Before embarking on a front garden makeover or backyard renovation you'll probably be searching for some ideas to help you decide what you'd like to incorporate before asking landscapers to quote on the landscaping project.
A good place to start is to think about the overall theme you'd like your garden to have. Are you after a formal, more structured look or would you like to have a more informal, rambling theme full of low maintenance native plants?
Next think about the different areas you'd like to have and any garden features you would like included. Once you have these questions answered lastly consider your budget. While you won't probably know what all the costs of landscaping your garden will be, everyone knows what they can afford for the project. This will help landscape designers design a layout comprising of your garden ideas that fits within your budget.
Everyone's garden is different. From the size and shape of your outdoor areas, the slope and its soil content to your vision and taste. Each project is customised to meet your unique needs and requirements.
Front Garden Landscaping Ideas (Adelaide)
Typically, Adelaide residents don't spend much time in their front garden. For most it's access to the front door, the letter box and driving the car up and down the driveway to the carport or garage.
Gardens at the front of a property tend to focus on being practical but have good 'street appeal'. You can match the style of house you have, blend in with the existing streetscape, or stand out from the crowd.
Native garden landscaping is a favourite theme across Adelaide suburbs. Very low maintenance, it's easy to include garden features that add interest.
Native plants handle Adelaide's hot and dry Summers better than most imported varieties and because they're drought tolerant you'll save on water costs too.
While many people, understandably focus more on their back garden, especially with regards to the allocation of funds, it's important to remember if you plan on selling your house within the next 5 years, street appeal is paramount as first impressions count for a lot.
Backyard Landscaping Ideas (Adelaide)
The humble Adelaide backyard has come along way from just having lawn and a few fruit trees, a place outdoor cricket was played. These days it's become more of a private sanctuary, a place to enjoy the outdoors and relax with family and friends. To that end, outdoor entertaining areas complete with outdoor kitchens or pizza ovens are extremely popular.
Alfresco areas are the modern equivalent to the verandah, a space that joins and opens up the indoor living areas to the outdoors.
Privacy is often a major discussion point with most customers at the landscape design phase, wanting to block out the neighbours view as a result of low fencing.
Hardwood timber slats, climbing plants on a frame, decorative steel panels or even a blue board rendered wall can create the privacy you're after.
Away from the house, especially if you have plenty of room, often found when landscaping Adelaide Hills gardens, you can create outdoor living areas that can be for just the family or to entertain friends.
Even those areas at the side of the house you only use to walk from the back garden to the front, or pass through as you go from the laundry to the clothes line and back can be landscaped with slow growing low maintenance plants, suitable for the amount of Sun or shade they'll receive most often.
Landscaping Ideas For Sloping Blocks
Sloping blocks can be a real challenge, especially on blocks with an extreme slope. Major earthworks can be a significant cost. You have removal and dumping costs, along with the amount of engineered retaining walls strong enough to hold back the large amount of earth, plus stormwater consequences, the whole project's budget could be blown without having much to show for it. But there are alternatives.
One of the clever landscaping ideas Adelaide residents can incorporate into a severely sloping backyard or front garden is to work with the slope instead of changing it.
Steps made with concrete blocks or hardwood timber can provide egress to higher areas and if you have a view why not have a timber deck built so you have a place to sit down to enjoy it!
One of the major advantages of using Master Landscapers Hand Made Gardens is the scope of landscaping services offered. From landscape designers planning and designing the layout of the garden through to all the softscape and hardscape landscaping construction work completed by licensed landscapers, the whole project and process is handled professionally by the one company, ensuring only the highest quality control with no passing the 'buck'.
Having over 45 years experience landscaping Adelaide gardens, you can rest assured that the team from Hand Made Gardens can create the garden you've always dreamt about, allowing the whole family to enjoy the area for many years to come and at a price you can afford because it's been built within your budget.
If, like many customers you have an idea of what garden theme appeals to you, native, tropical, English etc. or that you prefer a formal design over a rambling informal layout but don't have any idea beyond that, don't despair as Martyn can help by providing some landscaping ideas Adelaide customers have adopted over the past 45 years.
Once you've settled on a direction, our guide to what a garden renovation actually involves covers the stages, sequencing and budgeting for turning these ideas into a finished garden.
Landscaping Ideas FAQ
What should I think about before starting a front or backyard landscaping project?
The overall theme you want (formal and structured, or informal and native), the different areas and features you'd like included, and a realistic budget — that's what lets a landscape designer put together a layout that actually fits.
Does a native front garden need much maintenance?
Very little — native plants handle Adelaide's hot, dry summers better than most imported varieties and are drought tolerant, which also saves on water costs.
Is it worth spending money on the front garden if I'm planning to sell?
Yes — street appeal matters a lot for first impressions if you're planning to sell within the next five years, even though most budget attention usually goes to the backyard.
How do you create privacy in a backyard without a tall fence?
Hardwood timber slats, climbing plants on a frame, decorative steel panels, or a rendered feature wall can all create privacy without relying on a taller boundary fence.
What can be done with a steeply sloping block?
Working with the slope rather than changing it is usually the better option — terracing, steps in concrete block or hardwood timber, and a deck built to take advantage of a view all avoid the high cost of major earthworks and engineered retaining.
For the renovation process itself, see our guide to how a garden renovation works, or browse more in our full Landscaping Ideas and Inspiration library.
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