One year on - part 2

March 2010:



Today:



And a closer view:



Yep, those tiny wisps of dichondra "silver falls" on the right of the first photo have gone crazy, as you can see. I'm going to have to get busy with the secateurs to stop it swamping the dwarf mondo grass...

Q & A

I had a comment on an old post that included a question. Replies can get lost when the post is from way back when, so I thought I'd answer it in a new post instead. Maybe it might even be helpful to someone else wondering the same thing. :)

Q: I do have a question about your mulch near the slab of your house. Do you find moisture a problem being in contact with the slab? And do you have direct sunlight to the front of your house? I love the vegetation in front of the house, but I'm getting advice from pavers not to put anything near the slab. ( due to the fact I have no direct sunlight to the facade either).

A: I've heard a few people say that their builder told them that they shouldn't construct garden beds directly against their house, but these are some of the points we took into account when making decisions:

- Our garden beds, including mulch, are below the damp course in our brickwork. Building anything or heaping up soil past that point, especially over the weepholes, is a big no-no.

- Termites aren't generally a problem in this area. If you're in a termite-prone region, you might want to get expert advice and/or install a reticulated termite barrier before doing any landscaping against the house. We never saw a termite in 22 years at our old house, and termite damage is pretty rare around here, so we're a bit blase about it.

- The soil here is extremely reactive (which means it expands and contracts a LOT depending on rainfall), but our slab has been engineered with that in mind. We paid a premium for the slab to be upgraded to Class-whatever, so it had better be damn well built to withstand a bit of moisture....

- If you use the right kind of mulch and you've prepared your soil well, the soil ought to stay damp, not the mulch. That's a whole other post though.

- What the hell else are you going to do around the edge of the house if you don't build garden beds? Circumnavigate the building with solid concrete? Over my dead body.

- Apart from said concrete, anything you put against the house will get damp in wet weather; soil topped with mulch, soil topped with pebbles, toppings or gravel, whatever... consistent rain will penetrate the top layers and it'll be wet underneath.

The house has been completed for two years now, and we've had very minor movement - probably as much from the frame timbers shrinking as the slab moving - resulting in some small gaps opening between walls and skirting boards and walls and cornices in a few places. All perfectly normal and nothing a bit of No More Gaps and paint can't fix.

I think that as long as you make sure your damp course is above the soil/mulch line and your weepholes are clear, you should be fine.

As for the direct sunlight thing, yes, the front of our house faces south-east, so it gets morning sun. Depending on climate, especially if you have high rainfall, a true south aspect might be a different story.

Of course, I'm not a builder or concreter or any other kind of expert, so taking my word for it may not be the smartest move you've ever made.

A good day's work

I got the bamboo panel stained and sealed - I'd forgotten what a lengthy process it was last time. Stain on the front of the frame, two coats of Ultradeck on both sides of the frame and two coats of clear sealer on the bamboo on both sides. That's a lot of waiting around for paint to dry.

Bike boy added a strip of merbau to the top of the rendered screen which finishes it off nicely. Then he screwed the panel to the merbau capping. I got to hold the ladder, hand screws and drill bits to him and then rearrange the pebbles to get the water feature centred. Voila!



While all that was going on, I was also adding one more coat of paint and the first coat of sealer to my pot cupboard, plus reassembling the door. And then I got very brave and decided to give the top a waxed finish. Now I wonder what on earth I was worried about? Talk about easy...

It's still not finished, so you'll have to wait for photos. Bad luck.

Today's projects

Today, I have on the go...

- My pot cupboard. Yes, I'm still going. I've been very short on time, so I just slap on some stain or paint or do a little sanding whenever I have a spare half-hour. It might be done by next weekend. Might not, either.

- A plant pot for an indoor palm. I wasn't keen on paying $60+ for a glazed pot, and couldn't find one in the exact colour I wanted anyway. So I bought a cheap terracotta pot instead and I'm doing the seal-and-paint thing, like I did with the herb planters. I'm using one of my mistint $1.50 bargains too, so it's working out exceptionally cheap.

I also had to do a few odds and ends in the garden: apply Seasol and molasses, pull out a few random weeds, sprinkle some snail bait about and trim off the ratty dead bits from some plants. That involved working around Bike Boy, who was connecting up our water feature (another super-cheap find).

Tomorrow's effort will be to stain and seal the bamboo panel we're using as a backdrop, then get it permanently installed - it's just propped up for now, so we could see the effect.




Yes, we will level it up before fixing it in place.

Fame

Seems our landscaper has updated his website home page, and guess whose backyard features very prominently? Check it out:

Planned Landscape Constructions

*ahem* It's about time I gave them a plug...

Oh, my aching EVERYTHING!

I am completely exhausted, after yet another weekend of slogging away outdoors, and Bike Boy is feeling the same. I don't even want to imagine how we'd feel if we hadn't had the bulk of our landscaping professionally done. All we're doing is the planting, plus adding some finishing touches.

