[Photos] Before and after.

[moonvoice]

I love doing before and afters with the garden,
and I've finally processed the photos, so we have some more.
Man, I remember about three and a half years ago posting up an empty block of land
with spray-on topsoil holding it all together
and no footing.

And now we have progress. I still have some neatening up around the garden beds, but all the 'big stuff' has been done. I can hardly believe it.

It's still got 'new installed look' and will weather in nicely over the next couple of weeks. I still find it amusing that if I want to 'freshing it up' I just need to run a broom over it.


Before





After






Before





After

Comments

[darakat]

Looks awesome

[moonvoice]

I'm so happy. It's weird though. I've been looking at white sand for so long it's still a shock to see green in the morning!

[herlander_refugee]

Really lovely!

[wendelah1]

Great job. That's a lot of work.

[moonvoice]

Thankfully we didn't have to install the synthetic grass ourselves, but organising the garden beds and making sure they had local or endemic natives (with a few exceptions re: grevillea cultivars) and establishing them has been a labour of love.

[amalnahurriyeh]

Wow. WOW. That's amazing. Congrats!

[moonvoice]

Eee thanks! I'm so glad it's done!

[silverjackal]

That looks *super*. Lovely contrast with the colour of your house, and really brings your garden into focus. I'm also amused: we use the same bins here, only ours are different colours (one for trash, one for recycling). They're actually excellent for keeping scavenging wildlife out, and they're stout enough not to be blown about too much when it's stormy. But back to the subject of your house: I like it very much! It creates a most charming picture. You've done a wonderful job with it. :)

[moonvoice]

Heh, yeah, the yellow one is for recycling here, and the green is for regular trash. Some suburbs also get a one with a brown lid for garden / green waste. Ours still go 'kite surfing' when the wind gets up, but it's also not unusual in Ellenbrook to get gusts of wind up to 60 kmh on a 'windy' but not unusually windy day.

Can't wait to play kick to kick with Glen on the turf! And the grass will stand up to it, which is fantastic. :D

[laughinglotus]

The lawn and landscaping look very nice!

[moonvoice]

Thank you! <3

[iamshadow]

That looks amazing!

We lived on Newcastle harbour years back, and our soil was like that- practically totally sand. The only things that grew in it were lavender and curry plant and frangipani, everything else had to go in pots.

[moonvoice]

Yeah, most of Perth is sand, since we're built on dessicated/fossilised sand-dunes. There are some clay regions, closer to the swamps, but sand is the norm. Quite a few things will grow in impoverished sand, but they can be hard to find. Perth specialises since that's what we mostly have and most people can't be bothered building up the soil for 6-12 months, but I imagine in suburbs where sand isn't the norm, it's almost impossible to locate plants that'll grow in it. Coastal sand is the worst, but there are still some really nice plants, particularly locals, that will grow in it. Eremophilas in particular. If only nurseries gave a shit and stocked them!

[kowe]

That looks fabulous! I bet it was a ton of work too.

[moonvoice]

We didn't have to lay the synthetic grass ourselves, but organising the garden beds / planting in the natives was! I can't wait for all the baby plants to grow in. :)

[mesh_mask]

Lovely! I've come to appreciate landscape work and gardening as such noble pastimes. Artistry, both private and prominent, makes the world a better place, period.

[moonvoice]

Completely agree! With the added benefit that now we're also not constantly traipsing white sand into the house!

[dolorosa_12]

That looks fantastic!

[moonvoice]

Thank you! :D

[transcendancing]

Looks amazing!!

[moonvoice]

Ee thank you! Hopefully you can see it before you go!

[fox_bard]

Looks good!

[moonvoice]

I'm so happy with it; but not used to it yet.

[elinox]

Holy lush grass Batman! It looks worlds different!

[moonvoice]

It really does! I sort of knew in my mind what I wanted it to look like, but seeing it something else!

[elinox]

Is it exactly what you were hoping for?

[pretty_panther]

My mind is kind of blown! What a change!

[moonvoice]

Ee, I'm going to go lie down on it soon and just look up at the stars.

[hrafn]

Wow, that is amazing! :D

[moonvoice]

The difference is awesome.

[sundog]

That looks gorgeous. As stupid as it sounds, I just want to lay out in it and soak up the world.

[moonvoice]

I want to do that too! It's a bit hot during the day at the moment, but one of these nights I'm going out to look up at the night sky.

[white_rabbit]

Holy wow!! That looks incredible. :D It really just lushes up the whole back yard. I'm so happy for you guys!

Curiousity time: how will the artificial grass stand up to dog poop/pee? I assume since the grass breaths so to speak the pee will just get washed away, and poop would need to get picked up as usual?

[moonvoice]

Good artificial turf breathes really well. It has holes at regular intervals, and drains water well. Not only that, but it can actually be scrubbed with detergent without fading. It is a better mould and bacteria deterrant than grass. So in that sense, urine drains away, and dog poo can get picked up and the grass can be wiped down if necessary. That said, it hasn't been dog-tested here yet!

[white_rabbit]

That's good to know! :) I imagine they would have to design it with that function in mind, with so many people who have pets around.

[spider_fox]

Heh, we use yellow topped-green bins for recycling too. And green or brown for garbage.

Poor Moet, he can't be sand tiger anymore. But it's lovely to see the garden be tied together with the grass.

[moonvoice]

Hey that's really cool with the bin synchrony! :D

[perlandria]

Wow!
That dirt is lucky to have you.

[moonvoice]

I hope so, I love the plants out there. In another lifetime, I think I would have gone into landscape architecture. Not that this garden really reflects that very well, I think, since it's my first attempt and I learned a lot while I went. But it's really come together now in a way that makes me so happy.

[faolchu_rua]

What an incredible shift in the feel of your backyard! I love how it contrasts with (and thus shows off!) the gardens into which you've put so much time and effort. It just feels gentler in a way, like you can go roll around in it or something. ^_^

[moonvoice]

It makes the garden so much more *functional.* The sand was soft, and a lot like walking through sand dunes, which isn't comfortable (and gets into your shoes), so we were sort of limited to the pathway. Now we can eat out there or lie down on the grass or kick a ball around. It just increases the useability of the space, which is awesome.

[nachtrabe]

That is all sorts of awesome and amazing.

[moonvoice]

I'm really happy with it. It's come together so well.

[lupagreenwolf]

WOW. What an incredible change!

[realrose]

Wow, that is just really really lovely!

[peoriapeoriawhereart]

Are there newer pictures now that it's had time to settle in? Looks good.