Weekend Warriors

The past week, we have had the most glorious winter weather, so we've been trying to get as many jobs around the house done as possible!

Last week Ben and his dad, Doug, spent the weekend in our front garden completing our landscaping. We wanted steps leading up to our front letterbox (which hasn't been built yet - this will be another weekend project) and we were originally thinking the steps would be constructed of treated timber and then stained.

However, we went for something different and decided on a timber sleeper/river rock combo and I think the results are fantastic. We used the leftover river rocks from the stairs around the edge of the garden bed, giving it a more natural feel than typical concrete edging that you usually see.


Timber sleeper/river rock stairs. Pack of four solar lights were picked up from Bunnings for $25 (we only used 3 here).

Leftover river rocks were used to line the garden bed at the front of the house.

The plants that we put in about six months ago are coming along.

It feels good to get jobs done. I don't know about you, but I love ticking things off a 'to do' list and this has been something we've been wanting to complete for a little while now, so it's fantastic that it is now done.

Next step, as mentioned, is to build and render a brick letterbox. We'll probably start sourcing materials for it this weekend and then lay the slab for it. After the yard is done, next step is the baby's nursery and I already have several projects (art and furniture) planned for this. Excitement!

Yard update: Easter makeover

So over the Easter break, we spent a lot of time in the yard. Last week we completed the landscaping of the Western side of our house, complete with stepper stones and pebbles in the same vein that we did the other side (so it's matchy-matchy). This means much less maintenence and a better looking side yard.

Before shot: mud and grass  

After shot: We used charcoal stepper stones and a pebble mix called 'Fruit Salad'

Very happy with the finished result

So at Easter, it was time to tackle the front yard. We decided that we would fill the front trough with larger pebbles so that it would eliminate weeds or any growth around the front of the house, keeping it much neater (and much less hassle work-wise to look after).

We used a medium river rock called Autumn Gold, which has golds, cream, charcoal and brown shades. These pics were taken just after the rocks were hosed down, so they look a bit darker than they really are.

After that job was complete, we set to work designing our front garden. We started by cutting out the existing turf and making a shape for the garden bed. Then after much shovelling and lifting we dumped (a lot) of soil into the bed and planted our beautiful Little Gem Magnolia which sits in front of our master bedroom window.

Next weekend we will get another delivery of soil so we can put more plants and grasses in. We'll be using stones and larger rocks in this front garden as features as well... next time I think I'll employ the use of gardening gloves, as I still have quite a lot of dirt under my fingernails - not pretty.