape aesthetic.
Formline's steel construction also makes it particularly relevant within this project. The use of non-combustible materials is one of the considerations identified in Firewise landscape design, allowing the edging to contribute to the overall design intent while providing the clean definition required throughout the garden.
Landscape Edging for Considered Outdoor Spaces
One of the strengths of Formline is its ability to help landscape designers shape spaces without taking attention away from the surrounding environment.
From straight architectural lines to sweeping curves, Formline Landscape Edging can be used to establish garden beds, separate different landscape surfaces and create clearly defined areas within complex designs.
At Rockingham General Hospital, the raised garden beds demonstrate how steel edging can become part of the architectural language of a landscape rather than simply serving as a boundary.
Its understated appearance allows the plants and surrounding landscape to remain the focus while providing the structure required to bring the overall design together.
Firewise Landscape Design in Action
Firewise gardening considers how the selection and arrangement of plants and landscape materials can help reduce bushfire risk around buildings and other assets.
According to the Department of Fire and Emergency Services' Firewise gardening guidance, considerations include selecting lower-flammability plants, incorporating non-combustible materials and thoughtfully planning the location and arrangement of vegetation around buildings.
The Rockingham General Hospital garden puts these principles into practice while demonstrating that a Firewise landscape doesn't need to sacrifice visual appeal or usability.
In fact, Rockingham General Hospital identified the project as the first Firewise Garden at a State-owned asset in Western Australia, providing an example of how these principles can be incorporated into public landscapes.
The Forever Project
The Forever Project works across Western Australia to promote sustainable, resilient and environmentally responsible approaches to gardening and landscape design.
At Rockingham General Hospital, these principles have been brought together in a landscape that combines Firewise planting, considered material selection and welcoming outdoor spaces.
We're proud to see Formline Landscape Edging incorporated into a project that demonstrates how thoughtful landscape design can help shape spaces around the needs of both people and their environment.
Shape Your Next Landscape with Formline
Whether creating raised garden beds, defining pathways or bringing sweeping curves and architectural lines into a landscape, Formline provides a versatile steel edging solution for residential, commercial and public projects.
Explore the Formline range or speak with your local Formline supplier about your next landscape project.
