The boardwalk, the materials of the converted workshop and choice of plant materials provide a distinctly Australian style in the Richardson garden. The mallee eucalypt, Eucalyptus gregsoniana in the foreground is underplanted with the exotic shrub Teucrium fruticans and the prolific perennial native daisy, Ammobium alatum.

600x600 concrete pavers and Old Canberra reds are re-used on the site and laid to form an outdoor terrace. The native Wahlenbergia has self sown between gaps in the paving.

Drought hardy native and exotic plants are combined in the rear garden beds. The native Calocephalus citreus (Lemon Beauty Heads) is mixed with the tough silvery Convulvulus cneorum, dwarf Lavender and Helichrysum angustifolium. The mulch is a combination of coarse Forest Litter (a recycled product) and fallen Eucalypt leaves.

Fast growing Cassinia quinquefaria and Cassinia longifolia are planted  to screen the fenceline and provide habitat for native animals. They have grown at least one metre in height in twelve months and require regular tip pruning to prevent woodiness. Acacia rubida, Banksia marginata and Dodonea viscosa have also been planted as screening shrubs.

Recycled objects are used in the garden - a terracotta pipe is used as a plinth for a feature pot of succulents.

The east facing front garden is protected from the hot summer sun by a Pyrus ussuriensis (Manchurian Pear). This space is deliberately kept lush to assist with passive cooling of the house on summer evenings.

Right: the pine boardwalk links the rear deck to the paving. Rounded river stones, which had been laid between the concrete strips of the driveway and buried under years of leaf litter are reused as dog deterring mulch.

Terracotta pots are filled with a combination of native forbs (non woody herbaceous plants) which grow on nearby Mt Majura. These include the yellow flowering bulb, Bulbine bulbosa, the paper daisy Leuchochrysum albicans, Dianella revoluta, Wahlenbergia and the silvery Chrycocephalum.