Plants

No different to other areas, there's a requirement that you have landscaping done within 6 months of moving in. While the time period varies from estate to estate, it's pretty much rule these days that you've got to have a nice looking garden with certain requirements.

Some people will happily spend 4, 7, 10 grand on landscaping, which includes someone getting in and doing all the work.  Fortunately, I have parents who have an interest, so they're actually keen to make it their own little project.

Part of the requirements are that you've got to have at least one tree that's at least 2 meters in height at the time of planting - a selection that was decided straight up, a Crepe Myrtle that will require little maintenance.  We just have to be careful though that it doesn't get out of control and overgrow the driveway like our current one does, else my bikes will keep ending up looking like this:

I want to be completely clear that that is exactly how the branches got stuck there themselves, there was no manipulation involved :P

The problem with Crape Myrtles is that in that red, I can barely make out what's flower, and what's leaf (yeah, I'm rather colorblind) - so I had to find one with a lighter or brighter colored flower.  We've ended up with one of a significantly lighter color, though if only they came in a bright yellow or azure blue.

So we've already got a small garden of plants in pots sitting out the back being watered and grown, ready to be planted.

While I don't have photos, if you head in to Chadstone via the entrance near Tiffanys, you'll get a good idea of what we have in mind - a row of low, small bright flowering plants, backed with some grasses that are growing (either Dionellas or something smaller), backed my a small hedge.

The base of the crape myrtle will be done using a nice pattern of coloured pebbles - we'll get designs on paper for that in coming months.