Browse Forums Landscape & Garden Design 1 Jan 09, 2010 2:33 pm What a pleasure to have a landscaper. I went to work leaving a nasty sand trap, and when I got back from work I had a garden ... it was like magic!! I asked him to lay Empire Z as I had been avidly reading all Fu had to say (he offered Sir Walter). It is still lovely and green ... will have to try and work out the retic as I KNOW that it is running more than it should. I got dispensation from the Water Corp for having a new lawn, but it has been two weeks now, so I have to cut it down ... just am boggled with having to reading the instruction booklet!! I am planting roses in the front ... a few icebergs for show, and then tea roses for the house. I love having roses in a vase. The retic for the plants is the drip irrigation. I wonder though, how it keeps the plants watered when there is nothing directly on them. Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ It looks even more shocking when I see the dead old grass again in the photos! That is how the builders left it. When I asked about cleaning it, they said they are builders not gardeners!! I am going to Seesol it this weekend. When does one cut it for the first time? Built the Driftwood with C*ollier Homes Moved in 8 November 2009 Slowly getting organised ..... Re: Magic ... I have a garden !! 2Jan 09, 2010 2:38 pm WOW…how good does that look!!! Way to go, you must be so proud! Internal and External Building and Colour Consultant Online - Worldwide http://www.denovoconcepts.com Re: Magic ... I have a garden !! 3Jan 09, 2010 3:28 pm Oooh, I thought this thread was all about me (cos of the Magic part in the title) - settle that head swell, MagicJ, not everything is about you ! Your garden looks simply beautiful - what a gorgeous and amazing transformation!!! No wonder you are happy ! MagicJ I finally have my own reno thread: viewtopic.php?f=1&t=28335 The reason a dog has so many friends is that he wags his tail instead of his tongue! Re: Magic ... I have a garden !! 4Jan 09, 2010 3:29 pm What a difference. Those retaining walls at the front look great, and I'm digging the little fiber-optic looking things Re: Magic ... I have a garden !! 5Jan 09, 2010 5:03 pm Looks great...I mowed by roll-out Palmetto about three weeks after laying...basically once the seams started to disappear and there was resistance when you tried to lift a corner, i.e. the roots had been well established. But mine was laid late last year in spring, so it grew and knitted together very quickly. I'm sure the local expert can advise... mmm....donuts Homer Simpson 1956- Links: Site Costs Ready Reckoner | H1 Addiction Medical Advice | Château TDL: The Backyard Re: Magic ... I have a garden !! 6Jan 09, 2010 5:19 pm MagicJ Oooh, I thought this thread was all about me (cos of the Magic part in the title) - settle that head swell, MagicJ, not everything is about you ! Strangely enough, so did I Your gardens look great!! What a difference Re: Magic ... I have a garden !! 7Jan 09, 2010 8:44 pm Hey great to hear you embarking on the landscape. This is the point at which your garden will or won't become a burden on both the cities resources and yours. Sounds like you've been reading my posts though so you should be pretty right. Remember, certified organic soils only (they cost more but you will see the difference in your water bills and in the wonderful growth and health of your garden) As for the retic, easy Hopefully they have installed a Hunter or Toro controller. They are just so easy to use. How to use it? Well let me know what type and I may be able to help you As for your water requirements for lawn. Here on the west coast, you need around 10mm two times a week eventually on that turf. How much is that? Well get a bunch of the SPC or Goulburn Valley fruit in those plastic tubs with the green screw on lids. Tastes good, eat all of it and then use the lids out on the lawn. They hold exactly the equivalent to 10mm of rainfall I really hope your landscaper used the MP rotators on your popups as this is fast becoming the industry standard for not only Perth but the most practical waterwise option for turf. Just have a see how long it takes to fill them and leave it set to that time. Use the seasonal adjust function (something every controller should have if it is to be effective in waterwise irrigation, domestic water management) to alter programme times as things heat up or cool down. That way there is no stuffing about with programme times. Just turn the dial to say 50% of the set times or if it's going to get hot, set it at 100% Easy Oh and once it is established, avoid evening watering, especially on the lawn. It encourages fungal disease. As for the subsurface Netafim (I really hope that is what was used, Netafim doesn't look like a