We moved into our house about three years ago and the estate we live in advised that, as part of our land contract, they will do the front landscape for free. Sweet deal!
So the grass was laid and shrubs planted and” ta-dah” – the landscape was done without having to lift a finger. Garden was nice and neat until water restrictions came into force (unfortunately, I don’t have a picture of the original landscape). AND I didn’t know how hard it was to maintain real grass! Also, at this time I was too busy trying to furnish the house and honestly didn’t care too much about the front yard.
So without any tlc the front garden was overcome by weeds, overgrown grass, dying plants and a mound of unused gravel left over from the back yard. Yes – you guessed it, we were that derelict looking house on the street. It hurt my eyes every time I came home.
So late last year, I decided that something had to be done. K & I agreed to get the front yard looking somewhat presentable and of course to stick to a budget, i.e. $2,000.
So here are the before shots – trust me it looked worse in real life.
We hired someone with a bobcat to clear the garden except the magnolia tree. Then K & I decided on the layout. I bought the plants from the local weekend market – much cheaper than a nursery or Bunnings. K placed the timber borders for the garden bed, planted, organized rock and got someone to lay the Tuscan topping. K & a friend cut the fake grass to size, prepared the foundation and laid the grass. The two pot plants at the front were indoors but look better outside, so didn’t cost me anything but a “Please K can you carry them outside?”. This garden blitz took us a few weekends with family coming to help when they had spare time. But I must admit – this version looks much better than the previous don’t you think?
Overall, we spent no more than $1,600. That’s $400 under budget *happy happy joy joy*!
