Desperate for advice on plants & landscaping for our brand new garden
Jo Hamblyn
5 years ago
last modified: 5 years ago
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Jo Hamblyn
5 years agoJo Hamblyn
5 years agoRelated Discussions
Exterior paint colour and landscaping design advice needed!
Comments (7)Your house is brand brand new and so yes it does look a bit stark, but don't rush to repaint! Once you have added shrubs and it has settled in it will look really lovely. Put a little money into landscaping and it will look lovely. It just needs time to settle into the landscape. Definately don't paint it grey! That is not a look that works north of sydney in my opinion! It will look grim in the qld sunshine I think. Be patient, it won't take long for new plants to grow up in QLD. What comes to mind is your house is like a bride in a white dress... its the bouquet of flowers that really make her look beautiful. Try looking at bridal magazines for some inspiration for what garden style you like. 2 approaches I would try. Tropical foliage and tropical colour with bright gingers, lipstick palms, cordylines etc.. There are plenty of species that will do fine in the subtropics. Or the second and perhaps what I would favour for myself is to create an avenue of colourful flowering trees along the driveway like jacaranda, frangipani, flame tree, or perhaps one spreading poinciana out front in the middle of the yard if there is space. If you want some real wow factor employ a landscape gardener to give you something really unique, a great feature design. Or for a simpler approach just go to the nursery and pick what you like the look of. The house will look great with any sort of garden to soften the edges....See MoreDesperate for help with our ugly house!
Comments (22)Render it MAYBE. Remove the orange bathroom tiles. Replace the rocks with a clean edge. Emphasise the vertical lines of the walls of brick and the vertical lines that the window can form, being one on top of the other. Vertical narrow pencil trees (? name) I think that God gave you steps for a reason. You might put narrow pencil conifers at the front corners of that, too. If you remove the steps, you will be broke, and you will replace them with an even uglier diagonal set of steps. There is no other diagonal on the house. De-emphasise the horisontal. So, if the windows are going to be different colours, have them match one above the other. Use curtains with wide stripes. Do not emphasise the horisontal lines above the windows or the floor of the upstairs landing. Have the edge of the concrete straight, and in line with the house. Get rid of that insipid ---- under, and around, the stairs. This house represents the jet age. You need it clean. Alternatively, don't worry about it. Save your money, or spend the money on an amazing experience. It is hard for a house to look amazing if it is below street level. That is why you do not see houses in magazines below street level (as far as I know.) If you save money so you don't have money worries, there will be more love in the house and that will be more important that the appearance. If you have children, they will not give a ---- about the decoration. At all!!!...See MoreAdvice on how to make our 70s home more modern?
Comments (8)Your home does look a little tired and dated in its design and form. Rendering will not modernise it, as the basic shape and form remain unaltered - it will just look like a rendered '70s house. I would be looking at updating the windows, getting rid of your silly, narrow, decorative shutters, and replacing the georgian paned windows with something cleaner and more contemporary. This would give you the opportunity to introduce more thermally efficient double glazing. It looks like the previous owner may have done something like this downstairs? The decorative brackets on the verandah posts should go. Then clean the roof tiles, possibly reseal the roof, and paint the gutters, eaves and trim. However the biggest difference you can make, which gives you the most bang for your buck is in landscaping your blank canvas. If you spent the cost of rendering on engaging a local landscape design professional and getting some semi-mature trees established then it would transform your house. You can't do a lot with the form of your house, so make it the backdrop to your street's best garden. Best of luck Dr Retro of Dr Retro House Calls...See MoreLandscape advice
Comments (5)Hello Kate, I would plant along the fence if it were my property, but the species selection will need a bit of care in context with your climate region and the available light, particularly in winter. Pebble mulch might worth considering instead of bark. Pebble blends come in a range of colours that can compliment the building colour scheme and will be less prone to blowing or washing away in heavy weather. It might be possible to allocate a portion for a kitchen garden, maybe outside the laundry door, with some fresh herbs to have on hand. You will need to do a fair bit of soil preparation too by the looks. To keep the soil health over the long term, particularly for a kitchen garden, here is a clever low-cost DIY composting solution that is ideal for confined spaces: This is a plastic bucket with the bottom cut off buried about two thirds into the soil. The cap is a ceramic plate from the op-shop. Kitchen scraps go into the top and because the bottom is in contact with the soil it doesn't take long for the composting to happen. The plate keeps vermin from raiding the contents. Two or three of these will take most family kitchen scraps. Performance may vary in colder climates. Looking forward to hearing what you decide to do. Have some fun!...See MoreJo Hamblyn
5 years agojulie herbert
5 years agoJo Hamblyn
5 years agojulie herbert
5 years ago
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