Why Switching To Organic Landscaping Is Augmenting New South Wales’s Gardens

Throughout New South Wales there will be gardens of all shapes and sizes, with some having been created by professional landscape design companies and others which were not. For those designed and created by a landscaping company, there will doubtless be an array of plants and fixed features that make each landscaped garden in New South Wales unique.

What will also differ from garden to garden is whether or not the homeowners who own each garden have switched to using organic techniques and supplies. Building a landscaped garden with organic principles at the core can make it more visually appealing, healthier, and most importantly, sustainable over the longer term. If organic landscaping is something you would like to learn more about, please keep reading.

Organic Landscape Gardening Supplies

It is impossible to outline each organic gardening product, however, what we can do is highlight some of the key benefits of using natural supplies versus manufactured or synthetic ones. The first is that 100% natural products will always provide maximum benefit as their purity integrates perfectly with the plants growing in your landscaped garden.

In addition, given the huge array of different organic supplies that are available, it gives you maximum choice as to what to use in your garden. Finally, organic supplies normally come from renewable resources meaning you are helping to maintain the environment.

Healthier Soil

As the plants in your landscaped garden rely heavily on the soil they are in for their well-being, the healthier that soil is, the better. This is where having an organic garden helps enormously as the organic products you use to maintain your soil provide it with everything it needs to stay healthy.

First, the soil’s structure will be enhanced which will help with the plants’ root penetration and thus facilitate better nutrition and the plants’ ability to absorb moisture. If you use organic fertiliser you take this to an even better level as your garden’s plants are more readily able to absorb those nutrients. Healthier soil will also have a higher quantity of microbes which help to aerate that soil which further boosts nutrition.

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7 Tips For Protecting Your Landscaped Garden From Extreme Heat

As landscapers, there are many things we can do for you to make and keep your landscaped garden looking at its best. However, one power we do not have is being able to control the weather. Much as it would make our lives, and those of our clients, easier, we have to leave how hot it gets in the hands of Mother Nature, although given the focus on climate change and global warming, it would seem the human race is also beginning to influence how hot it gets.

Unfortunately, for much of the plant life that might be growing in your landscaped garden, extreme temperatures, especially for prolonged periods, are not conducive to them thriving. We might include in a landscape design many plants that are native to the area and thus are more attuned to a warmer climate. However, that does not mean they should not be given some protection from consistent extreme heat.

Thankfully, there are many ways that you can protect the plant life in your landscaped garden, and if you read on, you will discover seven of our top tips, which we provide to all our clients if they are concerned about the high temperatures in their local area being a problem.

Install Shade Cloths

Just as animals and us humans will head for shade in baking hot sunshine, that same principle applies to your plants, although, unfortunately, they cannot move, so they rely on you. You can create shade for your most sensitive plants using anything you like. However, the best solution is shade cloths or sail shades, which can be placed throughout your garden.

Add Organic Matter To Your Soil

In hot temperatures, water evaporation is an issue, so you want to help maximise the water that remains within the soil that reaches roots. One way this can be achieved is by adding organic matter to the soil. Compost and even manure can be used, which act like sponges so more moisture is retained within the soil rather than evaporating due to heat.

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7 Factors That Will Influence How Long A Landscaping Project Takes For Completion

Whenever you embark upon a landscape design project for your garden, numerous variables come into play. Notwithstanding the many choices you have to make about features and foliage you want to include, there is also the task of choosing a landscaping company to create the landscape design and then construct it, plus there is your budget to consider.

Another important variable is the amount of time it is going to take from the moment you decide to proceed until the entire project is completed. This time must be factored into your planning as it will impact your home, as well as potentially affect your neighbours too given that construction vehicles and machinery might be required, and this could cause some degree of disruption.

Within the time variable, individual factors can all influence how long a landscaping project takes to complete. In this article, we are going to examine seven of these time factors which will dictate how much time your landscaping will require.

Time Factor #1 – Size Of The Garden

The most obvious factor that will influence the time taken to complete a landscaping project is the size of the garden or the area which is being landscaped. For instance, a larger plot is likely to have more landscaping elements, will require more construction work, and even the simple fact that it will take longer to circumnavigate around the plot each day all contribute to making a larger landscape design a longer project than one which takes place within a tiny garden.

Time Factor #2 – Number Of Requested Features And Plants

This is one of the rare instances where you may find a smaller garden taking longer than a larger garden. The reason is if the small garden’s landscape design calls for a far greater number of landscaping features including plants, than a large garden, then it follows that the completion of the former may require more time due to the cumulative effect of installing each item.

