Child Item

How to simply landscape backyard?

Hello everyone,

I would like to do my own backyard to save money but I have zero experience.

Will it be a hopeless task or Is it attainable?

I do not know where to start or what sort of equipment to use as I have a very limited space to put machinery in.

I am just thinking of putting up a simple backyard which is just in ground 1m Garden Beds on all sides of backyard and maybe just sow around a nice soil which I do not know how to proceed with.

Ang advice would definitely help! Thanks in advance! 😄

Find more posts tagged with

Tools and Materials

Gardening

Planting and Growing

Landscaping

Comments

Jewelleryrescue

Hi @Clarencio08

Well the plus side is you have a great back yard and a blank canvas to create some thing wonderfull.

You need a plan clearly thats why your here.

I would look at as many lovly gardens, and landscaping effects in person or tv or online.

1) Write down or note the things you like and take/save pictures of everything you like later you can look at them all and pick the features and plant types you like the most. Also consider there are different gardening styles formal or cottage style garden to name two you may like zones show casing various areas making little zones. You might choose to follow a style that will suggest certain plants and arrangments to make your life easier. But a style is just a guide .

2) There are several gardening apps too lay out your back yard space and let you add features you like and some let you do virtual walk through before you even open the backdoor to start work. It is very usefull to have a drawn plan to talk to people and suppliers with some measurements on it so you can cost things out before hand. I have not used such apps to recommend any of late.

3 Or you can start doing things gradually like you might want grass first, then a bbq area etc This gradual approach can be following a drawn plan or you can wing it.

4 As you start adding landscaping trees and garden beds etc This may inspire you to new upgraded ideas once you see your yard first hand growing before you eyes.

If you have a drawing plan it will help save you $$$ as if you know you want a surround garden bed then you can order less turf to spend on the garden bed instead.

Do your home work so you get exactly what you want first time and then you can do this in planned stages.

Hope this helps.

JacobZ

Hi @Clarencio08,

Thank you for your question and welcome to the Bunnings Workshop community it is fantastic to have you with us.

It's great to see you've already received some fantastic advice from @Jewelleryrescue.

As he has said, a good place to start is by putting a basic plan on paper and breaking things down into stages. I'd suggest checking out How To Plan & Landscape a Garden Makeover and How To Design a Garden for some guidance on this.

My suggestion for stages is -

Lawn preparation
Lawn installation
Lawn establishment
Hard landscaping (planter boxes, pathways, garden edging, etc.)

Preparing for the lawn is a good place to start and this is the one thing I'd suggest getting a landscaper to help with. They can likely use a Skid Steer Loader to remove the top layer of soil, along with the grass and weeds that have formed since construction and add a layer of topsoil between 50-100mm thick over the entire space. There are skid steers that are as narrow as 900mm wide, so even very tight access can often be managed. I'd suggest using a service such as HiPages or True Local to find a landscaping company close to you to enquire about their services.

Once the ground has been prepared, you can spread seeds using a seed spreader or you can lay already established turf which can be ordered in bulk through your local store's Special Orders desk. Check out How To Lay Turf for some guidance.

Once the seed is sown, or the turf is laid, there is a period of around 2-4 weeks where you will need to minimise movement around your yard to allow the grass to establish. This creates a natural break in your overall landscaping project that might be a good time for future planning, saving for the next steps and allowing the body to rest.

When the lawn has strengthened, you can move on to hard landscaping. Some good articles for information on this stage include -

You have a nice clean slate to work with and a massive amount of potential. Start by getting some plans on paper, draw out what you want to achieve and then break it down into stages. Anything is possible with some effort and commitment.

Allow me to tag @Noelle, @Nailbag and @Dave-1 for their advice.

Let me know if you have any further questions.

Jacob

Dave-1

https://www.workshop.bunnings.com.au/discussion/comment/44160#Comment_44160

Good Morning @Clarencio08

A new yard to play with 🙂 Yeah Envy for you is my first thought! So many things you can do!

My first suggestion would be to go out and buy a sketch pad, A3 would be best.

First page -

Do a top down sketch of the yard as is, Add in any services you know of (sewage/stormwater) and any hard bits of concrete ect. Add in width dimensions of yard and services. This becomes your start sheet for ideas.

