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A first gardenfor a new home

Suburb
Balwyn North
Site
New build
Soil
Clay fill
A new white rendered house above its front wall, with a silver leaved tree and a palm in the garden

A new build with a bare block at handover. We designed from the builder’s plans, so levels, drainage and paths were settled early and the first trees and hedges went in within weeks of moving in.

Garden

  • New home
  • Front and back

Services

  • New home garden
  • Planting plan

From the builder

  • Site plan
  • Floor plan
  • Levels and drainage
  • Handover date

Stage

  • First year
Agaves, cacti and branching succulents in a raised concrete planter along the white brick wall of a new house, under a blue sky with light cloud

What should a new garden do in its first year?

The back of a new rendered house, a young hedge along the terrace, potted shrubs and a new lawn
The back garden six months after handover.

From the builder we need the site plan, the floor plan, the levels and a handover date. With those, the design can be ready before you have the keys.

A paved path curving between glossy green shrubs and dark mulched beds, with pale concrete walls behind

  1. Pavers on crushed rock

    Laid on a free draining base, so rain soaks through the joints instead of pooling on the clay.

  2. Mulch, 75 mm deep

    It keeps young roots cool through the first summer and stops the clay from crusting.

  3. Shrubs from small pots

    Small plants settle faster than big ones and fill in by the second year.

What goes in first: trees, hedges and the paths you use every day. They take the longest to grow and they settle the shape of the garden.

A pale gravel path curving between new beds of grasses and young shrubs to a black fence, a dog trotting along it

A gravel path curves between new beds to the back fence. Grasses either side hide the edges until the planting fills in.

Plan it before thekeys change hands.

Grasses, cordyline and other front garden planting beside a low stone wall
Front garden planting beside the low stone wall, in its first spring.

The best time to plan a garden is before the driveway goes in.

The front porch of a new house in low sun, silver leaved shrubs and a potted succulent among river stones

Building anew home?

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