Out the front, we will have slow-growing quality grass (as used for golf greens) and flowerbeds on the right of the driveway (looking from the street), and a rockery and pebbles on the left (which will double as extra parking space, if required). We will have our old Christmas tree (a pine tree) in the front-right corner of the section -- at Christmas time we'll put lights in it.
Along the left side of the house, we will have a fernery, with a river-stone pathway.
We will have an unpainted trellis-topped wooden fence around the property, excluding the front: our covenant prohibits fences within eight metres of the front boundary. There will be gates on both sides, with a double gate on the right to allow trailer etc access to the back. Inside the fence will be a line of trees, raised by half a metre or so, for privacy.
Through the gates on the right side of the house we will have a herbal lawn, which doesn't need mowing and has a pleasant smell. We will also have a small vege garden.
Next to the patio, we would like to ultimately have an in-ground swimming pool with a built-in spa (hot tub), as shown in the previous version of the garden plan. It would be a custom-made pool, made to look as natural as possible, with a rock feature on the far side. But in the meantime, we'll have a stream and small pond in that space.
In the back-right corner, we will have a fairly large pond that will be a main feature of the section. A waterfall, or rather a cascade of small waterfalls, will flow into the pond from near the back-left side of it. The pond will have a small island with a feature tree, and a Japanese-style wooden bridge. A stream will flow from the pond, with a few more small cascades and a stone bridge, leading to a small pond near the kitchen. The water will recirculate from that point to the waterfall. Any overflow from the pond can drain into the garden from the small pond.
The back part of the section will be a Japanese-style garden, with stone pathways, benches for contemplation, trees and bushes, and so forth. The pond will play a major part, and will be surrounded by suitable plants. We'll also have a hammock and a swing seat for relaxing. And we might have a Zen garden (raked sand), though the cats might decide it makes a good bathroom!
Hopefully most of this will happen over the next few years. We definitely want to do the pond and Japanese-style garden, and other areas, but some parts, like the swimming pool, remain in doubt. We'll see how things turn out -- we fully expect it to be a work in progress for quite a few years. Should be fun!
Of course, we would welcome any suggestions or advice you may have -- please e-mail us.
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