Hi Dianne. My husband and I hired a landscape designer whose team just completed the final stage of extensive works at our new house in a rural setting reliant wholly on rainwater from dams for irrigation. We selected all of the plants guided by our own experiences, the designer's advice and the excellent advice of the local nurseryman. We had no issues with over-planting as all parties were fully aware of planting guide and size of plants, growth potential, etc. In my opinion, it is worthwhile speaking with an experienced nurseryman/horticulturalist for the best advice about plants, given your location, soil type/s and preferred plants. We showed our design to the nurseryman so he was in an informed position to advise. I also recommend trusting your gut. It sounds like you, like us, enjoy watching your garden change and develop over time, and it would be a shame to miss out on that. You are the customer. I hope this helps. :)

I only have 2.5 acres but have drawn an entire garden plan using the basic paint program on your pc. Start by drawing all the boundaries to scale then add the house and any existing trees or structures driveways etc. Then add a perimeter garden all around the fence lines if that is what you wish. These do not have to follow a straight line but can curve in and out to accommodate larger trees. For the rest of the space I drew a combination of large circles and amoeba like shapes. These represent the lawn areas. Connect all these lawn areas together with pathways at leas 2 metres wide. All the odd shapes left in between the lawn areas then become the gardens. Using the paint program you can then fill up these spaces with a variety of different diameter circles to represent the final size shrubs trees and perennials that you will grow. You now have a complete plan to follow when you begin planting. When you buy a plant, look at its size and height and see where it would fit on your plan taking into consideration whether is will get sun or shade where you position it. This method makes for easy mowing as all your grass areas follow easy curves. It also gives you a garden with many garden 'rooms'. You can adopt different themes for each room eg a white garden, a cottage garden, a tropical look garden etc. Also it is some thing that you can develop over time and easily keep track of on your pc. It also helps to keep a spreadsheet of all your plant purchases that shows their height, width, sun requirement bloom time etc. If this sounds like a lot of work then maybe it is not for you but I love planning my garden this way.

gorgeous location ..consider wide grassed ramps to criss cross the slope diagonally from top to bottom, 1.5m+ plus wide paths will allow for easy mowing and two people to walk side by side...Tube stock is so much better for big areas needing multiple plants and you'll get better results quicker than the more expensive bigger plants ...use mass plantings of the same species like Correas and Westringeas... we had great success stabilizing slopes with a variety of Casuarinas suitable for the local area and fast growing wattles were good to create quick windbreaks while other trees and shrubs became established..(the wattles are short lived and gaps left when they go are filled in by other maturing plants) buying multiple tube stock we were able to economise with deals that included the plants, labour for planting and tree guards for orders of hundreds ..digging trenches (as apposed to single holes) and planting closer together, adding drip irrigation, mulching heavily and using tree guards for shelter and to prevent drying out and/or fences to keep out kangaroos will also help... keep the areas close to the house free of shrubs and garden beds and include wide mown paths as snakes are usually happier to stay in the rockeries and shrubs, don't feed pets outside to attract mice and snakes and, given a suitable area, a dam is always a bonus to create a destination for walking around the garden and giving wildlife their own space and, as a welcome surprise, we found that bulbs and irises introduced some colour in Spring and Autumn and propagation from a few parents plants quickly expanded into mass plantings..happy gardeniing

Hi Mark, Just saw your requirements and proposed site a few moments ago, seems to be a great site, congratulation on your purchase, seems to be a glorious block, and your approach in obtaining information before you build or doing any documentation will pay off in the long run. Generally, the item that takes the most time is the design – what the house looks like, the position of the house orientation and deployment of rooms, and appropriate choice of materials. This is the greatest investment of time and money, after you have a design that you are happy with you may approach the documentation in different ways. The design is generally generated by 3 principal steps – (some of the information you have already provided) Site constraints - especially orientation, existing structures to be retained, views, etc. The slope on a 5-acre property is very important for – flooding, drainage – both stormwater and blackwater (sewage) if a septic tank has to be provided so this should be done by Land Surveyor or yourself if you can use a level appropriately Water collection for a dam position – especially if it has to be for potable water. Soil type - for building location to have a good bearing. Weather – for roof design – (You have terrific temperature variation - Hight 29 summer and 11 min winter) other issues would be prevailing wind direction, and maximum rainfall as this may impact on the design of the roof and drainage direction and storage or dissipation. And other Site constraints like – native and/or feral animals and pests, etc. and how you are going to use the five acres - Kitchen Gardens, chickens animals, pets and which rooms will have views and which rooms must have views and which views, etc. I would consider siting would be one of the most important decisions in this design proposal, probably site all other activities first and the house last. Brief – number of rooms like bedrooms bathroom etc (Some information you have already provided) You mentioned issues with your knees, thus the number of steps in and out of the house would need to be minimal (if any) so drainage to avoid flooding would be an issue as the floor level may be close to the ground if using a slab. to Your requirements for a family of four – they might have outdoor activities and pets that may impact the design internally and external areas. Special interest – like cooking, storage of food f you are a long distance from town, etc Budget (Some information you have already provided –(500) Will this included site works like the dam and other specialized areas. Will this include the cost of driveways. Will the project go to tender or will it be subcontracted or self build. Is there power (solar power), water, and gas on the site – are they required, and do they impact the budget. Then there is the process of initial design and revisions, followed by Town Planning Permit if required, and Working Drawings Documents for a Building Permit which is always required. As you may be well aware this is a long process, and taking your time with it will pay dividends – you do not want to wake up day and say – “if only I took more time” or “was not so stingy in obtaining advice” I would not be in this pickle. If you take your time and purchase adequate advice and things go wrong at the very least you cannot blame yourself and that in my opinion is a great relief. Just drawing multiple plans without a structured process can prove difficult and non-rewarding especially in the long run. If you feel that I can be a benefit to your project please send me an email so that we may continue the conversation and get to a design proposal. I would like to work on your project and have worked successfully on similar projects before. If you require further information or have any concerns about the included information, contact me as soon as possible. Regards Michael Manias MANIAS ASSOCIATES BUILDING DESIGNERS P: (03) 9347 7347 M: +61 0417 567123 W: https://www.houzz.com.au/pro/maniasassociates/__public e: mm407p@gmail.com