PILOT PLANTINGS
MARIBYRONG CITY COUNCIL
NATURE: Small-scale public realm, Retrofit, Local government
TIMELINE: 2023 - Ongoing
SCOPE: Planting design, setout and planting, procurement support, capacity building, and ongoing support for care and management
PARTNERS: Maribyrong City Council
OVERVIEW:
Pilot Plantings is a growing series of small-scale interventions across the Maribyrnong City Council that explore how diverse, resilient planting can transform everyday urban spaces.
Rather than a single project outcome, this work operates as an evolving program which tests, refines and expands on planting approaches across multiple sites.
Each planting demonstrates how underutilised or conventional public spaces can be retrofitted into vibrant, ecologically rich landscapes.
Key Sites
Nicholson Street
Blackman Lane
French Street
Maddern Square
Image credit: Super Bloom
‘Super Bloom works closely with council teams through design, procurement, and delivery, while also returning to sites over time to review performance, amplify planting intent, and make strategic edits.
This ongoing involvement ensures that the landscapes are not static, but continue to evolve in response to seasonal change, MANAGEMENT practices, and community interaction.’
Jac Semmler, Director, Super Bloom
CULTIVATED VALUE
Adaptable & Flexible Planting Practice
Super Bloom brought a highly adaptable and nimble approach to the Pilot Plantings project, working across multiple scales and responding flexibly to the retrofit opportunities identified by Maribyrnong City Council within the Footscray public realm.
Capability-Focused Delivery
Super Bloom worked in a deeply collaborative way, tailoring their approach to align with the Council’s existing teams, workflows and operational capabilities while ensuring council staff were actively involved throughout the design and implementation process.
High-Impact Planting Solutions
The project demonstrated Super Bloom’s ability to deliver thoughtful and highly crafted planting outcomes through pragmatic design approaches, strategic plant procurement and practical delivery methods that worked effectively within existing project resources and teams.
Low-MANAGEMENT Public Planting
Super Bloom introduced innovative and experimental planting methods that were designed to be resilient and low maintenance, helping retrofit previously under utilised or unloved spaces with diverse and ecologically rich planting systems suited to long-term public realm management.
Training & Long-Term Value
Through training, capacity building and community engagement, Super Bloom helped establish long-term stewardship and care for the plantings, while also creating opportunities for replanting of other spaces and expansion within existing council resources and budgets.
small interventions with lasting transformation
By working at a small scale but across multiple sites, Pilot Plantings demonstrates how incremental change can lead to broader transformation. The program reveals the potential of retrofit planting to reshape streets and public spaces by making them more resilient, expressive, and ecologically meaningful over time.
PILOT PLANTINGS AS PUBLIC LEARNING
The Pilot Plantings program has created a series of highly visible and engaging landscapes that invite curiosity and participation. These plantings shift expectations of what streetscapes can be, introducing complexity, seasonality, and habitat value into everyday settings.
Equally important is the role these projects play in education and capacity building. Council staff gain hands-on experience in delivering and managing diverse planting systems, while the broader community is exposed to new models of urban nature.