- 21 Downey St Queanbeyan NSW
- Make an Appointment
Planning your Garden
Planning your dream garden is an exciting and fun prospect. A garden that says something about you and improves your lifestyle. Before you begin here are some tips and things to consider. The friendly staff at Dimension Gardenscape are more than happy to help you answer these questions and guide you through the process of creating your perfect garden escape.
1. Ideas for your garden
Sometimes the hardest part is coming up with ideas that express what you want, here are some suggestions;
- Talk to friends and family, spend time in their gardens.
- Visit open gardens.
- Talk to your local nursery about plants that are appropriate for your climate Collect ideas for inspiration from lifestyle magazines, books and the internet
- Talk to us, Dimension Gardenscape, we are bursting with ideas
2. What's my Budget?
How much do you plan to set aside for your project? It’s important to know how much you want to spend on your garden or landscape. This will shape critical decisions and choices.
Don’t be shy in sharing this info with your landscape designer, it is better to develop a design to meet your budget than suffer from sticker shock when you receive a quote.
3. Your Garden as a living space
Do you want your garden to be an extension of your living space? A space that not only lives and breathes, but expresses something about you.
Here are some things to consider;
- Does anyone use the garden who has disabilities or allergies?
- What time of day and on what days is the garden mostly used?
- How do you use the garden?
- How would you like to use the garden in the future?
4. Practical Considerations
There are many practical considerations to designing and ladscaping a garden. Some include;
- What permanent structures need to be retained ?
- What features would you like to retain ?
- Will you need a utility area for a composting or storage ?
- Clothesline shape and size ?
- Where will the bins be stored ?
- Do you plan to collect rainwater or treat and grey water ?
- Where will cars be parked ?
5. Garden Features
Which of these features would you like to include in the garden;
Garden beds, Vegetable / Herb garden, Orchard, Entertainment Area – Deck / Pergola / Paving, BBQ facility, Garden paths, Informal seated area, Pond and/or Water feature, Sand pit / Play area, Pet enclosure, Screens / Trellis, Ornaments, Lighting
6. Garden Style
Garden style choice will shape the plants and choices made in the garden design and construction. Are there any garden styles you like? e.g. japenese, australian native, english cottage
How do you want the garden to look?
Other things to consider
Other things that you need to consider when designing and contructing the garden of your dreams, some of these include;
- Are there any local authority constraints upon the site?
- Do you need planning approval?
- Do you need body corporate approval?
- Are there any known overhead or underground services?
- Are you aware of any problem areas of the garden? e.g soil contaminants
Garden Landscaping & Design Services
Play Space - Harrison
The Client
Our client approached us with a unique request – their teenage son Max is autistic and needed a place to play.
They successfully applied for a grant toward their son’s lifestyle and development, and wanted a trampoline to encourage some physical activity in a safe place. The family also includes an older daughter at university and professional parents, keen to do the best for their children.
The Site
We started with a west facing side courtyard space that was run down and unused, partly due to the slope of the land and also because of the afternoon heat. The site falls about 1.8 metres from front gate to rear gate, with door landings at two different levels.
On the positive side it had good access, some well established trees and hedges, and was ideally positioned for overlooking from the kitchen and living rooms.
The Design
We developed the design in conversation with the client to incorporate the new trampoline they had bought and a generous new outdoor living space. Site constraints included the existing trees they wanted to keep for shade and levels of the existing timber landings.
The trampoline was set at a level that allowed for drainage to flow by gravity via buried pipe to a lower rear garden. This determined the paving level, which in turn was perfect to accommodate all the fill from the trampoline pit excavation. We modified or extended the existing timber landings to meet the new paving and finished the upper edge with a stone seat wall.
The layout follows the straight modern lines of the house and continues its colour scheme in off white pavers and stone.
The Result
On the day we were stringing up the trampoline Max was waiting for his first bounce. He has bounced on it literally every day since. The effect on his physical health has been dramatic – losing weight, gaining strength and muscle tone, as well as improving his coordination and abilities on the trampoline. The knock on effect for the family is immeasurable.
More of a surprise is the whole family now enjoy using this space – especially at night or in the mornings. We managed to create a sophisticated outdoor living space on a relatively small budget. They expect to use it even more in winter since it is a great evening heat trap.
Garden Landscaping & Design Services