Front Garden - Pt 2

Doing Something/Anything with the Front Garden has been on my "To Do List" for a long time.

We have tried to keep it tidy, but it has never been anything more than a patch of grass with some weed-beds around the perimeter.

And the occasional Carpark!


So it may have seemed a little impetuous to start yet another project - this one at least WE have total control over. (Apart from the unpredictable Melbourne weather.)

Jarrah timber edging is about 4.8 m long and 75 mm wide which makes it very flexible - perfect for gentle curves.
(Straight lines belong in my Quilts - not in my Garden!)
So it was a case of "Let's put it down and see what happens".

After a lot of shovelling and raking (and explanations to the neighbours as to what we were doing), we were able to move most of the soil into the new Garden beds before we ran out of daylight.

The next day we had to work out what we were going to do with this new very large garden bed.

And -hopefully- keep the costs down!
Time to go scavenging!!

I was quite sure that my Mother would be happy to unload the Tree Logs that she acquired when the street tree across the road was cut down.

These are from a Queensland Box Tree and should last many years in the ground.

It was not a lot of fun trying to place these into the garden whilst dealing with the rain, as well as the different shapes and sizes of the heavy logs, but we got there.

Cutting up and re-using the sleepers from the original garden edging as steppers, and finding some pots that should have been planted a long time ago - and the garden was looking passable.

Just one more thing to do and then we wait for Spring.

Plant the 250 Bulbs that I bought at the Garden Show.... which was more like 350 by the time they added extras for 'good measure'.

Never again will I buy so many bulbs at once!

And one last photo that I "Just had to Add"

Two weeks later - the Camellia that I planted when we moved in 37 years ago showing that it appreciated the attention!

I am looking forward to Spring/Summer when the bulbs are up and the Crepe Myrtle is in full flower.

The Front Garden was not on the List!

A funny thing happened on the way home from the DD's place....

Yes, it is true - I did not want to go home!  Could we just stop at a Nursery and look through the new plants?

We picked up a little Native Bush Tucker Plant and some discounted Potting Mix for DD's Orchids - a lovely little outing.

But THEN we noticed the sign on the plants I had parked beside.

"All Pots $50 each 

or Take the Lot for $200". 

Although we did need to replace the trees in the backyard, 10 mature trees of dubious health was not something I was prepared to consider.

We chose ONE healthy Magnolia - but, after gentle manoeuvring, (and a lot of moving of car seats) it was decided it was too big to take home in the car.

"Just $40 delivery Lady - anywhere...." 

Considering how far away from home we were this would normally be a good offer but it would double the cost of the tree!

"You want anything else delivered? ... 

Soil, Rocks... another tree?"

So from that exchange we ended up with 3 Trees, 2 Cubic Meters of Garden Soil and 3 lengths of Jarrah edging -

"All delivered to your place 

in an hour...." 

No no no  -  TOMORROW Please!!!!

So that is how DH and I found ourselves madly ripping out the Lawn edging and Grass.

Weeding and Pruning and shredding in the FRONT garden one Friday afternoon.

And right on time the next day,
the truck arrived and dumped a pile of dirt in the middle of the driveway.

It was at that point in time that we noticed the price label on the Tree Pots.

I knew that Mature Trees were not cheap, but this certainly was unexpected.

BARGAIN!

....to be continued.

The Saga of the Fence

While we have been waiting for the paint to dry - or not dry in the Garage, we took the opportunity to get some outside work done.

The fence was taken down in sections - Initially to give access to the Arborists to remove the big tree next door.

And then the rest of it went (to save removal fees) in preparation for the new Fence to be installed.

While we had the opportunity we decided it was a good time to say Goodbye to the Old Japanese Maples -

So with heavy heart and a new Chainsaw we began the task of removing these trees.

They really were quite sick and damaged.

And some large branches, which had been concealed by foliage, were quite dead.

It was certainly no easy task to remove the Stumps, especially when they were planted so close to the fence and the neighbours shed and pergola.
(The neighbour has also concreted to the fence-line.)

We dug and chopped and sawed and hacked and even set it on fire!
(This was very safe and never unattended!)

But still it hung on.

We even enlisted help!

Uncovering and sawing through root after root.

But still it hung on....

Until finally,
with a shout of triumph -

It was out!

No Tap-root.  Just held in the ground by years of compacted DIRT!

And the Fence?

Well - it is a month later and the Fencing contractor is still a NO- Show.

We have been waiting so long we have even weeded and pruned the neighbours yard.

I am trying to be patient but I REALLY need to get my new Trees and Garden planted before Spring.

The local Birds are NOT impressed that all their perches are gone.

I will have to ring him and find out if he is still coming!!!!!

Garage Floor Update

Where do I start?


The Garage is empty,
the lining ply has been removed
and it is is ready for its makeover.

The Tradesmen came full of enthusiasm and sanded the floor.

They then coated it with the special paint that is designed to push the water back into the soil under the concrete.

Leave this to dry and return a couple of days later to put the second coat on.

The final Third coat went on a day or two later, and when they finished we were told "Walk on it in 4 hours and you can put your car back in a week."

And that was it - Job done.........

4 hours later the floor was still wet.

24 hours later, the floor was 'stick your finger in a paint-pot' wet

48 hours later I sent them a message.

The Young workers learnt THREE vital lessons that day

1.  If in doubt - Ring the Boss

2.  Don't use a Water based Catalyst when you should use a Thinners base.

3.  You Muck it up - You fix it!

He worked alone in the freezing cold washing and mopping and scraping until he finally gave up and went home.

