How to get started on your new garden

Design

Its hard to not be swept away by the beautiful gardens found in glossy coffee table books when you are sitting in your dusty backyard surrounded by overgrown Buffel grass, and its even harder to remember that the look and feel is all down to design and planning around your individual needs and tastes before the Bobcat arrives…..

Good design is led by function and the needs of the users over time. Good design will take into account the existing constraints, current and future use, maintenance and also budget.

To quote any works a design is essential, We provide professional computer design service  For more info on design click the word design in the title

 

What style of garden do you like?

This is the exciting bit; deciding how you would like your garden to look and feel. Do you prefer cutting edge modern lines with sharp angles and structural plants or soft flowing curves and weeping delicate foliage? A traditional formal style with symmetry, hedges and traditional elements like fountains or a more natural style landscaping with a “I just walked into natural bushland” feel?  Or a tropical lush green feel, as on your last holiday to “insert location here”…?

Even if you do not know what your style is called, in our experience, the best way to communicate this to us, is by putting together a virtual/digital “scrap book” of pictures, with little notes on each pic like “I like the pathway in this one” or ” I like the look of the plants in this one”. This eliminates the need to be an expert gardener that knows the correct names of each plants and will let us know your ideal concept or overall feel…

As a guide the Landscape Association of SA suggest an average budget of approx 10% of the value of your property to landscape all the outdoor space.  It is best to use this as a minimum budget as freight is a factor in our remote location.  This figure is used as a basic guide for a comprehensive garden and therefore, extra/luxury items like pools, outdoor kitchens and shade structures would be in addition to this

We can discuss the wish list of what you are after and let you know some very rough ballpark figures whilst onsite to help you make a decision.  It is best to have a budget in mind, whether that figure changes after initial onsite consult, as it is important to be realistic on outlay as this affects the design options/suggestions and ultimately the final product.

Bloomin Deserts prefers to produce a design that suits your budget rather than design a beautiful garden that is not achievable for you. Even if your dream garden does not fit into your current budget we can look at stages of construction or DIY parts of works to achieve the end result you are after

Specific Inclusions

Decide what specific inclusions are on your wish list

Separate to the general garden use considerations and the overall feel of the garden, it is good to get a wishlist together of specific inclusions and rough priorities.

Start with practical areas like clothesline, area for garden shed, car parking and disability access

Then move on to features like pools, plunge pools, spas, fire pit, lawn, sandpit, pizza oven, entertainment units etc, etc

As can be seen, the list is endless…but if you prioritise these, then it will be much easier for us to give you your ultimate garden.

 

How will you use your garden?

The most important thing to think about is, what you would like to use the garden for. The list is endless so think about the general uses you require so that we can try to fit all into your design. We will discuss most of this on site with you but a few things to consider, to get you started are…

  • Do you want an entertaining area, if so what is the minimum and maximum number of people you would like to be able to accommodate?
  • Do you have children, or the possibility of having children in the future? Therefore is an area of lawn or a natural type play area required?
  • What is the age/access requirements for the users of the garden?
  • Is the garden required to have a space for quiet relaxing by yourself with a book?

What is your budget?

Whilst the question of budget is always a difficult one, if you are unsure of the cost of landscaping it is best to give some thought to the maximum investment you are willing to spend on the project.  Budget is usually the limiting factor to any project and whilst you are unsure of the cost of landscaping you probably know what is the upper limit of what you want to spend.

We realise why most people chase a quote; because they need an idea of cost and people are reluctant to name a figure. We find a lot of people underestimate the true cost of landscaping and their wish list exceeds what they can spend.

You will get the best value for money by being upfront with your budget, as we can then squeeze as much of your wishlist as we can into it

Accept the things you cannot change

Some things in your garden you may need to keep, like buildings or existing trees.

Somethings in your property can not be built on or planted on, like easements and existing services.

Somethings in your existing gardens may be required to be keep if your budget does not allow, like replacement of concrete driveways or sheds.

In these instances it is better to accept the things you cannot change (Yes, just like the saying) so that you can focus your efforts on getting the most out of your budget for the things you do want.

For example don’t spend $45,000 on removal, disposal and replacement of a driveway and shed to a different location if that is better spent on a new pool. Remember, you cant swim in a new concrete driveway (I dont think we have that technology yet)

Maintenance Requirements

Last, but definitely not least, work out what time you are willing to spend in the garden maintaining it.

Some garden styles require more maintenance, so your garden style or what you would like, will depend on what maintenance you can do or pay someone to do for you.

In most cases we can choose plants for most style gardens to keep maintenance down but some styles are more maintenance heavy

High maintenance features include hedges, lawns and topiary. These are found in more traditional formal style gardens

Low maintenance features include natural bush style gardens and paved surfaces.

Pools can be surprisingly low maintenance with the advances in automatic PH dosing technology, automatic refilling, automatic covers and cleaning robots. just ask us the options for easy maintenance as part of your pool quote