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10 Professional Tips For Designing A Stunning Landscaped Garden

If you are planning new landscaping for your garden, as with every other large project you could undertake for your property, there is a right way to do it and, as many know from bitter experience, numerous wrong ways to do it. Unfortunately, given the scale of landscape designs, getting it wrong can be costly, not just financially, but also in the time wasted and the stress a botched landscaping project is likely to create.

We do not want you to get anything wrong concerning your landscaping so we thought it would be useful to share with you ten of our best landscape design tips. These ten excellent landscape design tips come from professional landscapers, so they are even more certain to prove useful when you are ready to plan your landscaped garden.

Take Account Of Your Garden’s Surroundings

One of the biggest landscape design mistakes made by homeowners is, they take no account of their local surroundings. By surroundings, we are talking about the type of soil in the area, the local climate, the plants that are natural to the region, and so on. You must take account of these for your garden to thrive.

Utilise The Natural Features Within Your Garden

Before planning your landscape design in detail, take time to inspect your current garden and make a note of the natural features that already exist. These include any trees and other plants which you wish to retain, the undulations and inclines of the ground, and the quality of the lawn, for example.

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Landscaping Drainage Problems And How To Resolve Them

One of the most destructive things to befall any landscaping is flooding. Whether the flooding is caused by days of continuous torrential rain, waters from a nearby source such as a river or lake busting their banks, or closer to home, a burst pipe or water main, the potential destruction of much of your landscaped garden is a real possibility.

Water is something that can be a double-edged sword for gardens. Gardens could not survive if they did not get enough water, and yet, if there is too much of it and the garden floods, then the opposite can be the result and the garden and most of the things that grow in it can meet their demise.

Thankfully, not every encounter with water is as destructive as those which we have just outlined. Normal rainfall, or when you are watering your garden are occasions when your garden will be thankful for water. However, even these seemingly positive interactions with water can lead to issues, especially with lawns and plant beds. If the drainage within your garden does not function as it should you must take steps to rectify this situation.

Problems Caused By Poor Drainage

  • Flooding: We have already discussed how flooding can occur, but it is the damage it can do which should attract the most attention. Although destroying plants within your garden is bad enough, severe flooding can weaken the foundations of your property and seep into your home causing even more destruction to flooring and carpets, for example.
  • Standing Water: This harms your garden in several ways. It can effectively drown plants, flowers, and vegetables, it makes walkways slippery and dangerous, and it acts as a breeding ground for fungus, mould, bugs, and other pests which simply add to the destructive forces caused by the excess water in your garden.
  • Erosion: Poor drainage and excess water in your garden, including flooding, can negatively impact the soil within it. The water can cause soil to be washed away, it can move it a considerable distance from where it should be, and in doing so, it can create imbalances in the soil structures and depths with your landscape design.
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5 Key Considerations When Planning Landscaping For Around Your Pool

If you are fortunate to have a garden large enough for a pool, and you plan to have new landscaping installed in that garden, then you have the best of both worlds. Firstly, having a pool allows you to not only keep fit and have fun, but a pool is also an ideal centrepiece for gatherings of friends and family.

In addition to that, if you also add professional landscaping into the mix, the result should be a garden with a pool area that makes others envious and gives you and your family lots of pleasure. It is on that note of combining a pool and landscaping that we alert you to the subject of this article because you must get the combination correct.

By that, we are referring to you knowing that, when you are planning your landscape design and the pool plays a role in that design, there are factors that you need to consider that you would not have to if your garden did not have a pool. This should not be seen as a negative as all this is doing is making sure that your landscaping both functions and appears as it should in a pool environment.

To help you get this right, we have highlighted five of the top considerations you must make when combining landscaping and a pool so that both complement each other whilst you also benefit from them having their individual merits.

Fast Or Slow Growing Plants Around The Pool?

One of the decisions that will make a significant difference to how much foliage you want around your pool area is whether you wish to use that foliage as screening. If the latter, Β then you will want quick-growing plants that will quickly provide the aforementioned screening.

However, if the idea is for decorative plants and you are happy to wait for them to mature and bloom, then slow-growing varieties might be more suited to your needs. If you are unsure which plants fall into these two categories your landscaper will be able to advise you.

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7 Types Of Artificial Lighting To Consider For Your Landscape Design

Whilst most of us benefit from many hours of sunlight for most of the year, when a landscape design is being put together there is other light to be considered. That light is the artificial lighting that will be switched on, normally after the sun has gone down, and is required so that you and others in your garden can see each other and everything else around you.

One of the problems that can occur when new landscaping is being considered is there is so much choice when it comes to artificial lighting that the expression ‘spoilt for choice’ is extremely apt. When you consider the array of artificial lighting types, their sizes, and the colours which can be produced, it is little wonder that some homeowners get trapped in a spiral of indecision.

