Front garden landscaping FINISHED!

So I finally planted and mulched around our new paved path beside the garage.

Rocks were placed on one side of the paving, against the garage, as there is drainage along that wall. These rocks match the rocks placed in other areas of the front yard. The other side I edged the pavers with Dianella Petite Marie. These cute little plants will grow approx 25cm x 25cm and once grown will form a nice little border. 

I also planted two more Nandina plants along the driveway to continue the line of Nandinas planted some time ago. 

There is also another Lomandra Lime Tuff, which looks so tiny compared to the established ones but, if the others were anything to go by, it will grow in no time and fill the void in that area. 

The rest of the front yard currently looks like the below pictures. Some plants still have a fair bit of growing to go but I'm happy with how it's all come together, especially as I have done it all myself except the concreting and paving. 

Front landscaping, garden plants and path

Picture heavy! A long overdue update... 

Front garden landscaping

I enjoy planting a garden, watering it, feeding it and watching it grow. What I didn't think of is how long it would take just to do the front yard when we have a 10 meter setback, sloping site and heavy clay soil! We have been in our home for 19 months and I have *almost* finished planting the front garden. The sloping site proved to be a bit of challenge. In November 2014 we had the garden retaining walls put in. You can see them in this post.

Main front garden

I planted these plants in March 2015. There is a mix of Phormium (Black Rage and Yellow Wave), Lomandra (Lime Tuff) and Nandinas. I also have three Birds Of Paradise and a Magnolia Little Gem. There are also three Acmena Forest Flame plants, which are a type of Lilly Pilly.

Then of course we have bucket loads of black mulch!

A few progress photos taken in March 2015. 

The images below show how it looks now; 12 months later 😊  

The Phormiums will grow to approximately 1.2 metres so they still have some growing to go. The Lomandras shouldn't get too much bigger, I just expect them to get a little more wide and bushy. 

We will be laying pavers and stone between the retaining wall and garage. It will form a path so we can wheel the bins to the back of the garage so they're no longer an eyesore. 

I have left the garden bed at the side of the driveway, towards the front of the house, bare as we will eventually be putting in a low fence and electric gates. Well, that's the plan anyway. So I didn't want to plant a garden there only to have to rip it out later. I spread mulch there so at least it looks neat. 

We have had these bluestone pavers for 10 months now. I'm sure we will get around to laying them eventually 😂 

My Magnolia Little Gem ❤️ I have had this tree since November 2014 and it has grown a fair bit since I planted it. I cannot wait for it to grow. 

Raised garden bed

Hubby built a garden bed for me in front of the driveway retaining wall. I'm lucky to have such a handy man ☺️ 

In early October 2015 I planted a row of Kangaroo Paw Regal Velvet, which has lovely large strappy foliage. I then planted more Lomandra Lime Tuffs as a border. 

By late November they were flowering like crazy! 

The below photos show what the garden bed looks like today. I have trimmed the flowers from the Kangaroo Paw as the flowering season is over. Both the Kangaroo Paw and Lomandra have filled out quite a bit. The Lomandras impress me with how quick they grow, even in difficult sites. You can also notice in the below photos we have placed rock/stones between that garden bed and the house. Underneath the rock we have plastic sheeting which has been laid in such a way that it directs any rainwater into a drain. This is to further prevent too much water going under the subfloor area; a common problem with sloping block sites. We haven't finished spreading the rock, I think that's a project for this weekend. The same rock will also be used in my first garden bed project in the backyard.

Narrow garden beside driveway

Unless you're on a very large property with a sweeping driveway lined with trees **sigh** we all have the "awkwardly narrow garden next to the driveway" garden bed. I didn't know what to plant here, it was doing my head in! I know I wanted low growing plants towards the front of the property as I didn't want to block our vision leaving the driveway and taller bushy plants towards the house. I also couldn't have anything that grew too wide. I could trim it often of course, but who can be bothered with that!? So I planted Nandinas along the top as that is what I have lining the bottom part of the driveway on the other side (leaving a space for the future gate/fence pillar) and Pittosporum Stephens Island for the rest. I was initially dead against Pittosporums as they're everywhere, however I came across Stephens Island which I had previously never heard of before. They have larger darker green leaves than most Pittosporums with a black stem. They only grow 2.5 metres tall by 1.5 metres wide which is perfect. Sold! 

