7th November - Before photos

I wasn't going to do a before post but then I thought it might be interesting to see how much I get done.

I want to cover this area in and make it into a nice patio. Still thinking about how to do that without anchoring anything to the house. When it's sunny, the light reflects off the concrete into the kitchen.

View from my kitchen window

The neighbour already has a red grape vine and climbing roses that I would like to train over and maybe add something else in the spots that are missing tiles. I'm also thinking about a hanging garden here with lettuce, herbs, etc.

Looking back towards my kitchen. Hi Ozzie!

I want to put natives here, I'm thinking larger bushes to the back near the fence and something smaller and colourful at the front. I love yellow flowers so I'll probably put a wattle in here as well as one of the cuttings that I am trying to get started. Once other plants are established, I will probably cut this last bougainvillea down. I'm thinking about growing something like corn here in the meantime and allowing the stalks to mulch this area.

Horrible Bougainvillea.

Not sure what I am going to do there, probably put in the bay leaf tree. There is a retaining wall just visible at the bottom of the picture. The fig tree is hiding behind the rosemary and has some new growth on it. The lemon tree already has some fruit on it.

Rosemary, Fig tree and Lemon tree

This area will have the path to the clothes line and mandarines. I'm thinking of something tall and thin in the back corner to block noises from the neighbours. The dark green patch is part of what needs to be filled in and the vegetable patch will go on top of it.

Mandarin trees and compost bin

The start of the retaining wall is visible here, I will need to get it about knee high to level the area out and make it usable. The back corner behind the satellite dish has green waste as well which I will move forward to the landfill area. I'm thinking of a mulberry tree behind the dish. There is also a mandarine there, too.

Satellite dish, mandarin and landfill area

This area will be mostly left as is. I'm covering the ground with leaf litter as mulch and cutting down the bougainvillea. I've already removed an asparagus fern from near where the bin is although I think it will come up again ans it is so close to the little rose bush there that I may have left some roots in. Once I have removed the bougainvillea, I will trim the bottle brush as needed. The roses will also be pruned and shaped as they are a little wild at the moment. I'm also considering some kind of border around this garden to keep the mulch in. The one currently there was damaged by the previous tenant.

Front garden with roses and a bottlebrush

This poor lawn is so neglected. I have some alyssium seeds that I may get started here but I'm not sure if that is what I want. I'd much rather a nice little ground cover for this area. The neighbour is going to extend her pathway up further and her son reverses over the top part of the lawn. I'll plot out where he drives before I plant anything and put something like gravel in that area.

Front lawn to the rose garden.

Starting!

My gardens look terrible! They've been sadly neglected for at least 2 years. My neighbour tells me that they used to be quite nice but that the house owner liked his lawn. As for me, I hate lawns, I see them as a waste of money and water. I can see the value if someone has kids and wants somewhere for them to play but that doesn't apply to me.

I have a few concepts that I want to use in my garden:

1. Waterwise! Most important aspect of a garden in Australia.

2. I'm trying to create a nice, functional garden for as little cost as possible. I don't want to spend a lot of money on a rental property. Recycling will play a large role in what is used in the garden.

3. I want the plants to be functional. Flowers are pretty but I'm not that type of gardener. My plan is to have an area that has native plants to attract local wildlife and another area that is for vegetables. I'm also researching Bush Tukka plants that can be grown and used.

4. I will try to raise most plants from seeds or cuttings to keep costs down.

5. Everything needs to be either easy to remove or able to be left behind. While I'd love to build and attach things to the house, I simply can't do that so some planning will be needed.

6. Companion planning to avoid using chemicals.

7. Composting, mulching and recycling.


 I know almost nothing about gardening  or building so I will be researching and learning through trial-and-error as I go.

Some of the things I have planned are:
- a retaining wall made from tyres, filled in with compost and planted.
- raising the level of the garden behind the wall using green waste and compost.
- covering the area between the fence and side of the house to create a shaded patio and cut down on the glare into the kitchen.
- a hanging garden using recycled drink bottles.
- a vegetable patch broken into smaller sections for crop rotation, behind the retaining wall
- low fencing around the fruit trees to keep the dog away
- pulling up the large bougainvillea, once other flowering trees are established nearby.
- removal of the bougainvillea in the front garden - this one is blocking all the light to the front room, growing through the window screen and crowding out the other plants.
- big plan is to make a greenhouse using recycled materials.
- reticulation system throughout the garden