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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?
.
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
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
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,
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.
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
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
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
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.
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
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.
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