“We’re going to use our back yard more than ever now!”
Catie and Marc always knew their back garden had potential but they just didn’t know quite how to bring it to life.
So after the Townsville Flood severely damaged their yard (and home), they called in William and the Plant-EM team for help.
And they say the finished result is going to change their lives.
BEFORE
BEFORE
AFTER
AFTER
Q&A
Q: What work did you need Plant-EM to carryout?
A: We hadn’t touched the back yard since the floods in 2019 – we had loads of drainage problems, so the back garden had gone from being extremely wet, to extremely dry. Everything had died in between all this and we needed help to bring it back to life because it had turned into a dust bowl! Hence calling in William and the team.
It was a lot of hard work because of the design of the house and the way the water is supposed to drain. All of the work was quite intricate and the area to be restored had many angles. Plus, it’s a 30-year-old house on the side of a hill, so it was going to be very difficult for them.
Just to add a further twist, our beautiful fig tree made it even harder with all of the roots underneath the ground.
Q: What difference will the restoration make to how you use the garden?
A: We’ll actually use this area more than we have done ever before because it was so dusty and it just looked disgusting. Now thanks to the team, it obviously looks presentable and functional, so we actually want to use it. Plus, we’ve got the paver pad down now for the hot tub which we lost in the flood. All this is going to be fantastic!
Q: Why is it important or beneficial, especially in North Queensland, to have an outdoor space that you can use?
A: Me (Catie) being English, we would do everything inside because you couldn’t sit outside. If you did sit out, it was only a few times a year when the weather was really, really nice. In North Queensland, three quarters of your life is spent outside.
I always loved this backyard but I didn’t have the skills or necessarily the time to do anything with it, however, I had a vision it could be really well-used. We needed advice and William was so good at being very patient with me because I’m a bit OCD with things (laughs).
He was very clear about what he was going to do and how things would be laid out. We were able to work with him and know that each step of the way, we knew exactly what was going to be happening. This meant that what was going to be done was exactly what we wanted.
Q: What difference has the automated (Hydrawise) irrigation system made to your lifestyle?
A: Oh, we love it! You can do the watering from your phone. Before I was having to come out and water, what plants did survive the flood, by hand. This meant using three different hoses from three different angles because of the layout of the house. Now, it’s a flick of a switch, or rather a press of an icon on the phone! Marc loves it too so it’s become his department and definitely not mine.
Q: How did you find out about Plant-EM?
A: I found out about William and Plant-EM because I actually worked with William’s wife.
I researched gardening companies, particularly after the floods, but we had heard so many stories about cowboy tradies coming from down south and doing bad jobs that we decided to wait to find someone local we could trust. So, it was good have a recommendation and to be able to look at somebody’s work and go – I would rather wait for that person and pay that person because I know, and I can see (in photos online) the standard of work they offer. For me, it was very important – it was a business that I knew I could trust and was going to give me a good standard of work.
Q: Plant-EM’s motto is Changing Lives with Gardens. Do you think that is an appropriate tagline for what they do?
A: Yes, definitely.
So many companies come up with token strap lines. I should know because I’ve worked in corporate business for over twenty years, as well as being an ex-business teacher; so, I’m very aware of marketing ploys. But to me, with Plant-EM, it was clear that William and the team were trustworthy and live up to their tagline. They really cared about the quality of work and that we got the garden we wanted. I think it will certainly change our lives…
Now we have a beautiful backyard to enjoy with the dogs, something we’re really proud of. We now want to invite everybody around and show it off. Even the neighbours looked over the fence the other day and just kept saying it looks amazing.
Q: What do your dogs think of their new backyard?
BEFORE
AFTER
A: Oh, they love it too. We really appreciated William and the team being so understanding about our dogs. We don’t have children, so the dogs are our babies. The team were happy to work around the dogs and they were not bothered by having two massive Dobermans walking around them while they were doing their work.
Even with the layout of the pavers, William considered ours and the dogs’ stride – so, they have already worked out how to walk on the pavers and not the gravel.
William says…
Q: What work did the team undertake for Caitie and Marc’s flooded garden restoration?
A: We had to put a lot of drainage in, to ensure water would drain away correctly. We upgraded the irrigation system and installed a ‘Hydrawise’ controller to automate the irrigation. We set out and concreted in the pavers, including a stepping pattern. We also paved a pad for when their new hot tub gets put in, including making it ready for electrical works. We also brought in the Burdekin River Stone to finish off the look and also improve drainage.
Q: How does it make you feel to hear that your clients are thrilled with the result?
A: It makes me feel really happy and proud we’ve been able to build the product that they wanted, to the expectations that they had. It’s very important to us to present the product our clients want because that really is what we’re trying to do, change people’s lives through their gardens. So, for us it’s more about how we’re going to impact their lives positively, rather than just coming and doing what we want as quickly as possible.
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