Browse Forums Landscape & Garden Design 1 Jan 05, 2013 8:10 pm Hello. I have a really ugly back yard. I have taken some photos and linked them to here. I would like to change this into a really nice yard but do not have a coherent idea/plan on what do. This is largely because I don’t have confidence in what to do or how to do it and the high cost of landscaping in general. Some basic things I would like 1. Hide the ugly fences and perhaps the brick walls of the house. Raise the fence height too. 2. Enlarge the paved area 3. Minmise soil contact with the house bricks 4. Perhaps use the sloped area to some effect I was thinking of covering the west (no photo but it is a narrow patch of land which doesn’t always get sun) and south sides of the house with gravel and stepping stones to solve deal with the issue of limited sunshine in winter. I have been digging the soil up and have noted it is mostly clay and rock and only the ugly crab grass and weeds grow in it. Beyond that I don’t really have any ideas. Suggestions would be very welcome. http://i68.photobucket.com/albums/i25/zumaneck/IMG_0869_zps7a6fd3b6.jpg http://i68.photobucket.com/albums/i25/zumaneck/IMG_0868_zps04594cb8.jpg http://i68.photobucket.com/albums/i25/zumaneck/IMG_0867_zpsd453754c.jpg http://i68.photobucket.com/albums/i25/zumaneck/IMG_0866_zps1cf962fb.jpg Re: Help required to design landscape 2Jan 06, 2013 9:05 am Well - perhaps start by sitting down and trying to design on paper/pencil what you want. Use a budget of course. A simple thing for the fence might be oil/paint it ? That will make it look better. You look to have rectangles alongside and behind. Design with this in mind. Simple things for smaller areas and narrow might be stepping stones surrounded by river rocks, with greenery along the fence line. A simple water system with drippers to each plant. Water system - Bunnings etc have timers and you can also buy the gadgets that can automatically water the garden - uses water pressure - not electricity. Total price will be well under $500 I'd say to set it up. You have a a perfect area (rectangle again) for a possible retaining wall - get it done properly - and ensure drainage. Maybe make it a rockery - creepers and smaller shrubs/plants - succulents ? Perhaps maintain a little lawn at the rear - or where the view is. tips - while doing things yourself is cheaper - a bob-cat can do an awful lot of work in a day and not cost a fortune. Maybe use the scrapping etc to build up another area ? Add a path here and there and a few bird baths - to attract birds. Along with bushes that attract them. But - design it on paper and then sit and think for a day or so. Keep an eye around the neighbourhood for ideas - look at gardens everywhere. Maybe ask the neighbours for help ? Its amazing how many free plants are out there - ie offer to help thin out a neighbours garden - for the plants. Re the water system - draw this in too. Its not hard to put in a dripper system - or pop-up sprinkler. BUT ... you need to do it properly. Just a few ideas. Re: Help required to design landscape 3Jan 07, 2013 8:52 am Wow. You aren't kidding :/ What's going to really determine what you can do is budget. The biggest problems IMO from what I can see are the fence and the state of the grass. Something I might suggest for that steep slope is to put two retaining walls in. I'm guessing it looks about three to four feet high, so you could make the first step about 2-2.5ft hi, then cut back about 18 inches, and then go up another 12-18 inches. Use that flat 18 inches to either put in some grasses, potted colour... whatever. If this were me, I'd be sticking a lemon tree opposite that covered area, in the middle of the high slope just below the dead patch. Building a Delta 21 at Craigieburn - http://homeofzero.blogspot.com.au/ Deposit: 26/02. Contract: 22/05. Settlement: 29/05. Site start: 18/10. Re: Help required to design landscape 4Jan 07, 2013 10:16 am Hi RTG. Before you can come up with any design, you need to have a clear idea of what you want to use your yard for. Make a list of the features you want, and then sort out the must-haves from the would-be-nice. For instance, do you want: An outdoor dining/entertaining area? And for how many people? A veggie garden and/or fruit trees? A playground area for kids? A future pool? Storage for a boat/ trailer/caravan? Think about the necessary things too, like clothesline, shed for storing garden equipment, water tanks(?) etc. ideally, you want to place those put of sight, or screen them effectively. Once you have your list, you can start to look for inspiration - see what other people have done with similar areas. Garden/backyard magazines are great for this, and of course there's the internet... After all that, you can finally begin to figure out what will go where. Also...where are you located? Climate will have a big impact on what you can and can't do. Re: Help required to design landscape 6Feb 14, 2013 3:00 pm Hi, That really is a clean slate! Some of the earlier posts are spot on. You want to firstly work out what functions you need your garden to provide, and also what your budget is. There are several way of achieving certain results, such as retaining a sloped garden, but budget will heavily influence what materials you use and what landscape elements you can and cannot include. I would suggest a retaining wall along that steep sloping section of the yard, try and situate this wall as close to your boundary fence and use this area between the house and retaining wall for your utilities such as bin storage, compost bin and clothesline if it fits and gets enough sun. Plant fence height shrubs around the fence line to soften the yard and plant some lower shrubs in front of these to give a fuller more interesting affect. There are many shrubs that would work for you including murrayas, photinias, lillypillies. I would also add a small tree or two to the corners of the yard to add some interest and height, and possible enough shade to put a table and chairs under. Extending the paving area out further is relatively simple, again budget will determine what material you use here. Run some garden edging along the edge between the lawn and the new garden beds, bricks, treated pine or pavers would do the job. Ideally create some gentle curves in the garden edging, again to add interest and break up the geometry of the yard. This is a basic starting point that would have a big impact. Any further landscaping requirements would be budget dependent. Good luck Dave Landscape Design Parramatta We have been doing a large amount of landscape design work in Sydney… 0 3 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 18929 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 6735 |