Lloyd and Pam Chamberlain's garden at Yellow Rock was their pride and joy. The 1.6 hectare block was bursting with natives, deciduous trees, about 60 blooming roses, citrus trees, a rockery and herb and vegie gardens.
Then came the October bushfires last year, and the couple lost their entire garden and the house suffered significant damage.
Almost a year on and the house is expected to be complete again next month, and Mrs Chamberlain has been doing her best to re-establish the garden. But it hasn't been easy as the years roll on and she cares for her husband with Alzheimer's disease.
So when Mrs Chamberlain got a call from Winmalee Neighbourhood Centre manager Morna Colbran asking if she'd like a crew of Lend Lease volunteers to plant out her garden in a day, she gratefully accepted the offer.
"It was lovely to get that offer. I feel like I've won the lottery," Mrs Chamberlain said.
As part of their community days, where they give back to the community through a variety of projects, Lend Lease last Thursday brought 14 workers, primarily from Barangaroo, to plant out the couple's garden, assisted by six neighbourhood centre volunteers.
"It's one day per year we take off to help the community," said Winmalee resident and Lend Lease NSW safety operations manager Matt Moon.
The new garden was to be full of low-maintenance natives all Mr Chamberlain's favourites and the vegie garden was going to make a comeback.
"It's so nice of them to give up their day," Mrs Chamberlain said. "We will be thinking of them when they plant it out and when we eat our vegetables."
Lend Lease also donated native Lomandra plants to the Chamberlains' garden, part of a 3000-plant donation to bushfire-affected families in Yellow Rock.
The group also appreciated Coates Hire donating machinery for the day.
