Red Fix Garden – 230 Tuam St

Volunteers from Pegasus Health -12 Dec.

Greening the Rubble is sharing a space on Tuam Street (close to the McKenzie and Willis building and opposite Alice Video) with Dave’s Red Fix coffee kiosk.

The garden design concept by Kara Burrowes has an Art-Deco-inspired theme, and makes use of relocated gabions, coloured brick rubble and tree-planters.  We had a great boost from Air NZ volunteers on 26 November who moved in the bricks, painting some more in pastel colours, to fill metal gabion baskets formerly used in one of our Sydenham gardens. This was followed on 29 Nov by volunteers from Lantern Insurance (NZI) who completed the gabion locating and filling, plus some first coats of paint. Volunteers from Pegasus Health substantially completed the project on 12 December.

Seat top plywood boards were donated by PlaceMakers Riccarton – and a bold black and white design added by Kara (paint was donated by Dulux).  Images Unlimited printed Kara’s design for the east-facing wall next to Red Fix coffee.

A woven blue screen wall, to Kara's design, has been added at east of site.

Jonathan (second left) and designer Kara (at right) with volunteers from Lantern Insurance on 29 Nov.

Air NZ team, from both Christchurch and Auckland offices, help to place and fill gabion baskets.

Gabions in place at Red Fix, opposite Alice Video. Subsequently seat tops were added.

Tree planters arrive at Red Fix garden site, courtesy of City Care's hiab truck

Work began on 22 Nov, with Pili from our sponsor City Care, lifting into place some steel tree planters (each with a pair of kowhai trees, plus perennials – see photos).

The part-demolished McKenzie & Willis building provides an Eastern backdrop to this open site.

View across Tuam Street from City Council garden, before our work started. Building at rear right is EPIC, which also has a front garden.