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DIY front yard landscaping and letterbox for our new property.
Steps
Step 1
Started with a dirt patch and a trailer load of road base from a mate. After working my way through the soil to remove any large rocks etc. I found that half the yard was riddled with palm tree roots from next door. This took a substantial effort to remove completely (by hand) and I had to relocate the road base (by hand) around the yard to clear everything.
Step 2
Once the soil was prepped, we laid charcoal pavers as a hedge border and a slight retaining wall to create two levels. First time cutting pavers with the grinder and first time laying pavers at all.
Step 3
We got a ton of garden soil delivered for the front section and hedge areas, then hired a compactor to harden the base for artificial turf inside the hedging. After having had actual turf in a similar layout at a previous property, it’s more trouble than it’s worth to maintain in a small area, so we invested in a quality Australian-made artificial turf, which doesn’t get super hot in the sun.
The letterbox was a DIY project with my wife and made with ply, hardwood posts, decking timber ripped into strips, Dulux Weathershield and Exterior Marine Varnish.
Step 4
Laying the turf after cutting out a circular section in the middle for a Magnolia. Mock Orange hedging in with some Redgum hardwood mulch. All planted areas are on Reticulation watering with drip irrigation,
Step 5
Front area mulched and planted with Lotus Flash for ground cover. All up, with the cost of everything other than the letterbox, this project cost us about $2000.
Congratulations on a terrific project, @lhlifestyle. Your front yard looks amazing and I'm sure it'll make for a solid first impression on anyone visiting your home. That feature letterbox is a great addition too. What were some of the biggest challenges in this project and how did you overcome them?
Let me also extend a warm welcome to the Bunnings Workshop community. We look forward to seeing and assisting you with your home improvement and gardening projects. Don't hesitate to post anytime you have a question.
Congrats on a terrific project once again. Can't wait to see what you tackle next.
Akanksha
Hello @lhlifestyle
Thank you so much for sharing this amazing landscaping revamp. It looks easy to maintain and is very manageable. I'm very curious about the letterbox structure that you've built. It looks awesome, the timber panel construction is impressive. Can you please tell us how you built it and what timber you used on it? Any information you can share would be very much appreciated.
Eric
Hi @lhlifestyle this is such an impressive transformation. I love the letterbox - I saw that you'd made it as a project with your wife, when I first assumed it had been bought. Like @EricL I'd be really interested in how you made it. Would you have a list of tools and materials, and pictures of the construction. It would be a great project for members.
Sorry for the slow reply to most of the earlier posts, we were in the process of relocating back to QLD so it’s been a busy time.
The letterbox was actually fairly straightforward to build in the end, but I didn’t take a lot of photos. I’ll try and do it justice with a proper post and steps and then link it here!
The yard ended up like this after 9 months of growing.
Hi @lhlifestyle, wow, that's beautiful. The plants have really taken shape around what you created. So good.
Moving is always very stressful - hope it went well. Love to see your project posted when you're settled in.
