Ideas / suggestions for our back yard please!

Hi all...as we start to see the light at the end of the tunnel I'm starting to stress over the landscaping. I'm pretty good with the front and 2 sides of the house but really need some help for our back yard. We're in Holland Park in QLD. The soil has a lot of clay.

Back yard 1


Bark yard 2


We have a pretty big outdoor room and are planning on decking underneath it and also in front of the dining room which you can see in the pics.

We were thinking of putting some sort of "feature" in the back corner you can see in Picture 1 as it gets nice shade in the afternoon and a cool breeze and thought it might be nice to sit out there and look over at our giant brush box which you can see in picture 2.

There's about 6 metres from the fence to the edge of the outdoor room and the fence is sitting on top of a retaining wall. We don't want any plants etc higher than 1.5 (fence height) or it'll block the view to the hills etc.

Appreciate and ideas/suggestions.

do you want lawn?

I only ask because that is going to set the pace as to how to landscape this yard. It is big enough for it, but not huge, so depends if you want maintenance etc..

the first suggestion I would make is to have your decking or whatever you put down, go out further than the boundaries of your alfresco (which btw is awesome looking!!)

I can't quite make out if there is a slope to your yard, if so, that would make for some glamourous steps down to the lower part (if you go with lawn), but you mention sitting in the shaded area, so perhaps you are thinking paving...

I can't offer you many other suggestions because we did a pretty simple plan so far, mostly lawn, surrounded by birches and fruit trees (for variation on colours and practical reasons), we also used hydrangers and blossom trees. But ours pretty much surrounded our lawn, so if you don't want to go that way, I guess some creative paving treatments with timber box seats (and, dare I say it, a spa!!!)

good luck

Hi Annietom,

I forgot to mention I'm not a big lawn fan..we were going to put some on the bigger side where the back garage access is but I was hoping not to do any in the back if i could come up with something better. Obv problem for me is i'm a great plant killer

One thing I notice is that you can view the entire back yard from your al fresco area. So if you want a shed or other things that you don't particularly want to look at, you'll need to consider placement carefully, and probably screen them off with plantings or more solid screens. Your tank is already tucked away out of sight, so that's a bonus.

What are your needs? What kind of activities are you going to be doing in your back yard? Do you have a particular garden style that you like?

Hi Kek,

I'm amazed how observant you are in everyone's posts..yep..from out outdoor room you see the entire back yard..and from inside...dining/kitchen/lounge all look towards the outdoor room too. So i think i need something slightly special just no idea what that special thing is...

Was thinking shed in cnr where the big tree is and put something tall and skinny next to it to screen it as you say...no idea what...maybe a ginger..or maybe a trellis that i can grow something on.

Activity-wise...it'll really just be for the tiny dog to run around..he's not a digger or destryer of gardens and we'll use the outdoor room / deck for bbq's which we do a lot.

I did consider a climbing wall in one corner with a flying fox at the top to the big tree for about a second

Garden-style wise...just something easy to maintain, a bit of colour and/or smell and hard to kill.

If it was me, I'd put a screen of hardwood slats or bamboo or something similar in front of your hypothetical shed, then plant in front of that. Another idea is to make the shed a feature, by building it in a style that fits (Balinese thatched hut if you're going for a tropical style garden; or maybe rendered to match the house, with a piece of garden art hung on the wall facing the alfresco room).

You have a huge choice of beautiful plants, living in such a warm climate. How about a paved area (or use gravel) in the corner diagonally opposite your outdoor room? You could put a seat there facing your view (raise it a little if need be) and create a lovely tranquil spot to sit away from the main entertaining area.

The plants in this are all wrong, and so is the furniture, but you get the idea of a quiet spot to sit with a cuppa (or a glass of wine ) and contemplate the view:



Have your lawn where you planned, and for the rest, paths of pavers or gravel leading to the "lookout", the shed and across to the other side of the house, flanked by garden beds filled with lush plants. You can add colour with either foliage or flowers. I'm not much good at suggesting plants for Brisbane, but here are some ideas for inspiration - obviously, leave out any tall trees and shrubs so you get to keep the view:







Can't post this one, it's too big You'll have to click on the link: http://www.abc.net.au/reslib/200901/r332463_1501068.jpg

Make sure you plan for some garden lighting for those evenings spent outdoors:



This site has some useful articles and links:

http://www.calyx.com.au/Queensland_gardening.html Make sure you check out the Plants section.

Hey Kek,
Thanks for all the pics..great selection. I know exactly what you mean with the outdoor furniture / peaceful area..def what I had in mind...just can't find a picture to match what my brain is imagining

Will check out the gardening link and see if i get inspired.

Pick up some landscaping magazines and have a good look through them. I get heaps of ideas and inspiration from mine. Sometimes it's just one tiny element from a photo that grabs my attention and gets me thinking in a different direction.

Have you got any favourite mags to suggest?

Mmm.... ....All of them?

This one's not bad:

.

There are a couple of others, but I can't think of the titles. The general gardening or house/garden mags sometimes have some great ideas and photos, but you have to sift through all the stuff you're not interested in.

Look for the really swish-looking ones and grab a couple. They cost about $9, but I figure better to spend $50-100 on magazines and come up with a garden design you really love, than to make expensive mistakes.

Have a trawl through the galleries on some landscaping websites too - lots of great ideas there, for all types of gardens and all budgets.

Here are a few to get you started:

http://www.mylandscapes.co.uk/regents.htm

http://www.plannedlandscape.com.au/portfolio (this guy is our landscaper)

http://www.secretgardens.com.au/randwick2.html

This mob have some pretty plant pictures....with names.

http://www.utopialandscapedesign.com.au/landscaping_ideas/gardens.php

Still going with the pics ....I can't do anything with my landscaping at the moment except wait so I'm obsessing over yours.







What about a water feature?



A statue?

Hi Kek,
Thanks for all of these..awesome!
I was thinking maybe a statue....def. liking the peaceful seating idea more and more.
I see stuff, get enthused and then remember how good i am at killing plants

The trick with the plants is to choose easy-care ones that suit your climate and soil - and then to make sure you spend some time preparing the soil before you start planting. Fu's posted heaps on the subject.

If you get those right, you should only need to water when it's dry (and if you're short on time, install a drip system) and apply Seasol every couple of weeks or so, and you'll be rewarded with a beautiful lush garden. Worst case scenario: you lose a few plants and learn what not to do, or what not to grow.

Face your fear!

a competing website magazine