Browse Forums Landscape & Garden Design 1 Jan 14, 2009 1:47 am Hi all...my first post here in Landscaping. My fiance and I are building towards the middle of '09 in the great S/west of Vic.
While owner building (I am a limited RBP and Bricklayer which makes some paperwork alot easier)...I am at a loss as to where to begin on landscaping. Let's just say I look at plants and they start wilting which is why I'm looking for some direction with this. My fiance is a fairly good gardener (thank christ for that) but would still love any ideas. Like the idea of a few natives here and there too. We are building a home 28sq living, 51sq all up with oversize garage, outdoor entertainment area and verandah! The block is very flat (only 100mm drop in the 35m length), with good soil (class M). Just a bit over 2 acres, 54m wide x 202m deep, so we'll have about 2200sqm backyard and 1800sqm front (less house of course). Any help would be appreciated. Re: Landscape design...over 2000sqm backyard..! 2Jan 14, 2009 5:57 am welcome charlie - unless you are semi-retired or your partner is not working - I wouldn't landscape you're entire 2 acres! (though I've seen some fantastic huge gardens built from scratch)
first question I'd always ask - what do you want to use the backyard for? Is it a huge open space for backyard cricket? Or is it about sustainability - food production, chickens etc? Or do you want a fantasy escape - different garden rooms for intimate entertaining, reading the paper etc. Once you have your purpose - it gets much easier! We will have a big backyard by Sydney city standards - 450sqm - for which our purposes are big backyard cricket area for the family, sustainable food production and a barrier between us and a golf course. So that meant we needed a big central grassed area. Then for food production we selected appropriate locations for garden beds and fruit trees. After 4 years - we're in! Re: Landscape design...over 2000sqm backyard..! 3Jan 14, 2009 12:05 pm Thanks for the reply...
we'd love to get a vegie garden going, this has always been a want for us both. I guess we're looking down the line of something that's not too formal, certainly not anything structured like alot of straight lines and rows of color. We have two dogs that will need a little re-educating once we move but they're clever dogs..(currently dig the odd hole, nothing major). We do want to screen out the neighbours a little, not completely block them out (don't want to be rude), just a little more privacy. Shrubs 2-3mt tall & wide?? Re: Landscape design...over 2000sqm backyard..! 5Jan 14, 2009 5:26 pm For good veggie garden tips - look for the videos of Peter Cundall on the Gardening Australia website - his 6 garden bed rotation doesn't take up too much room but produces heaps of food.
Lots of good veggie garden info from The Diggers Club as well (www.diggers.com.au) Perhaps do some visits to similar properties under the Open Gardens program that runs at the end of Spring (all around Aus) As for screening - I love lilly pilly (syzigium australe) - but you could also screen with espaliered fruit plants. After 4 years - we're in! Need advice on the backyard plan above. Should I excavate and cut all of the dirt to level with the house slab or semi-excavate as per photo above? Both left and right… 0 24832 Landscape Design Parramatta We have been doing a large amount of landscape design work in Sydney… 0 3 Thanks very much! And would the landscaper/contractor generally involve the engineer or is that something the client would do? Thanks for your help 2 10008 |