About Us
Backyard Habitat Project (BHP) is led by Tye Purnell, a qualified horticulturalist and long-time native plant enthusiast with a deep passion for Australian biodiversity. With a lifelong love for being in the bush and an extensive understanding of our native flora and fauna, Tye is driven by one simple goal: to help people create gardens that aren’t just beautiful, but alive—with birdsong, insect life, and ecological connection.
At BHP we believe every garden—no matter how small—can become a thriving refuge for native wildlife. Our mission is to create biodiverse habitat gardens that restore ecological balance while offering beautiful, functional spaces for people too.
By transforming residential spaces into living ecosystems, we help reconnect people with nature and provide essential support for our native plants and animals in an increasingly urban world.
Tye works closely with clients to design spaces that support native wildlife and invite people to engage with the natural world just outside their door. It’s about creating shared habitat—gardens that provide refuge, food, and movement corridors for the creatures we live alongside.
Whether you're starting from scratch or reimagining an existing space, Backyard Habitat Project brings an expert, ecology-first approach to help you grow something that matters.
Our Approach
At Backyard Habitat Project, we take an ecology-first approach to garden design—beginning with the soil and building upwards. Healthy, living soil—rich in fungi, microorganisms, and insects—lays the foundation for a thriving, resilient habitat.
We work exclusively with Australian native plants, carefully selected to suit local conditions and support the full spectrum of native wildlife. Every species is chosen not only for its form and function, but for the life it nurtures—from pollinators and insects to reptiles, birds, and mammals. We avoid overly-hybridised cultivars that favour dominant species and instead prioritise diversity—supporting quieter, often-overlooked fauna.
Our designs reflect how nature organises itself: layered, textured, and dynamic. Shrubs, ground covers, and spiky understory plants all play a role—offering food, refuge, and movement corridors. Understated species are often the ecological workhorses, and native trees—both large and small—offer habitat, shade, and carbon storage. Nest boxes can help restore lost hollows in urban environments.
We use natural materials to shape spaces that are both functional and habitat-rich. Water features such as birdbaths or natural ponds provide animals with water while also providing valuable habitat for frogs. We encourage our clients to rethink their lawns and replace with plant-rich zones and winding paths that invite both people and wildlife to explore and feel at home.
If your vision is a tightly manicured lawn and clipped hedges, we may not be the right fit. But if you’re ready to grow a living, biodiverse garden—rooted in Australian natives and designed for resilience, beauty, and connection—we’d love to help.
Why?
Habitat loss is one of the biggest threats facing Australia's native wildlife. As our cities grow and natural areas shrink, our backyards have become critical microhabitats—offering food, shelter, and breeding space for countless species.
By rethinking how we garden, we can play a part in reversing this trend—creating small, connected patches of habitat that act as stepping stones through the suburban landscape. These gardens don’t just support wildlife; they enrich our own lives too. Watching birds forage, hearing frogs call at dusk, or discovering native bees at work connects us to the land we live on in a meaningful, everyday way.
Habitat gardens may look wild compared to traditional landscapes—but they hum with life. And they offer us something deeper in return: the joy of seeing our gardens alive with movement, sound, and connection.
Building habitat gardens isn’t just gardening—it’s restoration, it’s conservation, it’s impactful