Burke's Back Yard...NOT!

Our back yard landscaping is coming along nicely. All the old pool decking, tree stumps, and rubbish lying around was removed in the first week. Then the boys brought in a machine which excavated and levelled out the areas ready to be fixed up. The yard is very steep; if you stand at the very top end of the yard, you are higher than the roof of our house. It had two levels before, but they have made four now, all of which now have retaining walls of treated pine, held up with steel posts set in concrete. The old retaining wall was held up with wooden posts, which had disintegrated over time and led to the whole thing collapsing. The first level behind the house is to be a lawn, the next level will be a garden bed with low shrubs and ground covers, the third level more lawn and the top level against the back fence is garden bed, where there will be trees and shrubs. There is also a larger garden bed all along the right hand side of the property, with only one existing rock retaining wall, and this will be planted out with trees, shrubs and native grasses.


So at the moment, the retaining walls are all in place, top soil has been spread over the ground and mulch spread on the garden areas. Still to be done are the steps on each side leading up to the top area to where Ken's aviaries have been left in place; he feels more enthusiastic about replacing the birds now that he won't have to deal with fixing the yard as well. There are a few minor items such as a new side gate, edging on garden beds, and the lawn to be put in. This will be Buffalo grass instant turf. The landscaper and Ken tried to persuade me to have a sprinkler system installed for both lawn and garden, but I flatly refused it. I said that Australians waste more precious water on blasted lawns than anything else, and ours are just going to have to survive on whatever rain comes along. If it doesn't rain for a while and the lawn goes brown, so be it. It will come on again when it does rain!

As for the garden, Australian native plants are acclimatised to drought conditions, so apart from a helping hand of regular watering in the first few months, they survive perfectly well once they are established. Last week I visited our local council's working farm where they propagate indigenous plants, and discussed what I needed with one of the staff who was most helpful. She advised me to wait until late March or early April before planting anything, as it is still too hot and dry at the moment, unless I used massive amounts of water to keep plants alive, which would be a waste of time and water in my opinion!

I have been taking progress photos (on film, not digital), so hopefully, I will have a record of woe to go in the near future.