Second Page, same drawn widths as the first one, this is where you could add types of trees you may like, shrubs/bushes (actually list the types and sizes they grow. I alos Lop my trees every second year to keep them managable) Garden beds. You have the size of the yard, the plants come with approximate sizes they will grow (unpruned) and you will learn where the yard gets sun in each season as you slowly build your yard up.

Third page, this is a sideways profile style sketch, as if you were looking at the yard at head height. Not hard to do as it dosnt have to be accurate but just so you can see the tree you want over there will block the path you may want in a few years type deal.

The following pages will accommodate each new structure/plant as you come up with ideas. Gazebos, BBQ area, Firepit, Flat area for a above ground pool or trampoline.

I have several of these sketch books 🙂 and it is so interesting how the eventual design comes to being!

Places I have found insperation -

Peoples yards as you drive around your suburb,

In here 🙂 (Bunnings community pages)

Problems that ive seen or heard of actually work in my favour as I will try to do something that mitigates my potential issues.

More driving around, seriously people have so many good ideas in the front yards that you can transfer to your back yard.

Seasonal change, I have liquid ambers, crepe myrtes in my yeard so they loose their leaves in winter. It changes the yards feel purposfully.

Shade, Building shade is an important one. I dont mean shade sails. Mean more trees/structures such as gazebo/shed/greenhouse.

Here is my front yard as I landscaped it over a year -ish

Landscaping front yard

Landscaping Front Yard Part 2

Gabion wall for front pathway

Top down sketch example of my front yard when I was doing stormwater work and installing/replacing a retaining wall.

Side path idea before I built it, At this point I new I wanted a path and was just considering how to make it.

The corner of the wall after it was built matched the picture I had sketched... I was surpprised 🙂

The corner before the new path went in months later after I had sourced some wiggly pavers as I had run out.

16 13-08-2023.jpg

The yard slowly changed as I broke the whole lot into smaller manageable projects.

20 13-08-2023.jpg

Pathway built, yeah still need more wiggly pavers but thats a "wait and see" project.

It may feel daunting to do it yourself, break it down and all of a suddern it becomes manageable and enjoyable. Go for the large things you want first, bbq area/firpit, pathway, gazebo or shed and the rest will follow.

Dave

Kyliz

So much great advice here especially with sourcing what you might like in your yard and creating a drawn plan or inspiration board.
One big thing to consider is the maintenance that is required for anything you choose. If you’re not much of a gardening person and don’t want to be mowing, pruning etc then you might want to consider not even having a lawn or anything too structured. Think of indigenous plants and possibly rock features or sitting areas that would not require continuous work.
If you do have lots of ideas then breaking it down into sections will and make it feel more achievable.

Dave-1

https://www.workshop.bunnings.com.au/discussion/comment/44166#Comment_44166

Afternoon @Kyliz

You have a very good point! 🙂 Maintaining what you have and that is everything from mowing/weeding to pruning plus re-oiling or painting. I have about four things I need to re-oil about now!

Dave

JacobZ

https://www.workshop.bunnings.com.au/discussion/comment/44166#Comment_44166

Hi @Kyliz,

Thank you for jumping into the conversation and welcome to the Bunnings Workshop community, it is fantastic to have you with us.

This is some great advice that I'm sure @Clarencio08 will appreciate.

Jacob

Nailbag

Hi @Clarencio08

Aside from the awesome practical advice provided by @JacobZ @Jewelleryrescue and @Dave-1 the only few things I can add would be:

Take note of each plants full growth size and allow ample spacing between others to prevent overcrowding.
Invest more in more established plants where you might need to use them to cover ugly areas or provide useful shade etc.
Buying smaller pots of fast growing plants will save a lot of money.
Consider how much lawn you want to maintain and how much maintenance you want to do in the garden.
Consider using 5mm x 100mm x 6m steel edging. It's around $100 a length so not cheap. But will last for decades vs a few years with Merbau. And yes you can buy much cheaper 2-3mm short length edging but it corrodes away real;atively quickly and costs more to support when installing.
Research "Bush-Mulch" in your local area. If you can access it direct from the arborists, it can be as little as $250 cash for 10mtrs
Include in your planning independent large diameter irrigation piping for lawn pop-ups, soaker and spray systems. Again future proofing while its easier to install main lines.
Include in your planning cable runs for feature low-voltage garden and path lights. Even if it's well down the track before it's affordable to install the lights.

