Jodi & Darren’s Garden Restoration
Before, prickles played havoc, the family lacked privacy and maintenance was an ongoing chore but now, all that’s changed.
Q&A
1. Why did you decide to overhaul your front lawn and gardens?
Jodi – One of our main goals was achieving some privacy down the side of our home. Because our front area isn’t fenced, and we live on a corner block close to the river and walking tracks we get a little bit of foot traffic with people often walking close to our windows and thus encroaching on our privacy. So we wanted to screen that part of the house where we spend time and when we look out we can admire the colours and plant/bird life that the new garden/screen will eventually attract.
The dry conditions of the last 5 odd years, pre 2019 flood event had resulted in areas of our lawn dying, a lot of weed/prickles and a sprinkler system that we installed ourselves with the help of friends over 15 years ago that was also on its last legs. So we wanted to start fresh, look at a lawn/grass that was more pest and drought resistant and that could stay green and an automated sprinkler system that provided the coverage to ensure we did not have to spend time watering manually to fill any gaps that may have been missed.
Ultimately it will allow us to simply enjoy our garden and probably provide Darren with a bit of a hobby …..maybe.
We also knew that it would be helping a local business or businesses who have no doubt had a tough time of it over the last five-odd years.
BEFORE
AFTER
3. What do you think of the final result?
Jodi – We Love it! And the whole Plant-EM team is lovely as well. In the few weeks since the project was completed we have had/heard several comments from strangers walking past – looks great; love your garden; Oh look how that’s changed. So I think the feedback speaks for itself.
4. How will this impact how you’re going to use this area?
Darren – Lower maintenance, less prickles on the feet, so we can actually walk on the grass and it looks great too, so our home has much better street appeal. The screen in 12 months will give us the privacy we are looking for.
Jodi – And we’re planning on putting a seat down the side and to spend more time there – we’ve got lots of natives now so, I like the birds and the butterflies so I plan on enjoying the space more, I plan on coming home from work and enjoying a nice wine in the garden.
Our son likes to kick a soccer ball around so he won’t have to put his boots on once the lawn gets going now, he can kick the ball around bare foot if he wants.
5. Would you recommend others to use Plant-EM?
Jodi – Definitely, yes.
Bill really wanted to know exactly what we wanted and why and how he could achieve that so it was good… for an old fella (laughs)
Marion’s Garden Transformation Story
Marion says her pool area was an overgrown jungle and she and her family were contemplating simply concreting the lot to get rid of the weed infestation.
Then she met William and the Plant-EM team who have helped her transform the area into one that is now much-loved and enjoyed on a daily basis.
This required a well-planned, strategic approach to weed eradication and 2 years on the difference it has made to their lives shows just how your surroundings can positively impact your life.
Marion’s Garden Transformation Story
Lorraine & Kaye's Garden
At Plant-EM our team lives and works by our moto 'Changing Lives with Gardens' and that's what we try to achieve with each project..
Lorraine says hergarden and its birds and butterflies have helped get her through one of the toughest years of her life as she battles cancer.
So when Lorraine and Kaye decided to install automatic irrigation they knew they needed a landscaper who would take care of their treasured garden and take pride in their work.
They cannot be happier they chose the Plant-EM team.
Restore The Love – Garden Restoration Project
Our brief for this Garden Restoration project was to make the garden look ‘loved’ again. Make it neat, tidy, practical and inviting.
Plants
Making sure the right plants are used in the right places is crucial in any garden restoration.
To achieve the brief the Plant-EM team evaluated the types of plants in the existing garden to ensure they suited the dry tropic Townsville environment as well as offered the desired aesthetic result our client was after.
Our team identified a number of impractical plants (Ixora) that posed a safety issue in a hard to service area. They were removed and replaced with more suitable, lower maintenance plants (Dracaena). We also removed dead or failing plants.
Before
After
The Pool Area
A pool is always an important feature in any garden but this one featured a wide variety of plants of differing colours which blended into each other and that meant they lost their individual appeal.
When pruning, the Plant-EM team not only tidied the area, but strategically pruned the individual plants to differing heights, making each stand out as features.
This opened the garden up and gave it a sense of spaciousness and restored the pool area into the garden highlight it deserved to be.
Before
After
Garden Beds & Weeds
Years of herbicide spraying had left much of the gardens surface areas as dirt or dead leaf litter. To address this quickly and cost effectively, we opted to use mulch.
Mulch not only helps keeps the soil cool in summer and warmer in winter, but it also retains soil moisture and enhances root growth in your plants.
All garden areas also received a pre-emergent herbicide to reduce new weed growth and help prevent further damage to the garden from excessive herbicide sprays (Roundup or equivalent).
Regular weed prevention strategies can be put in place to ensure week growth does not get out of control.
The final result is a low-maintenance, practical garden that most certainly looks well loved.
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