snake that swallowed a mouse) it works very well. No water is wasted to the air so the efficiency is as good as it gets. Those microsprays on sticks for example waste as much water into the air, if not more, than goes into the soil. Your Netafim will deliver the water directly to the soil. It then absorbs through the soil from there. Aim to use green mulches in the future (get from mulchnet.com) as black mulches will mean your plants will develop poor root systems that are susceptible to heat stress and also create water repellency issues later on toward the end of summer for you. Black mulch will also absorb huge amounts of water and it will do better than the soil. This means the water from the irrigation is most likely to end up in the mulch more than the soil where it needs to be. Hopefully they at least used pine bark as a mulch. Re: Magic ... I have a garden !! 8Jan 09, 2010 8:48 pm What am amazing difference!!! Looks great mtuba viewtopic.php?f=31&t=22766 - my build thread! Time waits for no man. Unless that man is Chuck Norris. Re: Magic ... I have a garden !! 9Jan 09, 2010 9:03 pm Thanks everyone (especially Fu ). I have just come in from Seasolling. I sooo hope my landscaper did do all you recommend!! (ha Ha ... I paid enough!!). The 'beds' irrigation is a brownish tube. Is it worth putting on the green mulch now, even though I have just had the black stuff put on. The black stuff looks sooo pretty ... but when I plant in the front (the back has plants already), all the grey and yellow sand gets dug up, so the front garden beds look a bit like a quilt and it wouldn't matter to get the green mulch now!! I will get to eating the SPC fruit ... hope they are on special this week !!! Built the Driftwood with C*ollier Homes Moved in 8 November 2009 Slowly getting organised ..... Re: Magic ... I have a garden !! 10Jan 09, 2010 9:14 pm Also seeing they did it so fast!!!!!!!! Make sure they have installed a brown valve at the end of each of the subsurface lines. They should also have installed a pressure reducer and a canister filter that you will need to clean once or twice a year. These are essential for the system to remain operable and self maintaining There should also be a grey valve sticking up which stops particles being sucked into the netafim pipe. The pipe should be 13mm Netafim Techline AS but it is still good to use the $15 air relief valve for the sake of the entire system Both types of drip pipe are brown. The good one is smooth with the little holes. The other is as I mentioned in the previous post. Cheaper to buy too. i'll try see what photos I have to show you... Re: Magic ... I have a garden !! 11Jan 09, 2010 9:24 pm Mtuba2 Is it worth putting on the green mulch now Absolutely! Green mulches will start a much bigger thing in your new garden. It's called sustainability Black mulch is better than no mulch but it's only thing it does is look nice for the first few weeks, then it begins to grey off. In months it mats and then begins to be water repellent. Plant roots grow up into it and dry in the heat which hamppers their ability to reabsorb water after a hot day. Green mulch will create a cycle of feeding your soil It smells 20 times better than black mulches and needs to be applied at least 10cm thick and more in the places between the plants. Your new plants may disappear a little behind that but they will get growing at a stupid rate! You will get worms too ... in the garden Make sure you don't have mulch around the base or stems of the plants as this will cause problems. Just pull it away a little and they'll be fine Re: Magic ... I have a garden !! 12Jan 09, 2010 9:33 pm Seeing how you are local, I would highly recommend attending one of the free "Great gardens Workshops" when they are next near you They are entertaining and well catered for with fruit from SPC ... nar, not really but they are well catered for and entertaining Mostly aimed at people who are creating new gardens and who want to learn the non BS versions of what to do in the garden to be waterwise. The two Johns or should we call them, "The two Johnnies"? are very well respected in our circles and by the public Keep an eye out for one here... http://www.greatgardens.info/events.php Re: Magic ... I have a garden !! 13Jan 09, 2010 9:39 pm I typed a reply but it disappeared into cyberspace!! Oh dear ... I have no little pipe sticking up! Also my tube just is bent over and taped. There are two rows of pipe though, so perhaps one end has that brown valve. I will have a good squizz tomorrow. The landscaper, Jeff, was a nice guy, so I could ask him all this I guess. My pipe is nice and smooth. I will definitely keep a look out for those workshops. Sounds great! Built the Driftwood with C*ollier Homes Moved in 8 November 2009 Slowly getting organised ..... Re: Magic ... I have a garden !! 