Water is very important to humans and all life on earth. It covers approximately three quarters of the earth and is responsible for shaping the landscape – cliffs, riverbeds and caves. It is also one of the most useful tools for creating atmosphere in the garden.Water features can be installed just about anywhere, from a [...]
Setting Out Your PavingNow that the physically hard stuff has been done, its time to prepare the area for laying. The area has been excavated to 175mm below the finished height of the paving. Its time to get our crushed rock/roadbase into place.What is Crushed Rock/Roadbase?Melbournians calls it crushed rock, Sydney siders call it roadbase. [...]
The Back Breaking Work.We have now measured our area, and have the total number of square metres of paving we need to lay.The next step in the process is to ‘dig the area down to the right level’. A few things need to be considered at this point:1. Pavers can take between 3- 7 days [...]
Paving an outdoor entertaining area, patio or driveway is simple if you know how. This series of articles will attempt to take you through the process step by step. Each step is easy, there are just a few of them.Preparation is the key to paving an area that will stand the test of time. If [...]
Dripper Irrigation Vs. Spray Irrigation Dripper irrigation systems are a relatively new introduction to the landscape industry. They were devised in the middle of an Australian drought as a water saving initiative. The benefits were clearly self evident and it soon became law that the old spray irrigation systems were not to be installed [...]
Hedges are a bordering and design tools used for dividing spaces. They enclose and subdivide fields, orchards, yards, parks and gardens. They form vegetative walls, garden rooms, gateways, screens and enclosures, within the garden landscape. It is believed that the Romans may have first planted hedges in Britain however most of the few ancient [...]
There are 5 questions you should ask yourself before you engage a landscape professional to complete any work. Not asking these questions may turn out to be costly. 1. Are they a member of the Landscape association? – Landscape Associations are a great place to begin. They continually educate there members with new products [...]
Nowadays it seems our gardens and backyards are getting smaller and smaller, especially when property development and sub division is increasingly more common place. The challenge is, how do we get the most from our courtyard areas without feeling claustrophobic. There are a few techniques you can implement to give your courtyard a feeling [...]
It can be a daunting and overwhelming task, choosing the right timber for your outdoor area. How will it look? Will it be durable enough? Can we afford it given our budget? What sort of maintenance does it require? There are some basic rules to go by – such as always choosing hardwood timber [...]
Sleeper retaining walls are not hard to install and can definately be attempted by any DIYer with a bit of time and muscle. Sleepers generally come in two types – treated pine or red gum. I would recommend using treated pine sleepers as they’re cheaper, lighter and more sustainable than red gum sleepers. However [...]
On occasion we meet clients who have a reasonably well-formed concept of what they want in there garden, and all they needed is a quick sketch to complete the picture. In this instance we will usually offer to draw it up for them. My first question when undertaking such work is to ask the [...]
It sneaks up on you – autumn that is. I was paving a client's front courtyard last week, when I saw a deep red coloured leaf fall from an ornamental pear tree. My initial thought was ‘bit early, its still hot’, but then I realised that it is in fact late march, and that [...]