It's all come together beautifully, so here are a few photos of some of what we've been up to.

A screen to provide a support for some Chinese Star Jasmine to grow on and give us something more attractive to look at than the fence from the lounge windows:





The perfect planters for a herb garden. I'm going to add one more, but I'll wait till Spring when new plant stock is available in the nurseries:



Another screen. This one is just to provide a backdrop for the tall pot and give us a focal point at the end of the path. I think it makes you want to go down there to see what's around the corner:



The difference a few plants makes. Before:



After:



We've actually done a lot more over the past month than these few photos show, but it was mostly planting, painting and small but necessary bits and pieces that aren't very interesting.

We still have to add a pergola outside the sliding door to filter out the western sun in summer, build the water feature we want and eventually get a thatched hut-type shelter built to provide a peaceful and private seating area. But we're really happy with what we've achieved, especially the fact that there's a "view" from almost every window now.



And Mrs B, I haven't forgotten about your lovely blog award.... I'll get to it soon, I promise!

Seriously?

Here's a funny thing: numerous people have asked us whether we're going to enclose our alfresco room, with cafe blinds or windows or something. WTF? We have four (indoor) living rooms - why on earth would we want another?

The outdoors is exactly that - OUTDOORS. I know Melbourne's climate means that we won't get an enormous amount of use out of it throughout winter, but hey; that's life. And thinking about it, the covered deck at our old house got used probably nine months of the year. That was open on two sides; this has three sides enclosed, plus a fairly protected area immediately outside. And we have the gas patio heater....

I'm not one for hanging up blinds, putting down carpet (outdoor rugs? What is THAT about?) and sticking a bloody great plasma TV on the wall. I don't get it - why try to turn the outdoors into a clone of the indoors? Beats me.

I just want to sit out there with a drink in hand, maybe some music playing softly, and enjoy the sight of the garden, the sounds of birds and frogs, and comment, a la Darryl Kerrigan: "How's the serenity?"

At last

I feel like it's finished. Even though it isn't quite....

Long time coming!!


Ignore the neighbour's house poking over the fence there - I haven't finished planting yet. That's going to become invisible soon.

Loving it!

I think I've barely been indoors for the past five or six days. Barbecued something is on the menu every night, because who wants to spend time in the kitchen when you can be out here in these beautiful surroundings?

We're making the most of the good weather while it lasts. Winter will be here soon enough. Bleurgh. Although.... then I can turn my attention back to furnishing and decorating the inside of the house.

I'm steadily working at the planting, and it's all coming along nicely. After tossing up between tiled feature, urn, garden art and other options, we've finally decided on a water feature for our bare bit of wall in the middle of the planter. We've even found a design that Bike Boy can DIY a copy of....we just have to agree on the materials. It's an Asian-influenced trickling spout, and if we ever get it done, it's going to be perfect.

Break in the weather

I'm beginning to ache all over and I suspect I'll be spending some quality time with my ice pack tonight, but I got heaps of planting done today. I've been out there most of the day, in spite of the 60kmh winds and a few showers.

I'm nowhere near finished, but here are a few pics anyway.

That's better! A much nicer view as you walk through from the front door:



I tried to get a photo of the view from the dining room window, but the camera kept focusing on the blinds. Next time, switch to manual focus, dummy!



The table and chairs had a brief outing in the sunshine, but thanks to the foul weather, they're back under cover for now:



This section of the planter box is done. At least as far as plants go:



I love how this area at the side is shaping up:




The back is mostly done. A few more things to go in, but it's looking good:



Tiger grass, Lomandra, Acoris:



A couple of yuccas, an agave and some echeverias. I may plant out the cacti too. Might need tongs for that job...



A few close-ups. Tiger grass:



Cannas:



Nandina "Nana":



Scleranthus:



Cordyline "Sundance":



And I've adopted a bonsai, a gift from my Mum. A gorgeous Nandina and (I think) blue sedge:



I'm still figuring out exactly what to put in the back corner and how to arrange it all. That might be a job for next weekend.

All I want now is a fine and warm weekend so we can spend some time enjoying our new outdoor space. Please?

Tropical resort, anyone?

The vision is beginning to become reality:



Now I'm just impatient for the plants to grow!

Remember where we started from

All done

Planting still to go, outdoor dining table and chairs to be brought back from the garage, but apart from that, we're finished:

View along the side of the house....



And looking back the other way....



Ready for mondo grass....



My pet cumquat - had it for the past 20 years....



The G & T sipping area.....



BBB (Big Bastard Barbecue) in place....



Until we get a smallish Balinese daybed, this will have to do....



Looking along the back of the house....



Buddha seems happy....



I have an extra-long 5-day weekend coming up, so I think some plant shopping is in order.

Almost there!