13.The Yard

Landscaping

Feb-March 2015: I didn't get anyone to do the landscaping per se, but I found a terrific guy to do the paving, retaining walls, garden beds & turf, ie the heavy lifting. This left me ready to start finding out about plants in the area that  might survive the heavy clay and coastal conditions here.

Front

We terraced the front slope, leaving a garden bed in front of it. The developer requires two trees at least 1.5m in every front yard, plus a plethora of tightly specified shrubbery but it's so unrealistic on the size block most have that it's generally ignored. Laid turf rather than growing from seed to get a quick start but it also reduces the weeds thanks to the matting under the turf rolls.

Mud strip on the left is also mine & a concrete path will go in later.

Back Yard

Merbau decking is in an is a great space, opening out from the dining room sliding doors. Still procrastinating about what to do for furniture, I love the classic Cape Code recliners but they suck for playing dobro in.

As you can see, I've made a bit of a start on plants. It's now autumn and we're pretty exposed to the winds coming off Bass Straight so it's cooling down quickly - not the best time to plant anything that loves spring.

North Side - white pavers put in from the garage door. Not a lot of sun here but I'll later try to get something green across the fence where it imposes the view onto the dining & music room windows.