Browse Forums Landscape & Garden Design 1 Sep 28, 2011 1:16 pm We have finally turfed and put our brick pavers down. Now for the garden beds. I am heading towards grassy, tolerant plants and steering away from Aus natives as both my boys are allergic to quite a few of them. So far I've only planted 3 but am heading out today or tomorrow to get some more. What I need help with is what to dress the garden beds with. I had originally planned to put oversized pebbles in a light colour around the plants, but then started thinking of the cost. Now I'm leaning more towards mulch, but possibly a dark brown or black. We have a dog and there are dogs everywhere around our estate. I have read that some of the mulches are bad for dogs, but not sure which ones. What do you think would suit the front of my house? Mulch (of some sort) or the oversize pebbles? Or are there any other ideas out there that would look good? I would love your opinions please. Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ Edited to add that we have a green belt accross the road with palm trees if that is any help. Building the HUNTLEY 310 Prelims - Sept 5th Settlement - Sept 7th Build Begins - Nov 3rd All moved in! - June 21st 2011 Building Thread: viewtopic.php?f=31&t=36894 Re: Mulch or Rocks..... or any other suggestions welcome! 3Sep 28, 2011 3:10 pm My husband and I built our retaining wall. It was going to cost around $1500 so we decided to save some money and do it ourselves. We are very proud of our efforts! Building the HUNTLEY 310 Prelims - Sept 5th Settlement - Sept 7th Build Begins - Nov 3rd All moved in! - June 21st 2011 Building Thread: viewtopic.php?f=31&t=36894 Re: Mulch or Rocks..... or any other suggestions welcome! 5Sep 28, 2011 9:33 pm Mulch from a tree lopper. Cheapest and best option for the soils health Use rocks if you want to slow down the growth in your garden. Re: Mulch or Rocks..... or any other suggestions welcome! 6Sep 29, 2011 8:59 am Thanks for the advice. I'm off to get some plants! Building the HUNTLEY 310 Prelims - Sept 5th Settlement - Sept 7th Build Begins - Nov 3rd All moved in! - June 21st 2011 Building Thread: viewtopic.php?f=31&t=36894 Re: Mulch or Rocks..... or any other suggestions welcome! 7Nov 08, 2011 12:09 pm This is a subject that has been posted a great many times. Whilst rocks look pretty. They serve absolutely no purpose in maintaining soil health. So after a few years you get gardens that are increasingly inefficient and expensive to maintain. Soils are a consumed resource by soil organisms. The organic content needs to be constantly replaced. In nature this is how it works. In a gardens its just the same. Good effective Mulch is a means of creating new soil. Side effects of it are that it protects soil microbes, keeps water in (not all do) and slows or stops weeds. We are only focused on the side effects of mulch and not at all on what it actually does, which is create new soil. Continue the cycle and all will come together. These guys are involved at the pointy end of mulch research so the rest haven't caught up. http://www.plantsman.com.au/page2/files ... ething.pdf http://www.sustainableoutdoors.com.au/mulching/ Re: Mulch or Rocks..... or any other suggestions welcome! 8Nov 08, 2011 12:10 pm A search on mulch topics using my name alone will give about 20 pages of info. Tradie may sit at home but will need to get house plastered as well or will you sit it out? 6 9965 I recently went through a similar renovation and move scenario when updating our family home. We also swapped some rooms around and tackled a major… 2 10032 Hi, Looking to add an ensuite to one of the bedrooms and make it a Master BR. Please see the attached current floorplan. Need suggestions on what's the best way to do… 0 7338 |