Nailbag

Clarencio08

https://www.workshop.bunnings.com.au/discussion/comment/44152#Comment_44152

I really really appreciate this.

This is indeed very helpful. Im glad i went in to this community workshop. 🙂

Clarencio08

https://www.workshop.bunnings.com.au/discussion/comment/44160#Comment_44160

This is very helpful! I love this community.

The only problem I would be facing is my house has a very tight access.

I think im gonna have to do It by hand.

Not sure what tools to buy to get it all started but I will do my research.

Thank you so much!

Clarencio08

https://www.workshop.bunnings.com.au/discussion/comment/84189#Comment_84189

Thank you so much for this.

I will draw plans now and will put it to work.

For these weeds everywhere, do i just spray the whole soil to prevent them from growing with my future lawn?

Thank you

mich1972

https://www.workshop.bunnings.com.au/discussion/comment/84205#Comment_84205

Absolutely great advice and encouragement from the Workshop Community !!! That’s what I love about everyone 😃 @Clarencio08 Good luck with your Backyard, do it in stages and at your own pace so you don’t get overwhelmed and give up, take your time. Always remember that if you need to ask questions, keep in touch and there will always be someone who can help you out 😃😃😃

JacobZ

https://www.workshop.bunnings.com.au/discussion/comment/107117#Comment_107117

Hi @Clarencio08,

I'd suggest reading the advice I gave in the discussion: How do you kill all weeds before landscaping?

To prevent regrowth, killing the roots is necessary so a glyphosate-based herbicide such as Roundup is the way to go. Ensure you wait 2 weeks after application before moving on with lawn installation. Also ensure you wear the relevant personal protective equipment including gloves, a mask, long work clothes and enclosed shoes.

3-4 weeks after lawn installation, you can apply Oxafert Herbicide And Fertiliser which is a pre-emergent herbicide that will help prevent any weeds coming through. Please note that this product is not suitable for cool season grasses such as Ryegrass or Fescue.

Let me know if you have any further questions.

Jacob

Nailbag

https://www.workshop.bunnings.com.au/discussion/comment/84205#Comment_84205

Hi @Clarencio08

A few basic necessities to get you started hand tool wise to research if you don’t already have them:

Long handled shovel

Metal rake

Plastic rake. This one in particular because of its wide flat shape and scraper on the reverse side

Mattock

Medium sized builders wheel barrow

Hammer

1200mm spirit level

8m tape measure

And for powertools:

A decent 2-speed hammer drill

184mm Circular saw

And I would highly recommend an Impact driver

The rest you will work out as you go.

enjoy the process.

Nailbag

pete_brig

Hi.

First suggestion is to draw up your wish list as suggested by others, lay it out on paper, taking into consideration any services (sewerage, stormwater, power etc). Think about how you plan to use the space, future use (e.g. for children), access points (doors, garden gates) & how that affect's its usage e.g. taking cooking items to/from the house to a BBQ, clothesline & laundry door.. Think about where services are going to be needed (power, stormwater, water for irrigation). And as others have suggested, tackle it in stages.

And maybe consider an alternative to @JacobZ's sequence of steps: look at the hard landscaping first otherwise you'll be carting stuff over your lawn. That's doable but you'll probably need to lay down protection, similar to covering indoor flooring to avoid it being damaged. Downside is that it can't be left in place too long or the grass will suffer, hence the alternative sequence. And getting the big/permanent stuff done first means any adjustments/changes won't affect where the turf is laid or dug up--doing it after means just laying the turf to butt up against the hardscaping. But this also needs to be considered along with doing things in stages--maybe do the 1st major stage & lay the lawn around it after it's done so you can enjoy that stage & the lawn is in place to look nice.

If you'd like further input from this site, when you're ready, share what your wants are along with a plan showing dimensions of the space & position of the house, including doors, access points, & fences--that way any suggestions will be realistic e.g. no point suggesting a bench seat when it's in front of a door 😁

Cheers, Peter

Dave-1

https://www.workshop.bunnings.com.au/discussion/comment/60647#Comment_60647

Good @Evening @Clarencio08

Since this just popped up in my feed the first question that went through my mind is wondering how your yard might be going?

For mine, I have decided to loose the berms and level the front yard except for the pathways 🙂 I like them 🙂 So even tho I had a nice layout, sketched and put into place it is still not finished and about to get a revamp 🙂

Dave

Child Item