Backyard almost done...

Since the last post we have finished installing the reed on the fence, which stops at the shed and we have planted out the gardens. We went to Diacos Nursery and bought hedging type plants that grow to approx 4m in height by 2m spread. We got 3 different types and 4 of each so they are mixed along the back fenceline as we had 12m to cover. Eventually this will make a nice hedge screening to block out the neighbours. We didn't want to go too high as our backyard faces north and we need the sunshine in the winter. 

In the corner we have a palm garden with golden canes, a bangalow palm and ponytail palm. These are surrounded by more cordylines.
In the other corner near the shed we have another bangalow palm and a stone feature filled with succulents. I bought this because there is a drain underneath which is quite ugly, so the stone ornament is sitting on that! It can quite easily be taken apart and removed if the drain needs to be accessed.

We have bought some timber sleepers to do the garden edging but due to time constraints, that will have to wait until Christmas when G will have a few days off. He has installed a watering system onto our recycled water which is fully functional and the sleepers will eventually hide that, so we are almost done.


Here are a few pics of the progress so far;

Brush Fence

We have started fitting the brush (reed) fencing, we have gone with natural colour this time. And because we have a capped top fence we won't put anything along the top, it looks quite good as it is running along the top in a nice neat line. Luckily, the 1.8m high pieces fitted perfectly :)
Yesterday, we finished all the way around to the shed. This weekend is supposed to be fine weather so we will complete the planting, which will just leave the timber garden egding left to be done after that. Once the backyard is done we will top dress the buffalo grass with topsoil as it is very uneven. We did fertilise it a few weeks ago and after all the recent rain, it is greening up nicely.

Operation backyard begins!!

It's been a long time between drinks! we didn't do much around the house over winter, mostly because all that is left to do is the backyard. We have finally started on that over the last few few weeks as spring is now here in Melbourne and I will take some progress photos shortly.

At the end of autumn we had installed the shed and laid the turf and that's how it sat over winter. G has now put in the water system (which is connected to the recycle water) and we have started putting in some plants - a lilli pilli hedge along the side boundary which is under-planted with cordylines, and in the corner some golden cane palms and a bangalow palm in the very corner. Again there are some cordylines in different colours around this. Orginally, we were having a deck in the corner but unfortunately the budget won't stretch to that now.

We have bought some brush/reed fencing from Bunnings which will go all the way around the backyard to the shed (covering the rails on the fence) and along the brick panter but we will need to make up some screens above the planter to make it more secure. It will also go slightly higher than the fence above the planter (about 50cm) giving us more privacy. Not sure what we will put in the planter yet, but that will be the last thing that we do. If you haven't already guessed, we are going with a tropical theme out the back :)

Investment block

We put a deposit on a block of land today, as an investment through our business.
As they say in real estate the best time to buy is yesterday and the next best time is today :)

Anyway, this one came back on the market recently because the buyer couldn't get finance so we pretty much snapped it up. It's a big 1493m block in an estate out in a country area of Melbourne, which is about 45 mins from where we live now. It's also where some friends of ours are currently owner building. If it wasn't so far out, I would love to live there as it's a really nice town.

Here's some pics of our block and the estate, the roads are still to be finished in our stage.

Our Block in Stage 5.

Master Plan.

The Estate.

Display cabinet

I have been on the look out for a while now for a display cabinet to go in the dining area. We currently have a bookcase in there, but unfortunately I have been unable to keep any books in it for sometime due to the kids pulling them all out!

I finally found a great cabinet last weekend in a furniture shop in Dandenong, which was available in the chocolate colour that matches our other furniture. I ordered one and it got delivered today and I'm I really pleased with how well it matches in with everything else.

I have taken a couple of pics but at the moment it is bare inside as I need to go through some boxes to unpack my ornaments and frames. This is a job that I will do on a day when the kids are not here!!

More goodies!!

We have replaced the fridge/freezer in the garage as the one that we had was quite old and we think costing us a fair bit to run. G uses it for all his work drinks, which he buys in bulk so we purchased a new one through his business. The old one is now on ebay :)

I have also bought 2 beautiful matching crystal-like lamps for the family room, which arrived today. I bought them from http://www.ozlighting.com.au which is the same website where the pendant light in my last post came from. Both times their service and products have been excellent.

New pendant light.

My latest purchase is a new DIY cane pendant light for the dining area. The cable was too long but luckily I have a little bit of know-how when it comes to re-wiring electrical cabling so I was able to shorten it. I'm very happy with how it looks as it finishes off the room nicely and was heaps cheaper than buying a pendant and having to get a sparky to install it.

I'm now on the lookout for a bookcase/cabinet with glass doors to go underneath the air conditioner. You will see in the photo below an empty bookcase in this spot. That will move into our home office (after we get a new cabinet) and then I will be able to put my books and nic naks out again without the kids pulling them all out every day! 

Garage shelving

Finally got some shelving units for the garage. G needed storage space for his work stock and we also needed somewhere for all our personal stuff. Found this warehouse type shelving online through kmate.com.au they also have an ebay store. They delivered it within 2 days and we put it together in an evening, it was quite straight forward. The shelves are heavy duty and can take 200kg each which is a lot more than anything you can buy from Bunnings.

I've also taken some updated frontal shots of the house, now that the side gates are installed. It's pretty much finished out there now. I like the fact that it's very low maintenance, we have also recently put stones around the tree on the naturestrip to make it easiet to mow and also to make backing out of the garage easier. We now park both of our cars in the garage quite easily :)

Garage shelving

Frontal shot

Barstools - I love them!

We bought 4 new barstools (from my best friend eBay) and they arrived yesterday (that was nice and quick!) in 2 big boxes, but thankfully they went together quite easily. I really love them, they look great and I'm glad I chose the beige (cream) colour as it matches the kitchen really well. The rest of the furniture in the family area is quite dark so I thought the lighter colour would be better.

Here's the pics;

Side gates and fences.

Well, we finally have our side gates and fences, we have been waiting since Christmas! There was a big stuff up with them and to cut a long story short they turned up to do the job and had the wrong materials! The salesperson had quoted for colourbond and we wanted metal slats. They are not cheap either so we made them fix the problem. The salesperson (so it seems) turned out to be quite dodgy and left the company in a hurry... no forwarding address... you get the picture. So the manager agreed to do the back gate in colourbond and the front two in the metal slats at his cost price, as we had been under quoted. It cost us a little bit more money but we were happy with the outcome.

So finally, last week they were fitted and we are very, very happy with them. Definitely worth the wait in the end.

The company that we used is http://www.lockfastfences.com.au/

Front left side has a gate.

Front right side is a fixed panel.

Rear right side is a colourbond gate.

This means that the right side (the dead side) is now blocked off and we are going to make it into a cat run for our furry family member Billy :) But by having the gate down the back, we can still get through from the laundry with washing or to access the shed or outside taps.