New growth

Proof that the days are getting longer and warmer.

One of my favorite gardens

Very happy to have this property on my garden maintenance list, However its location will remain a secret.

It's amazing what a little mulch can do

This narrow side garden has always been difficult to manage, continuously wet, weedy and looking very uncared for. The garden provides solar access to the house and there were also important views outwards that required urgent attention.

Today the garden was mulched, cleared of weeds and finally appears loved again.

Some issues remain, the Banksia integrifolia (top left) is yellow due to an iron deficiency that I'm working on.

Good bye Liz

Liz was one of my first clients on the central coast so it was a bit sad to see her leave. Recently retired, she was looking forward to selling quickly and setting up a new home in South Australia. I did a lot of work to ready the property for sale.

One of the small projects I'm particularly proud of was reworking the garden around a small pond. It was full of weeds, most of the stone had to be lifted out of the sediment that had settled around the pond over a period of more then ten years. I removed a lot of soil, washed off the stones, lifted them out of the ground.

The plant selection was kept simple, gardenias, Lomandra "Lime Tuff", water iris, water lilies and Myoporum. A few bags of smaller stones were purchased and you can see the edge of a a dry stone creek. I used white stones to represent water and they also make the stones pop at night.

The home itself requires a update however the new owners have good ideas and will turn it into something special over the next few years.

I'm sorry to see Liz go but very much appreciate the trust placed in me and was allowed to just get on with the job.

Sea side lawn at Macmasters Beach

It's been a good move, coming to the central coast. My new mower looks great and does a superb job on this very special lawn at Macmasters Beach.

Keeping this beach-side buffalo lawn looking so good has been surprisingly easy. What's made a real difference is adding an extra centimeter to the cut height and mowing regularly. Light applications of fertiliser are also important but the basic rule is to leave at least 4 cm of leaf.

I also maintain the garden and have used native grasses over the last year to increase planting density and food supply for native birds such as the Superb Fairy-wren. The new native grasses give the garden movement as they sway gracefully with the sea breezes.