14Jan 10, 2010 6:39 am your house makes me wish we'd gone the darker roller door not 100% happy with ours its all too similar, oh well lawns and gardens looks great, the house is so different Blog - http://snakedr.blogspot.com/ Build Thread - viewtopic.php?f=31&t=12084&p=307406#p307406 Status - PCI 15/10. Things nearly done. Re: Magic ... I have a garden !! 15Jan 10, 2010 9:51 am It is so hard to visualise what your house will look like when you sit in the pre-start office!!! As much as I love my front doors, I always think they clash a little, as the light brown is such a different brown to the rest of the house. I have added some pots (still have to find a flower to put in them!!), but hopefully that will break up the colours a little. I love my garage door colour though. I chose the plain wood one, and then overnight decided I wanted the one with rectangles on (I only had two choices), so phoned at 8 o'clock the next morning, and she said "sorry .. you made your choice yesterday (after 6 hours of pre-start), we can't change it. I was disappointed, but quite like it now actually!!! As you can see I have added paving on the verge for parking (I have lots of cars visiting with kids), and that adds to the brown overview even more!! I had to find some way to get the kids off the streets ... ha ha even if it was just their cars! Built the Driftwood with C*ollier Homes Moved in 8 November 2009 Slowly getting organised ..... Re: Magic ... I have a garden !! 16Jan 10, 2010 11:36 am Great garden - what a dramatic difference it has made. I bet pusskins like walking around the back garden and rolling on and scratching real grass! Question, I know it's off topic, but I'm interested in your retaining wall. It looks great. Can I ask what it is made of? We have to have a retaining wall at the front of our place and are researching different options. Cheers. Re: Magic ... I have a garden !! 17Jan 10, 2010 12:14 pm I love my retaining wall ... unfortunately it only came in cream and charcoal (but in lots of different styles), so I am hoping the charcoal will dirty up a teeny bit and become a bit more brown to match!!! It doesn't clash too much in real life though. I am in WA, and the firm was just up the road, so I could go and have a good squizz at their displays. They have lots of lovely choice. It is called www.Bradfordpaving.com.au I see on their website that they deliver interstate. I actually saw it getting installed at a new house up the road, and stopped in, knocked on the door and asked where they got it from! Word of mouth goes a long way these days. Built the Driftwood with C*ollier Homes Moved in 8 November 2009 Slowly getting organised ..... Re: Magic ... I have a garden !! 18Jan 10, 2010 12:25 pm Wow what a difference, it looks fantastic! You must be very pleased I so want to have a garden all done nicely as well, guess I will keep dreaming Say Hi to Nicci from me Building with Homebuyers Centre El Questro! My building thread..viewtopic.php?f=31&t=19421 Brickies started 5/10 Re: Magic ... I have a garden !! 19Jan 10, 2010 12:27 pm Mtuba2 I love my retaining wall ... unfortunately it only came in cream and charcoal (but in lots of different styles), so I am hoping the charcoal will dirty up a teeny bit and become a bit more brown to match!!! It doesn't clash too much in real life though. I am in WA, and the firm was just up the road, so I could go and have a good squizz at their displays. They have lots of lovely choice. It is called http://www.Bradfordpaving.com.au I see on their website that they deliver interstate. I actually saw it getting installed at a new house up the road, and stopped in, knocked on the door and asked where they got it from! Word of mouth goes a long way these days. Thanks for the info. I'll check out their website. Cheers. Re: Magic ... I have a garden !! 20Jan 10, 2010 12:34 pm lynnebin1968 Wow what a difference, it looks fantastic! You must be very pleased I so want to have a garden all done nicely as well, guess I will keep dreaming Say Hi to Nicci from me I am going to see her today ... it is a long trek from Madeley to Canning Vale!! I will certainly give her your regards. She has settled nicely in her house. I will tell her to put up some pics of her garden etc. It looks great. She also has Empire Z. Built the Driftwood with C*ollier Homes Moved in 8 November 2009 Slowly getting organised ..... Fig Landscapes has produced an e-book and native plant index, available for purchase from their website. It's a great resource, full of inspiration and tips. Another… 1 12265 Our Bondi Greenwall was impressive from day one with advanced lush plants to provide a wow factor to this recently renovated living area. The boundary was less than 1… 0 15310 |