Suggestions wanted for backyard and side access landscaping

[sanjurajan]

Hi,

We just moved into our newly built house recently and looking forward to doing some of the remaining work on our own.

Already got the blinds fitted on our own with suggestions from this always helpful forum.

Now its the outdoors. 

We have a backyard space of 12.5m x 6.7m and also the side access as shown in the attached plan and photos.

Its not level with the alfresco floors both at the backyard and side and we think we might need around 0.5 to 1 feet to get it levelled.

- What steps do we need to take  to get it to level? Do we need to just add some soil or should we add crushed rocks and then top soil so that we can have a lawn and also some space for gardening around the edge of the fence ? 

Looking for some suggestions and plans as we are totally confused at this point?

 Plan. Backyard

Side Access

[EricL]

Hello @sanjurajan

Congratulations on moving into your new house! I'm a big fan of mini-golf and am not too fond of mowing grass, I suggest having a look at these options for the side access of your house - Backyard golf putting green by @homeinmelbourne, Side access landscaping by @hazesnow and Side yard access improved with concrete path by @Nham. I recommend having a look at this guide as well - How to plan a garden makeover by @Adam_W.

Making you're side-access a usable part of your house is always a plus instead of just something that is part of the yard. Turning it into a mini-golf course will keep your kids entertained and is a great way to do a family activity together. As for the larger part of the yard, you could make some of it as part of the mini-golf course combined with a regular garden layout. 

Here is a link for ideas and inspiration:  Top 10 most popular garden makeovers

Let me call on our experienced members @Jewelleryrescue and @diy_hausdesigns for their recommendations.

If you need further assistance, please let us know.

Eric

[Jewelleryrescue]

Well @sanjurajan 

You certainly have a blank canvas to  work it i know that feeling,  Of  coarse everything  comes  back to you personal live style and likes but I will add some ideas  not to fancyfull and see if these ideas work for you.

Drawing has  a key down the side for  items you can  think about.

So the main concept here is  a mini maze with  low plants and some 2-3 meter plants blocking the view across the yard giving the illusion of a bigger garden as  you move around path  different  plants and different  garden view untill you get to the purple zone.

Purple  zone It  could  be your secret garden all raised beds just add soil. could  be pond and seating and statue.  Could be  kids cubby house. could be outdoor room  with roof.  Gardina , or magnolias is lovly fragrent medium bushes good for blocking through view. 

Use  real  grass or artifical  lawn will save you owning a mower.  Add brackets to the walls and hang  plants on them to  make those long alleys more  cooler and  people friendly.  Lay black plastic and put in 5mm to 20 mm stones  or concrete areas.

Hang the clothes line directly outside  laundry in that lane way on the house wall . No need for sun as that alley is like a wind tunnel we have ours like that and no dramas.  Use  drier indoors  on wet days.

You will love a smaller Japanesss maple in your  yard it is house frendly no damaging roots and lovley autumn colours

Well there is some  food for thought

ideas

[Jewelleryrescue]

Here is a real Example

Of blocking direct line of sight it helps make a mystery of  whats around the next bend and arriving in a  new  space. If you turn around well its a  whole new  place and view.  A straight view  and you see it in a glance.

If you have a rectangle yard  with garden  on outer edges you see it all in one glance and seeing it from  the other side dosent really change the view.

I think the smaller the  yard in todays homes this  maze idea works as it can  be made from  flat garden  panels too.

Here is a series of photos all taken while  walking around a  house a few meters apart every view is quite different.  Now walk back the other way (not shown here) and your at a whole new place.  Use  objects in photos to help you navigate  new photo  positions,

Straight path mazed 1middle of maze 2out of the maze 3 Secret Tree gardenPath to next area 4Long side house with marble garden wallNote clothes line in wind tunnel house side + its right next laundry

FEATURES

- Made my  garden  in 3D  by that i mean you look up at the tree Golden Elm  and down into the lower path around the tree.  Just sit on the bench on the other side of tree and the whole  yard view changes yet again.

 - I am  using  painted  concrete steel  trench mesh as  rose arbore thingys

- loose stones crunch as  you walk on them  as a burglar warning.  Note 5mm to  20mm stones cant easy be used as weapons or to smash house windows.

