Originally Posted by DFB FGXR6
If you are happy to do some of the work yourself, your local nursery may be able to help you come up with some ideas, saving you the expense of paying a garden designer or landscaper.
This is something we offer, where a will visit your property for a small fee, take some photos and rough measurements and then come up with a planting plan for you to implement yourself. All we ask is that the customer purchase the plants from us, in a way the planting plan is their discount.
Alternatively, take some photos, do a rough drawing with some measurements and take this into your nursery. Again, this is something we often advise on, and trust me, if you take the time to do a rough drawing with even rough measurements, then it makes the process soooo much easier than just squinting at a customer's phone and "I don't know" measurements. Doesn't have to be to scale, it just helps you and the staff member visualise things better.
Even if you don't want to do the construction work, and it's not something I particularly enjoy so I would totally understand that, then have the basics constructed, ie retaining walls, garden edging, irrigation ect, then do the planting yourself to save money. Again, if you unsure, ask your nursery, you are not alone being overwhelmed with that aspect and "we" are more than happy to help you along the way.
A couple of other points to consider -
- I would also 100% recommend having irrigation installed with an automated timer, this takes A LOT of pressure off, especially when you go away. Make sure it is drip irrigation, this delivers water to the soil rather than spraying it for the wind to carry away.
- Unless you like weeding, then 100% take the time and small additional cost in having weed mat installed with mulch. Again, it takes away some of the drudgery. Be sure to choose or insist on the felt type rather than the plastic woven crap which is very bad at sealing off the soil and prevents it from "breathing".
- Make garden beds as wide as you can, especially if you want to achieve to height, say to screen a fence. Far, far too often, people set out garden beds that are too narrow, this really limits your choice of plants, especially if you don't want to be trimming them as hedges to control the width or would like a couple of "layers".
- Try not to just Google plants. Certainly, use Google once you have a planting shortlist, but far too often people will come to me with plants they have seen online or on TV, only for me to tell them they won't grow in this area. Again, your local nursery (not Bunnings, they only sell what their contract growers will supply them) will help you choose plants suitable for your area.
- Consider having your soil, or soil you bring to site pH tested. Again, this is something we do for our customers free of charge. All you need is a small sample in a zip lock bag from a couple of areas. This is something very valuable to do BEFORE you start planting.
Sometimes, the pH may be imbalanced and hamper the growth of your plants. We see this a lot in new housing estates where the developer or landscaper has brought in soil. And while that soil looks and smells nice, it can often (95% of the time) be extremely alkaline with readings above 10.0. Most plants need 6.0 - 8.0 on the pH scale, when the soil becomes excessively alkaline or acidic, it locks up the nutrients in the soil, the plant then can't pick them up from the root system and eventually causing the plant to become anemic and, ultimately, die. People often reply to this along the lines of "but I have fed them heaps", completely missing the point that unless the pH comes down, then the plant won't make use of that feed.
I stress this point because 90% of the time, a plant that is not growing, thriving or generally looking sick, it's the pH that is the problem. If you do have a pH problem, then it's easy enough to remedy, you just have to know those readings before you start throwing things down.
- You WILL fail a few times, that's gardening! Sometimes, the failure will be out of your control, sometimes it will be something you did. The main thing is to not get dejected. Again, I have customers, usually younger people, who seem to treat the garden like any other aspect of their new home. As in, just start ticking boxes and it will all just "happen", shopping as if it was like choosing a wall colour or kitchen hardware. Plants are fluid, they grow, they flower, they drop leaves, they sometimes die. That's nature.
Good luck, it's certainly a big job but one that will make home more valuable in the long run. Not to mention the mental health benefits a garden can bring.
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