I need help with a landscaping project!

[AngelicaGray3409]

Hi, everybody!

I recently had to move to a new house in the Eastern suburbs of Sydney with my daughter. The place looks nice and quiet, which is exactly what we were looking for. And the other upside of this move is the small backyard I inherited along with the house. The only problem is, that the outdoor space looks completely abandoned and overgrown with all kinds of plants and weeds. As much as I like taking care of plants and working in the open air, I am not sure that I know what to do here. I want a nice and maintained garden with some rocks, flowers, maybe a deck even. But this is not even close to my dream garden. So, I think I am going to look for some landscaping help. I need someone to help me clean all the shrubs and the grass, and arrange the general outlook of the garden. Once all this is done, I think I can continue with the maintenance of the place by myself.
So, my question is, does anyone here know a landscaper or a landscape designer (I'm not sure which is the correct term)? I need someone responsible, who will do the job right. I would also accept suggestions on what plants should I plant once everything is ready. I like bright colours, so please be creative .
To make it easier, here's a picture of my backyard:

[rainbowgardener]

You are halfway around the world from me, so I can't make any suggestions for people/ companies. I think these days there's a lot of places where you can look that kind of stuff up on line, complete with customer reviews.

But I think in the long run you would get so much more more personal satisfaction from doing it yourself. Get the initial work done of clearing everything out so you can see what you have got. Then make a plan/ map of your back yard. Think about what you want to use it for. You said maybe a deck. What else? Covered reading nook, tool shed, do you have kids or dogs and need areas for them, flower beds, vegetable beds, water feature, etc.

Look for inspiration pictures, there's tons of images on line. I think it really helps to give you ideas and a sense of what you are working towards.

Start putting the stuff you want on your map. Once you have something you like, map it out on the yard, with chalk lines or garden hoses to start to get a sense of what it may look like. Then start installing hardscape first - deck, any paths, gazebo, shed other structures, water feature, fire pit or whatever, possibly raised beds for gardens. Once all that is in you will be able to visualize much better what you want to do what is left.

We will help you with ideas and suggestions for plants, after you have made your map and shared it with us!

Have fun, it is so exciting to get to design your own place!!

[rainbowgardener]

Just for fun I will start you off with a few inspiration pictures I found on-line, examples of landscaping for small backyards:



https://images.landscapingnetwork.com/pi ... d_1970.jpg


https://www.paraformdesign.com/wp-conten ... -Ideas.jpg


https://1.lushome.com/wp-content/uploads ... deas-3.jpg


https://www.landscapinggallery.net/wp-co ... -grass.jpg

[rainbowgardener]

One more, just because I love this one:


https://picklemedia1.scrippsnetworks.com ... dium.JPG?0

It illustrates a lot of nice design principles -- use of curved lines rather than straight (how many people would have put a straight row of plants along that straight fence line, very boring and unnatural), use of a variety of materials/textures, wood, stone, concrete, terra cotta, etc., plus different plant textures, use of mixed heights and sloping heights of plants tallest in back down to the sprawling ground cover in front.

Also this person broke up the space a little, with the crossways divider part way back. Breaking up the space and having things that are not all visible from one spot or in one glance makes your space seem much bigger and more interesting. Put some pops of color up at eye level where they are more noticed, like green bird feeder (bird nester?), hanging basket of purple petunias. False perspective. Notice how the curved bump outs are much wider at the front and narrower at the back? It gives the illusion of greater distance, like the back part is very far away. You can do the same thing with a path, making it gradually narrow a little bit as it recedes, or with repeated elements like a dry stream bed or line of rocks, making them smaller at the back.

Are you getting excited yet about doing this??

[AngelicaGray3409]

All these garden projects are lovely! I really like the pergola and the stone path in the first one, and the arrangement of the plants in the last picture! But as much as I would like to design everything on my own, I don't think I have the needed skills to do it. I mean, I can take care of a plant or mow the lawn, but when it comes to creating beautiful things with my own hands, the result is usually quite different than I expected. And by this I mean very ugly. I've tried it with my daughter's art projects, and I must say I wasn't very helpful, even though I had good intentions. And I want the backyard to look really nice, so I can invite the neighbours for a coffee without feeling embarrassed (all the lawns and gardens around here are perfectly maintained, and I would feel bad if my property wasn't). This is why I'm looking for some professional help. I found a few pictures online, which look pretty similar to the thing I want:


The garden I want is practically a combination of these two. I even have the space for the nice small deck. I also want to put a coffee table with some chairs in the garden itself. I started clearing up the space, so I can see how big it actually is. Once I removed some of the shrubs and the grass, it looks quite bigger, which is great. I also started looking for a company, who could help me with a consultation or a design idea, which is particularly for the space I own. So far I called three - https://www.abloomgardening.com.au/landscaping-turf/ , https://www.fantasticgardeningsydney.com ... intenance/ and https://www.thinkoutsidegardens.com.au/s ... ure-design . They all had nice reviews and many people seemed to be happy with their services. But they all gave me quite different prices, which made me wonder which one is the better option. Does anyone know how much does landscaping of a small backyard usually cost? It would make it easier to make up my mind.
I will try to take pictures of the progress and share them with you . Maybe some great ideas will emerge during the process.

[AngelicaGray3409]

Another idea which caught my eye is this:



I would love to have such a small island in the middle of the greenery, where you can sit down and have a nice barbecue.

[imafan26]

The prices depends on what is being done. Ask for estimates with details like
land clearing and hauling trash
grading, amendments (estimate how much amendment compost, fertilizer, etc will be used and cost)
Are they building the deck or gazebo too?
Sprinkler system?
What plants are they choosing? Mature trees like palms will cost more than putting in something smaller and allow it to mature over time. The same with selecting larger plants over smaller containers. For slow growing plants the larger containers are best, and sometimes the landscapers put in more plants because if it is spaced properly, people think there isn't enough, but really if more are put in, then you will just have to take them out later when it gets too crowded.

Landscapers everywhere tend to choose plants and materials they are familiar with and use it repeatedly in their landscape designs.

When making comparisons, make sure the landscapers are including the same thing. It would help if you made a list for them to start like

Land clearing and grading=
Building deck or Gazebo=
Trash hauling =
Cost of materials
amendments
fertilizer
Plant list (cost per plant, size of pot)
sprinkler system
If there are some thing you can take care of like trash hauling or installing the sprinkler system and selecting different plants or sizes you can negotiate that with the landscapers.

It is good to have pictures of what you would like and a rough drawing. Otherwise the difference in price may be because what you have envisioned is not quite the same as theirs.
A good size for a deck is 10x15 enough room for a table and chairs and a BBQ
If the deck is partially roofed it will cost more
A 10x12 gazebo is a comfortable size but a BBQ area would be outside of it.

A gazebo runs $2000-$3000 just for the kit. It does not include the site preparation or the assembly.

[rainbowgardener]

Looks like you have a good handle on what you want and what you like, which is helpful, whether you use a designer or DIY.

The thing about landscaping as compared to art projects is ... you can't go wrong! It is plants and flowers, they will be beautiful, whatever you do.

And if it turns out after you see what it looks like and what it looks like the following year after everything has grown and filled out, that you don't like the looks of something in the spot it is in, you can always move it. Real gardeners are constantly moving plants around like that.

I will be totally re-organizing my front flower beds this spring, because things have gotten too big and crowded and some stuff got crowded out, etc.

For you with bad feelings about yourself as a creative person, it might be very healing / empowering to do this yourself!

Incidentally, I think the top of the two pictures in the second set is lovely. You do have a good eye for what is nice. Even though I showed you a picture of a very contemporary/ modernist garden design that is very sleek and spare and angular, that is not my style. Especially in a garden I think natural organic shapes and curves are appropriate and eye pleasing. And having the little seating area at the back enclosed by shrubbery etc (rather than at the front by the house) makes it so much more like you are IN the garden rather than just looking out at it.

In that design, I would just put something, fountain, pond, plantings, shrubs, veggie garden or whatever, in between the house and the seating area at the back, to partly screen it, to give it that secret garden, can't all be seen at once effect.

[pinksand]

I love your inspiration photos! I agree with RBG that it's something worth trying. The hardscape may be something you pay for someone to do, but as far as the garden goes, it's nothing to be scared of! I've helped a number of friends with their gardens and I think the biggest issue is fear of failure and lack of interest. You clearly have the interest and like RBG said, it's an ongoing project that will evolve over time.

I think you commented on my garden project thread so you've seen some of my evolution. I can't tell you how many plants I've already moved around. We just had a tree removed and now I'm having to re-think that space. It's something I know will never be done and sometimes what you plant just doesn't work in the space but would be spectacular if you just swapped a couple of things around. If you feel up for it, I don't think you can go too wrong to be honest!

Keep us posted!