The National Arboretum Canberra established seven distinctive gardens through donations and fundraising initiatives, each created to represent and commemorate a different organisation or charity. Terra Mater Group was honoured to contribute to the construction of two of these gardens, The Gift of Life and Terra Australis, supporting the Arboretum’s vision of legacy, community, and environmental stewardship.

  • Client

    Terra Australis:
    Sponsored by the Australian Native Plant Society Australia (ANPSA) ACT Chapter
Designed by Lawrie Smith AM Landscape Architect

    The Gift of Life
    Representing: Gift of Life Incorporated; a Canberra-based not-for-profit association
    Designed by the team at Somewhere Landscape Architects led by Alex Dalglish

  • Project Type

    Landscaping

  • Status

    Completed 2018

Project Scope

The Gift of Life Garden

The Gift of Life Garden was designed and constructed to commemorate the importance of organ and tissue donation and transplantation. The garden expresses the concept of the “cycle of life” through a carefully orchestrated composition of plantings, landform, and built elements, unified by the symbolic rhythm of a heartbeat.

Thoughtful spatial sequencing and planting selection create a continuous sense of movement and renewal, reinforcing themes of connection, generosity, and life continuation. The garden functions as both a place of quiet reflection and public education, providing visitors with a meaningful landscape that honours donors, recipients, and the broader community supporting transplantation.

Terra Australis Garden

The Terra Australis Garden, developed in collaboration with the Australian Native Plants Society (ANPSA), is a stylised representation of Australia’s geography and botanical diversity. The garden celebrates the nation’s varied landscapes through sculpted landforms, distinctive rock features, and a diverse palette of Australian native plant species.

The design encapsulates the basic form of the Australian continent, incorporating a cascading rock pond, an ephemeral salt lake, and a central rock formation symbolising the Great Dividing Range. An extensive collection of new and emerging Australian native cultivars is showcased within a formal garden structure, demonstrating the versatility, resilience, and aesthetic potential of native plants in contemporary landscape design.

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