Landscaping – part 4

The landscapers were back (five of them) and they have done a super big day of work. They have laid the final footings for the raised vegetable beds.

They have finished the retaining walls (sleepers) and the soldiers. They have also dug all the ag drain trenches, laid the pipe, and filled with the special rocks that go on top for easy drainage. They also started laying another red gum sleeper edge around the fence so the soil in the garden beds won’t rot the fence.

They also laid all the steppers in my magic secret garden nook at the front. It looks hot. Just image it when it is hidden by berries and trees and a front fence!

It wasn’t in the original plans but we decided to be safer than sorry and build the garden for the long term. The good news is the concrete footings and pipe are already diverting water away from the house which is great news.

We’ve also chosen our topping for the garden. We really like the Dromana topping for its colour, texture and usability. We liked the Tuscan topping but were warned about stones in shoes and the fact that the bamboo floor will look like a stone scratch zone.

I found two massive tree stumps in the front driveway so I’ve got some stump munchers coming in next week to grind them to a pulp. They are in exactly the wrong spot – right where my cherry grove is going!

We have budgeted 10% of the total build cost for our landscaping. I think we’ll be right on the dollar – and if we are not, I’ll use any leftover dollars to buy more exotic coffee, banana and mango trees from Queensland.

Next week they’ll lay the last of the red gum sleepers beside the fence, the bricks and veg beds, bag the walls (I think) and they lay the weed matting and toppings. Then we’ll get in 10 cubic metres of mountain soil.