The last  photo is clothes  line right outside laundry so convenient   2 steps from washing machine as wind not the sun dries clothes  quickly here.

- Flat path designed  wide enough for wheel  chair but over  stones ? also my builders barrow at need.

[EricL]

Hi @Jewelleryrescue

Let me tag @sanjurajan to make them aware of your added suggestions. Using plants to block the line of sight definitely helps to break up the image of a small area. Having a maze-like layout adds a sense of discovery and gets you curious as to what is on the other side. 

Eric

[sanjurajan]

Thanks, @EricL for these great suggestions and ideas. We particularly liked your tip about making the side access a usable part of the yard.

We liked the looks of pavers with white stones better than the plain concrete side access that you shared in this project and here.

- Are there any cons with pavers/stone combination instead of concreting in terms of protection against pests/termites and rains against the house walls? Asking because I see concreting commonly done in most of the side accesses.

- I have taken quotes for concreting. I wanted to compare it with the cost of using pavers/stones. The side access area to put pavers/stones is 0.8m X 20m on one side and 0.8m X 13m. Could you please share the materials that we will need to get it done ourselves? 

Cheers

Sanju

[sanjurajan]

Hi @Jewelleryrescue 

Wow! this is so kind of you. Thanks so much for taking the time to draw up a plan with all those ideas and suggestions.

This is like a mega project for beginners like us and it's so overwhelming. We are going to divide and conquer and definitely take many of the ideas you have put forward here as small projects as we go. 

We particularly liked your mini maze and secret garden idea, the Japanese maple in the front, the wall cloth line idea next to laundry, hanging plants around house.

Cheers

Sanju

[Jewelleryrescue]

Hi @sanjurajan 

You guys are doing the right  smart thing if you make a plan of your own incorperating your  favorite ideas you can much more easily divide those projects up into bite size projects. It is also import  to see how to marry one space into the next.

For a new home owner  a tip :go  get a few A3 photo copies (10 each inside and outside) of your builders to scale house plans to draw your ideas on then you can go to carpet people and  paver people etc  and  they can measure of your scale drawing and give you good quotes and see 100% what you need on the spot.

The  mini maze garden bed is quite easy becase you are simply building boxes on top of your  rocky looking  ground and you fill them with garden mix soil and it is done.

Can I change some little details lol  in the secret garden to no pond but a  flat wall water feature would look and sound great.

Instead  of hanging pots  use  flush wall mounted pots would  look much  nicer , under the windows down the sides  consider planter boxes like they have on cottages in  europe  so those  rooms see greenery. and or flowers up at window level.

I didnt want to say anything about pavers but  while i am typing.

Talk to EricL more  about pavers but they no so easy to install and get it right? and  i personally dont like  the weeds growing in them  its a life long  battle. Pavers not so cheap any more either i guess nothing is.

You can get stenciled  concrete with  paver patterns pressed into it and no little weeds and they will never move or sink.

This person @hazesnow did a nice job down the sides using artifical grass and panels on the colour bond  fence.

[EricL]

Hello @sanjurajan

The pavers from the pebble path are the Adbri Masonry 600 x 300 x 40mm Charcoal Boulevard Paver and the pebbles are the Tuscan Paths 10kg 10 - 20mm Smooth Cream Pebbles. To achieve nice clean lines of division I suggest looking at the Garden Edging products. The type of paver and pebble you want to use is up to you, especially if you are after a different colour combination. To prevent weeds and grass from growing in your path simply put in some weed mat. This will stop the weeds from coming out but will allow water to pass through. 

The good part about using pavers is that if you change your mind in the future you can either remove them or change their layout. You can use a builder's line to make sure that your paving layout is perfect. You can also put them in a staggered position if you are doing the maze layout. From a D.I.Y. perspective, this is a very achievable project and can be accomplished with proper planning.

If you have any other questions we can help with, please let us know.

Eric

[Jewelleryrescue]

@EricL 

What do you suggest for the long term weeds growing in the cracks  from top down?

All I can think of doing as endless  weed killing with poision which isnt good for pets or animals some times they  also try eat some greenry  at times.

A pressure washer helps it will cut weeds out too a certain degree,..

Stone pebbles they  will grow and are easy to pull out early on and  concrete well we are in serious  trouble  if weeds grow through that.