We do not want that to happen to you so what we are going to do is give you a brief walkthrough of the types of artificial lighting that you can include in a landscape design and why you might choose each of them. Please note that, in most landscaping projects, more than one type of artificial lighting will be used so you are not choosing one of these to the exclusion of all the others.

Floodlights

Some people are under the impression that these get their name because they are a light used when flooding occurs but that is not the case. Instead, their name refers to the fact that they flood the area with light rather than focus it on a small area. As such, they are ideal for lighting parts of your landscaping that are used often, and also where you want a wide coverage area such as a patio or a driveway.

Spotlights

From lighting wide areas to lights that are designed to focus on a specific area or even a single item. Spotlights come in many varieties where the variables will be the brightness they produce and how narrow or wide an area their light covers. They are often used for highlighting features within landscaped gardens such as a statue, specific plants, trees or an entrance/exit gate.

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How To Properly Assess Soil Options For Your Landscaping

When many people think of landscaping their minds will conjure up images of beautifully manicured lawns, unique garden ornaments, stunning displays of plants and flowers, not to mention water features including swimming pools in larger gardens.

Whilst all of these are highly desirable and get included in many landscape designs, there is one element of every landscape project which barely gets a mention, or at least it does not when those creating the garden are not professionals. We are referring to soil, and as it is the basis for everything that grows in a landscaped garden, it is shocking that in many cases it does not get more attention than it should.

We mentioned non-professional landscapers, and although we do not doubt their willingness to do a good job, it stands to reason that their knowledge and experience of landscaping and in particular soils will not be at the same high level as professional landscaping companies.

The potential problem that can create is that, without knowing soil types, their nutritional levels, and what vegetation, flowers, and trees are more suited to specific soils than others, there is a risk that the completed garden and what grows in it will not flourish.

This brings us to a key choice that every homeowner must make concerning a landscape design, and that is what soils will be most suited to it. It may even be, that in larger gardens, and with the option of having many different plants, more than one choice of soil has to be made.

Although we could not possibly teach you everything there is to know about soils for landscaping in a single article, what we can do is give you some core advice as to what you should consider when assessing soil.

What To Consider When Choosing Soil For A Landscaped Garden

The simple fact is, there are several points you must consider when choosing soils for your landscaping. Remember, unless your garden is extremely small, if you are going to have a variety of plants then you may need to choose two or more different soils based on what you plan to grow.

For most soils, you need to consider their characteristics which come under three different properties, namely physical, biological, and chemical. Let us look at each of these in more detail.

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How to Know it’s Time to Bring in the Experts

Australians are quite proud of their DIY attitude. They like to visit hardware stores for fun and get stuck into projects on their weekends. Still, when it comes to landscaping, you might like to give your household’s DIYer a break. There may come a time when it’s best to bring in the experts.

Your Landscape Looks Overgrown

One of the most obvious signs that you need to call a landscaping team is the jungle that seems to have appeared almost overnight! If your trees and shrubs are looking unruly, and you’re not sure how to knock them back into shape, then a landscaper can be the answer.

Not only do they have all the best tools for the job, but the knowledge, as well. They understand what time of the year is best to prune trees, and what parts are best left untouched. You may not have this knowledge yourself and can end up doing more harm than good.

Your Neighbours are Complaining

Life gets busy, especially as you try to strike a balance between work and home life. So, it’s not uncommon for our landscapes to get away from us. Whether you’ve missed a few too many weeks behind the lawnmower, or your street appeal is no longer at its best, it’s crucial to call in landscaping experts.

While everyone tries to get along with their neighbours, that can be hard when you’re not impressed with their property upkeep. It only takes one imperfectly kept property to bring down an entire neighbourhood. Don’t let it be yours!

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How to Landscape a Small Backyard

The further into large cities you get, the smaller the yards that properties tend to have. And while it can be disheartening to learn that you can’t have a short work commute and a sprawling lawn, that doesn’t mean you can’t get creative with landscaping.

In fact, when you call upon landscape experts, you may be surprised at just how much you can do with a small space. Some of these ideas below may appeal.

Plant Up

You can’t plant outwards, but you can certainly plant upwards. Create that natural paradise you have always wanted by making use of your property’s perimeters. Use fencing, privacy screens, and similar, to grow climbers like passionfruit and grapes. Planting upwards can give you more space to move in your yard, while not compromising on having plenty of green and natural elements in your area.

Divide Your Space

Even though you may not have a lot of room to utilise, that doesn’t mean you can’t make it appear bigger by dividing it. Create different areas to achieve different goals. For example, you may lay pavers down to create a small entertainment area. Then, you might offset it with some raised garden beds. Even the addition of turf lawn nestled between concrete pathways can offer the illusion of space.

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