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Landscaping specialist Nigel Ramsden was brought in to revive this Otumoetai homeowner's garden, remove a fence to create more driveway space, and design an inviting entrance to the house.
Originally, this Otumoetai home’s garden was old and outdated with small concrete walls, pavers, and a homemade concrete oven. The homeowner, Graham, wanted to breathe new life into his landscape and brought in Zones landscaping specialist Nigel Ramsden to help.
Nigel consulted with Graham to figure out exactly what he wanted, which included creating an inviting entrance to his home through a new gate, which led onto the patio and entertainment area. He also wanted to remove a fence to create more space on his driveway. There was no council consent required for this project.
Hardscaping and softscaping
The Zones Tauranga team started by removing the outdated garden and installing new drainage. They then used oak railway sleepers to frame the new gate and continued this theme throughout the new garden. Finally, they planted several new plants and completed some paving to finish off.
Nigel used Peter Fell coloured concrete pavers, recycled railway sleepers, as well as timber during this landscaping project. Zones took care of everything from start to finish, from the initial design to the final build and finishing touches.
“Removing the old concrete structures was really difficult and took a lot of time,” reveals Nigel. “The old garden, which was built by the previous owner was tricky to remove as the concrete structure was reinforced with steel.”
In the garden landscape, Zones installed some Podocarpus Macrophyllus as a loose hedge and added feature pots to frame the entrance of the home. The main platform of the driveway led to a step framed with railway sleepers. A new gate and fence was installed through here, which led to a larger garden area.
The new garden features Jasmine Climbers along the fence on three horizontal wires, more Podocarpus Macrophyllus as loose hedges, and a preexisting Pohutukawa tree which was trimmed and shaped.
Nigel and his team also used 600 x 600 smooth pavers with railway sleepers to frame and create direction in the landscape. He added feature screens with decorative cutouts and vertical railway sleepers as posts. Additionally, a new modern strip drain was installed and some retaining was required using railway sleepers. The 600 x 600 pavers continued down from this new area to the existing deck.
Other plants used in the garden included Azalea Gumpo White, Blechnum Silver Lady, Callistemon Red Cluster, Clivia Miniata, Cordyline Red Fountain, Croton, Feature Bromeliads, Gardenia Radicans, Lomandra Little Con, Philodendron Xanadu, Podocarpus Henkelii, Podocarpus Maki, Rhododendron Vireya, and Trachylospernum Jasminoidels.
The new landscape design
Nigel used the Zones process and the build followed the agreed-upon design. Everything went smoothly, leaving homeowner Graham with the landscape he always wanted. Nigel is extremely happy with the final result as well and commented “The railway sleepers look really awesome. They’re my favourite feature.”
Thinking of landscaping?
If you’re feeling inspired and want to get started on your own landscaping project, get in touch with your local Zones specialist today for a free consultation!
Nigel Ramsden is Landscaping Consultant of Bay Premier Landscapes, a franchisee of Zones Outdoor Renovations Ltd, doing business in Tauranga.
Actual costs vary by project. Plan ahead to reduce the impact of industry changes or disruptions. For more information see here.
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