Year: 2018

Retaining Wall
Landscape Design

5 Benefits Of Using Limestone Blocks For Your Retaining Wall

Limestone blocks are one of the most versatile building materials out there. They can be used for everything from retaining walls and fences to stairs and garden beds, and they look great as well. They are also strong and affordable, making them perfect for people who have a tight budget.

One of the most popular uses of limestone blocks is to build strong, durable retaining walls. There are many benefits associated with building retaining walls using limestone blocks. Some of these include:

  1. Limestone Retaining Walls Look Great!

If you’re building retaining walls near your house or in a prominent position, you need them to look good. Limestone is an attractive building material, and retaining walls made with limestone blocks usually look great! Customise the exact style of your wall by choosing the size and type of limestone block you want to use (reconstituted or naturally quarried).

  1. Limestone Retaining Walls Are Easy To Build

If you’re on a bit of tight budget you might want to build your retaining walls by yourself. Limestone blocks let you do this. Although some of the larger sized blocks can weight hundreds of kilograms and need machinery to move, smaller blocks can be manipulated by hand. This makes it very easy to build a basic retaining wall out of limestone blocks.

  1. Limestone Is Strong And Durable

Although not the hardest wearing material under certain conditions, retaining walls made out of limestone blocks will last for a long time. If you use large blocks and make sure that your walls are built well, the chances are that they will well and truly outlive you and your house.

(more…)

Read More
Wildlife Friendly Landscaping
Landscaping

5 Reasons Why You Should Keep Wildlife In Mind When Landscaping

Sustainable landscaping has become a major consideration for homeowners throughout Australia and the world. One of the best ways to create a sustainable outdoor space is to make it wildlife friendly. Increasing amounts of habitat clearing and fragmentation mean that many species – especially birds – simply don’t have enough places to live.

According to Landscapers Network, wildlife friendly landscaping is simple. Choose native species, avoid chemicals and artificial fertilisers, and encourage wildlife to visit your garden. 5 reasons why you should do this include:

  1. Animals Are Relaxing

Personally, nothing cheers me up more than sitting down for a coffee in the morning and watching the birds go about their business. Simply planting the right species and creating a habitable environment can encourage animals to both live and breed in your garden. This can lead to innumerable opportunities for you to simply sit back, relax and take in the beauty of nature.

  1. Creating Habitat Can Give Species Somewhere To Live

Most native species have significantly reduced habitat range due to land clearing and fragmentation. This means that they can have trouble finding places to both live and breed. Keeping your native species in mind when you’re landscaping can help you develop an outdoor space for these animals to thrive. Think about things like birds, possums and other small mammals.

  1. A Native Garden Is Beautiful

Australian conditions are tough, which means that it can be hard to find plants that are easy to grow and look after. Landscapers working with wildlife in mind will allow you to create a maintenance free garden that requires few chemicals and synthetic fertilisers.

  1. Attracting The Right Animals Can Keep Your Garden Healthy

If you’re smart about the way you landscape your outdoor space, you should be able to significantly reduce the amount of chemicals you have to use. For example, attracting birds can help reduce the risk of insect infestations, while pollinating insects like bees and butterflies can help keep your plants healthy.

(more…)

Read More
Mystical Garden
Landscape Design

Create Your Own Mystical Garden Today

Designing a new garden or outdoor living area can be an extremely interesting and rewarding process. If you want your own mystical, fairytale garden, then there are a few basic things that you can do. If you are unsure about anything in the following article, then consider consulting experienced landscape architects to help you design your perfect mystical garden.

When it comes to creating an outdoor space with a magical feel, there are a few things that you can do. Ideally, you want to avoid too much synthetic material, and focus on natural beauty. Consider including the following things in your design to create the perfect mystical garden today:

Waterfalls and other water features:

When it comes to creating a mystical feel about an area, waterfalls are a great choice. Try and install a simple waterfall over natural rocks. If possible, plant mosses and ferns around the area, and try and include a small stream that produces the quiet sound of flowing waters.

Ferns, mosses, and other forest plants:

If you really want to go all out and create a magical area, with a colourful landscape design, then you should think about planting a small forest space. Obviously, this will be easier if you already have some large trees in the area, but if not then you can choose quick growing species that will be tall and dominating before too long.

(more…)

Read More
Improving Your Soil
Landscaping

The Importance of Improving Your Soil While Landscaping

When it comes to landscape design, there are a few things that the average home gardener sometimes forgets about. The most important of these is undoubtedly soil improvement. The best time to improve your soil is when you are landscaping and redesigning your garden. Although it can seem like a waste of time and money, it is extremely important to make sure that you put the effort in to make sure that you are planting your new garden in rich, fertile soil.

After building, soils are often sandy and poor:

If you have built a new house, then you may be tempted to simply design your yard and plant your garden around the soil which is already there – don’t be. The dirt used for housepads is usually very sandy and nutrient poor, which means that there is little to sustain your plants. Add to this the fact that builders rubble is often full of rocks, rubbish, and chemical, and you have plenty of reason to replace it with decent soil.

The easiest time to improve your soil is while landscaping:

Once you have established that you need to improve your soil – in some way shape or form – then you will realise that the best time to do it is when you are redeveloping your garden. This is always the easiest time to remove old, poor quality soil and replace it with better quality, more fertile soil.

(more…)

Read More
Turf Farms
Landscaping

Keeping your Lawn Disease Free

Lawns can be affected by a wide range of different diseases, some of which can lead to a very scrappy, unhealthy looking lawn. Some diseases can come directly from poor quality turf farms when you buy roll on turf to lay, but many come from other places.

Keeping your lawn disease free can be very difficult, but there are a lot of things that you can do to reduce the chance of fungal diseases affecting your grass and to reduce their effects if they do. Keep reading to learn how to keep your lawn disease free!

What kind of diseases affect lawns?

Most lawn diseases are caused by various funguses which cause your grass to look terrible, to stop growing, and sometimes, to die. Some of the more common fungal diseases affecting residential lawns include:

  • Brown patch
  • Dollar spot
  • Fairy ring
  • Fusarium blight
  • Necrotic ring spot

Some of these diseases will turn your lawn yellow or brown, and others can be identified by the presence of mushrooms or small fungal growths.

How to I reduce the risk of fungal diseases in my lawn?

There are a number of things you can do to keep funguses out of your lawn, including:

Be careful what turf farm you buy from – buying from a poor quality turf farm can mean that your lawn has a fungal problem before you even lay it. This can spread to other, unaffected lawns in the area, and can cause huge problems with neighbours. Buy from a high-quality turf from farms like Carabooda Lawn to make sure that your lawn is disease free when you plant it.

Avoid contamination – Avoid bringing in contaminated dirt from other places, don’t plant things around your lawn which are unhealthy or sick looking, and be careful when it comes to walking on your lawn after you have been in contact with grassed areas in public.

Getting rid of diseases:

Getting rid of fungal diseases can be difficult, especially if you aren’t sure exactly what the disease is. There are a lot of things that you can do to remove them and reduce their effects, including:

  • Keep your grass watered and use lawn fertiliser. Doing so will reduce environmental stresses on your lawns, making it easier for them to get rid of funguses and diseases on their own.

(more…)

Read More