Garden makeover with new beds and planting

[Nikkaz]

Planting Lilly Pillies along the fence line and laying new turf refreshed this backyard.

• The project
• How to give your garden a makeover
• Popular backyard projects

The project

We've spent the extra time at home finishing our backyard. We started with framing off the area with a nice garden bed and an extra decking step, and filled the bed with 20m of garden soil.

Lots of digging, planting and hard work, but it's getting there.

We planted 20 Lilly Pillies and finished it off with our beautiful new Sir Walter lawn.

How to give your garden a makeover

Whether a simple refresh or a major rebuild, improving your garden means that you’ll be able to enjoy the results for years to come.

Horticulturist and Workshop member Adam Woodhams has written fantastic guides for giving your garden a makeover and planning what you want to do with the space long term.

Popular backyard projects

Check out the rest of Nikkaz's backyard makeover and find more inspiration for your backyard project in our Top 10 most popular garden makeovers.

[Bill47]

It is not a project that i am looking for. I have removed some old plants and am looking for replacements.

[EricL]

Hello @Bill47

Would it be possible for you to post a photo of the area you are trying to plant in? This will give our members a better idea of what's going on and will let them make a sound comprehensive recommendation. Please keep us updated, we look forward to seeing the photos.

Eric

[Bretta89]

is the black plastic barrier between the fence the and dirt to prevent rot, and if so..

... what is it called?

... how is it attached?

... does it just reach to the ground or does it continue into the garden bed?

[MitchellMc]

Welcome to the Bunnings Workshop community @Bretta89. It's brilliant that you've joined us, and many thanks for your question on this fantastic project.

Let me mention @Nikkaz, so they are alerted to your question, and hopefully, they can provide an answer.

I suspect @Nikkaz has used Grunt 2m x 5m Black 200um Builder's Film Ultra Tough. It would prevent the soil from coming in contact with the fence timber. Fence timber is only rated H3 and not suitable for inground use. I'd be keen to hear if it wrapped right under and, if so, how they dealt with drainage. A staple gun can be used to position it, but @Nikkaz might have come up with another solution.

Do you have your own garden makeover in the works? We'd be keen to hear all about it and would encourage you to start a discussion if you need any assistance or would like to share it with the community. Be sure to check out @Adam_W's article on How to build a simple raised garden bed and our Top 10 most popular raised garden beds for inspiration.

I'll be looking forward to seeing what you create.

Mitchell

[MarinaV]

This looks great! Well done. Can I please ask what the plants that you planted are called? Thank you. 

[KatieC]

Hi @MarinaV,

Welcome to the Bunnings Workshop community! It is awesome you have joined and thank you for your question about @Nikkaz gorgeous garden. Nikkaz planted some lovely Lilly Pillies in their new garden bed. Are you looking to do some screening in your garden? I highly recommend checking out @Adam_W's great article How to choose a screening plant.

Katie

[MarinaV]

@KatieC. Thank you, Katie. We are wanting to find some hedge plants to plant in some 60x30cm (wxh) pots that we will have on our balcony and we are hoping to have the plants at about 1-1.2 height? Would these ones be suitable or are the pots too small for them? Thank you.

[MarinaV]

@KatieC. Thank you, Katie. We are wanting to find some hedge plants to plant in some 60x30cm (wxh) pots that we will have on our balcony and we are hoping to have the plants at about 1-1.2 height to give us some privacy as we have glass balustrades? Would these ones be suitable or are the pots too small for them? Thank you.

[KatieC]

Hi @MarinaV,

I think your pots may be too small so I personally wouldn't suggest planting Lilly Pillies as they can grow on average 4-5 meters high untrimmed in pots. There are some great screening options out there that will suit your selected pots, let me tag our knowledgeable gardeners @Noelle, @Adam_W, and @mich1972 to find out what they would suggest. In the meantime, check out this great article How to create privacy by planting which has some great advice on using climbing plants for screening. 

Katie

[Noelle]

Hi @MarinaV 

Your balcony planters are quite small and not really deep enough for growing screening plants 1-1.2m tall. I'd look at using them for adding some colour, such as Bambino bougainvilleas or something similar that doesn't grow particularly tall but will create interest.

Pots for screening plants need to be about double the depth of your planters so they hold sufficient potting mix for reasonably substantial root systems. Screening plants in your pots could be top-heavy and susceptible to being blown over by the wind.

[Tyro]

Congratulations Nikkaz! That's a lot of work with a superb outcome! 👏👍🏻 I'm a courtyard gardener so would love to have a larger area like that to play with!

One thing I noticed was your Lillipilli's look like they are right up against the fence.  As a green-with-envy garden observer, many people seem to forget that plants can grow rather big! So here are some points you might want to consider before your trees get too much bigger:

•  Lillipilli's have a spreading root system, so if planted too close to the fence, they can uproot the structure (no pun intended!) as they can reach 5 or 6 meters with a 2 - 3 metre foliage spread (that's also the spead of the root system).

•  The girth of the tree trunk  can also cause alot of damage, as mature trees  can literally push the fence over. 

•  Another angle to be aware of is the placement of the underground pipes & wiring, not only of your house but also those of your neighbours! 

I hope I haven't flooded your ideas by pouring too much cold water on them! 🙄😂

Good luck!

Tyro

[EricL]

Hi @Tyro 

Thanks for sharing that information, let me tag @Nikkaz to make sure they see your recommendations. If I ever plant Lillypilly's, I'll make sure to provide enough space for them to grow.

Eric