A backyard makeover to create a low-maintenance garden with pond, pavers, timber shed, veggie garden and lighting.
The project
This is our retirement home so it was important that we create a low maintenance backyard that would eventually provide shade for outdoor living in the hot Queensland summer.
The design had to include:
- Thick planting to screen us from the walkway along the side boundary
- Low planting to ensure that we could enjoy the view through the park to the canal
- Areas of paving and paths with gravelled drainage areas
- A wooden deck
- A lily pond with fountain
- Pond and garden to be illuminated at night
- Veggie garden for salads and herbs
- Small lawn area for the dog.
Steps
Step 1
Initially, to control the dust, the block was covered in turf leaving a 3m border which was planted with golden canes, dracaenas, cordylines, bananas and pawpaws.
Step 2
When the weather cooled down, the work began. A pond was constructed from a treated timber frame covered in fibre cement board which was painted black. A plastic liner was installed and block toppers glued around the perimeter to form seat to sit and feed the fish.
Step 3
Treated sleepers were used to form a frame for the floating path of 400 x 400mm pavers.
Step 4
200 x 50mm treated sleepers were laid as bearers on the levelled soil. These were then braced and covered in 3m sleepers to form a deck. Cheap, quick and sturdy. Once these had dried, they were painted with Cabot's deck paint.
Step 5
A view of the finished garden. Soon after this photo. was taken most of the plants were unfortunately destroyed by a tropical hailstorm.
Step 6
The survivors - golden canes with an underplanting of bromeliads and xanadu and cordylines along the park perimeter.
Step 7
An Elluminate spotlight kit was installed to light the garden at night and an Aquapro underwater spotlight in the pond.
Step 8
Built a little garden shed with the help of the local kookaburra.
Step 9
Also built a vegetable garden with the help of a little puppy.
Here is the first harvest.
Tools and materials
Materials used in the project:
Tools used in the project:
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