I planted this side of the garden back in November 2015, so it's only four months old. In that time the plants have filled out a little. I expect the Pittosporums will have a good growth spurt next spring. 

Just before Christmas we had some concrete steps and path laid which leads from the side of the driveway, down past the side gate and into the backyard to meet up with the back steps. As you can see I have some narrow space between the concrete and the fence to fill. I'm considering some Mondo Grass for the more narrow sections and Lomandras in the wider sections but I haven't decided as yet. 

Driveway retaining wall

Our driveway retaining wall besser blocks were laid and core filled today. They still have to come back and lay the agi pipe behind the wall. So far very impressed with Davnic Excavations and would not hesitate in recommending them.

The first two pics were taken a couple of days ago when the footings were poured and the first row of blocks laid.

The wall blocks laid and core filled. The part near the garage is lower as we will have the driveway laid on top and the decking/porch will butt up to it. 

Retaining wall blocks

We had the blocks for our retaining wall delivered yesterday. The retaining wall will run parallel to the front of the house and will form a wall for the driveway.

We are using besser blocks which will be reinforced and core filled with concrete. We will eventually render the wall so that it matches the front of the house but that will be a "after handover" project. 

The construction of the wall was meant to commence today. Although we received a call from the company last night who stated that they can't commence as the scaffolding still hasn't been removed from the front of our house. Our builder (well, our temporary site supervisor as the actual supervisor is currently overseas) has been notified and has assured us he will see what he can do. 

At this stage the wall has been delayed to next week.

Splashback tiles - got 'em!

A couple of weeks ago we received a phone call to tell us our splashback tiles have arrived from Italy and were in the supplier's warehouse awaiting collection or delivery. I opted to pick them up myself as I wanted to inspect them for any possible damage that could have occurred during shipping. These tiles aren't cheap so I'm a little paranoid!  So today we took the trip down to the Geelong warehouse to pick them up. All the tiles were in perfect condition so we were pretty relieved with that.

This tile looks different in different lighting and from different angles, which I suppose is why I love them so much. 

These tiles are called Intensity Auroa Texture in the colour white and they're made by Atlas Concorde. 

Here is a pic of the tile up on the wall in the showroom. You can see how it's almost like a mirror in some parts under artificial lighting. 

Once we got home I took some additional pics to show it in different lighting and angles. 

Here they are all packed up and waiting to be installed, which is still quite some time away. 

Whilst at the tile warehouse I spotted the tile that we chose for our wall tiles in the bathroom and ensuite so I took a pic to share as the other pic was of a tiny sample tile. I took a few different angles so you can see the texture/pattern. 

We spoke with the builder this morning. Our slab was meant to be done this week but we have had nothing but constant rain in Melbourne this week and it looks like it will continue all through next week as well. So we are waiting on the weather to clear before they can lay the drainage and pour our slab. 

Since the last update they have filled the cavities of the retaining walls with concrete. 

We also have a power box on site. 

Hopefully next update I will have some slab photos to share :-)

Retaining wall # 2

We have the second brick retaining wall built. This wall runs between the garage and laundry. The walls are due to be in filled with concrete this week. After that the drainage will be installed then the following week we should have a slab. Weather permitting!

We have had a wet few weeks in Melbourne, with record rainfalls a few days ago so I hope this doesn't hold the progress up.

On another note my splashback tiles have arrived very early from Italy. I pick them up from the warehouse late next week - I can't wait!

Here are some pics of the second retaining wall. The mortar is a little rough but I suppose that doesn't matter as it'll be hidden under the house. 

This pic shows the corner that they'll be continuing the brickwork along from - this is the bedroom side of the house. 

The second retaining wall as seen from a little down the block. The wall sticks out like that as that will be the workbench in the garage. 

The first retaining wall can be seen down the block with the newer wall to the right of the photo. 

Bricks started - retaining

Brickies were on site today laying bricks for the retaining wall between the store room and downstairs lounge room. 

The bricks we chose are Boral Barwon with rolled morter. These will look great once cleaned. They're a brown brick with black flecks and hints of bluey/purple patches. 

We also had our water tap installed today

I was impressed that the brickies were working today as it was raining on and off all day. There is rain predicted for the rest of the week but I hope it's not heavy enough to cease work. We will visit the site again later this week to see the progress. 

I'm started to get really excited now!!