The next day a new team arrived and the decision was made to sand it back to bare concrete and start again!

This time everything went as it should.  

I understood that we were being slotted in around other jobs - more drying time between coats.

And the mouldy corner from my previous post? 

What a difference!

4 Hours later we could walk on it 

and when we did.....

We discovered these....

Blisters!

Another email with photo attached resulted in an immediate reply.

It's ok - we can fix that easy!

Famous last words!

Easy it was not.

These Blisters were not in the top finishing coat - They went down all the way into the concrete.

Two days later they were back to sand, fill, patch, coat, re-sand and reapply another top coat.

Yay - We are Finished!

No - we are not.....

When we met them at the Home Show, They said they hadn't met a floor they couldn't fix.

My reply all those weeks ago?

Challenge accepted!

They will be back on Monday.

* * *

Footnote:
I must emphasise that throughout this entire process -  I have not had to wait more than a couple of hours to get a reply to my messages. The Team members who have worked on the project have always been Courteous and Polite.   They have admitted when they have made mistakes and rectified them as soon as possible.  And are committed to finishing the job to the standard they promised.

And the Other project is ...

I am so glad our Garden looked a treat in January for DS#2s Engagement afternoon.

Today you would not recognise it!
A chance comment to a Tradesman at the Home Show gave us hope that a 50 year old problem could be solved.

From the day we moved in we have not been able to put anything on the floor of our Garage without it causing the underground water to leach up, drawing the Lime out of the concrete with it.
It is a mess.


To fix it, they can treat the concrete floor with special paint to reverse the process - but of course in order to do that they actually have to have access to the floor!

It is only a little garage, which I park my car in.  But it also has 38 years of Stuff plus DH#2s Fiance's excess bulky items stored in the back of it.

Time to empty it all out - onto the back deck and waterproof it for the next 6 weeks while the restoration is completed. (The actual job will only take a week - give or take the weather) but they tell me IF anything is going to go wrong it will happen in the first 6 weeks, so we are not keen to repack too soon.

Keeping everything dry on a 'Fair Weather Only' back deck involved pulling out a recollection and tracking down the store that sold "Rare Earth Magnets" which were perfect to attach some black polythene to our Steel Posts.

This Polythene is Industrial strength and I defy any raindrops to get through it!

So all we have to do now is wait - and watch a perfectly dry/sunny week pass us by.


While we waited we cleaned up, and repaired the rusted parts of the garage walls.
It is amazing just how much we found around the place to do the job -
We actually used some of that "One day it will be useful" stuff you don't throw out.

We patched the Corrugated Iron with leftover steel that came with our verandah roof.
Laid pavers, that were here when we moved in, on their side to protect the Steel.

And found stepping pavers that were the right size to go between the fence and garage to keep the weeds down.

In the process of cleaning and levelling the small area between the Garage and the Fence we uncovered  FOUR KILOS (8 lb 13 oz) of broken Glass.

And many, many Rocks, Bricks, Stones, broken crock.... and assorted bits of rubbish

We always hope to find something interesting but usually it is just glass and rubble.

This time we found an Essence bottle, several pens, a ring pull from a drink can, a couple of Spark plugs an old bone and a tin of Gloss Paint.

It was one of those jobs that we were 'always going to do' 

but never made it to the To Do List....

The tradesmen finally turned up yesterday - and so did the rain! 

What is STILL happening here...

Well, the fencing contractor is MIA and we have a whopping hole in the backyard where the old Paling Fence used to be.

With the removal of the Large Prunus tree next door and the onset of Autumn we have been able to have a good look at our Japanese Maples.
Sadly we feel that they are going to have to be removed as well - They are so damaged from years of struggling for light and nutrient as well as infestation by Borers.

It looks like I will be working with a "Blank Canvas".  

Time to sharpen my pencil and get the graph paper out!

DH always worries when I do that - but this time it is 'just' the garden.

It is the perfect time of year to be working on a project like this.

I think - maybe some more Native Grevilleas to bring in the birds. And perhaps we will finally get that Jacaranda we have always wanted.

What is happening here ..

As I said to someone recently - "Photos of a back fence that isn't there - isn't very interesting"

We have several projects on the go at the moment - all of which seem to be relying on each one being finished before you can start on the next one.  Eventually it will become the "Roundabout Scenario" - Someone has to break the rules before anyone can move!

The Tree on the other side of our rear fence was planted by a Bird well over 20 years ago and unfortunately the neighbours - who are NOT gardeners left it there until it became so big that it was overshadowing half of our garden.

Some 'Tree People' came and generously removed what was overhanging our backyard before disappearing through the hole in the fence muttering about how much they hated this kind of tree.

Fast forward a year and successful divorce (neighbour not me) later and the tree is once again under discussion. 
This time a 'proper' Arborist is called in and his verdict is "It is Bifurcated, so not a matter of IF it will fall but WHEN!"

So - with a huge amount of "Love/Hate" discussion it was decided that in the interest of safety, the Tree must go.

We gave the Arborists all the help we could by removing the fence and garden (yes, my new back garden!) so they could have good clear space to work in.

And that new term we learnt? 
The Bifurcated part? 

One meter from the ground the trunk split into FOUR large branches, complete with bark - growing so close together they ALMOST fused.

It was down in less time than it took me to make them a batch of my "Burnt Butter Biscuits".

(They still got their Cookies -
Hot from the oven to go!)

The team did a great job and as a Thank you for our part in making their life a lot easier they left us with a lovely stack of firewood for next year.