Patio Improvements and more...

Yesterday I decided to dress up the patio with some hanging pots...

We'd been out to watch a dog show and dropped into a big garden shop on the way home. Inspired by the gorgeous flowers that were out I decided that some hanging pots on our patio fence would dress up the area nicely. However I wasn't inspired by that shops high prices and instead went to Bunnings when we got home.

I came back (after more than an hour and a half of picking up a plant, putting it in my trolley, walking around with it, putting it back, picking something else up... It takes quite some time to shop in this fashion) and set to work to create this...





Can't remember what these are but I think they are a type of petunia (much smaller flower though...)


Fuscias...


Red petunias... (not my first choice but I wanted colour without cost...)


This morning I potted a few more plants (there are still about 10 plants left that need to be planted either in pots or the ground very soon) into ceramic and terracotta pots that have been taking up space in the garage. They need some pot feet to raise them off the concrete and maybe a few rocks in the top (like the one to the front which has been in that pot for a while - and is finally growing back after getting covered in concrete dust from the neighbours brickies) but I think that this little corner looks great!










While I was shopping and working on the patio yesterday, Bryan was creating this out the front...


It's the narrow strip to the left (north) of our driveway - the rest is the neighbours land. He's been trying to get this bit done before the landscapers for the neighbours block came in to do the front. It really finishes off the front and works in really well.







Now I'm going to have a late breakfast on my lovely patio... :)

Work has started!....

The pergola is being installed as I type! The parts were delivered just after 7 this morning and the guys arrived shortly after and have started work shifting the bits inside and digging holes for the posts and the plumbing.

I must find my camera so that I can show pics of the progress...

Not long now....

I had a phone call yesterday telling me that the pergola is due to arrive from Adelaide on Wednesday of next week!! They're going to get back to me with the actual construction dates but it looks like it will be done in the next 2 weeks!

I Love it!!

The concretors arrived at 5.30 this morning as promised and have been working hard all morning making our patio look GREAT!!! I reckon it's worth the wait and I've already forgotten the hassles (as Uncle Don suggested - Thanks Don!). And even better is that it's all done in time for by the time Dad arrives next week.

Some pics...

First truck arrived just before 6.00am and the barrows were lined up in the garage at the ready (I didn't get a photo...)








Spraying back...






Finished product - still wet. I don't know what the mix is called - it's just #5 from Werribee Mini-Mix...




Back step at the laundry door...


...and look what has appeared over our fence...


Yesterday it was just walls, today the roof trusses have been put up and the roof tiles have just been delivered. The same has happened on the next block over as well (both the same builder).

Concrete update...

I woke this morning to a text message from the concretor! It simply read "will b there 2morro at 5.30am"

I am rapt!!

...and he's just called again to confirm what type of aggregrate so sounds like it's definitely on for tomorrow.

My alarm is set (not going to be caught out again like the first time they came), the garage is clear - just need to move the car out, and the yard is cleared in readiness.

A garden... (or part of one at least)

After a full on weekend of digging and shifiting rocks we now the proud owners of our very own rock garden....



It started out looking like this...


...and has become this...


It still needs pebble mulch but that will need to wait until the rest of the area is complete.





As you can see from the pictures, this is only a small part of our (very small) front yard and there is still quite a bit to go. However we did also get the rest of the yard prepped and ready to go as well. It's been weeded and de-grassed, cleared of builders rubble (lots of plaster, conrete, mortar, and brocken bricks), dug and shaped. So when our energy returns we'll dig more holes, shift more rocks and plant the remaining plants and hopefully have a finished front yard in the very near future.

As for the pergola, we have some progress there too... the concrete area is to be boxed on Friday this week and should be poured on the following Monday.

But the BEST NEWS... the council have now issued our building permit for the pergola!!!!


(it would be nice if we could get the car into the garage too... MUCH more sorting to do in there first though....)

Waiting...

We are waiting on the builder to sent over a plumber to look at the broken pipes. We're hoping that it's non-compliant and therefore the builders responsibility to fix, if not... then we will do it ourselves (it certainly isn't 4" below the existing ground level and not 4" from the top of where the concrete will be). We have made things easier for them by digging out all around the pipe so fingers crossed they'll do it.

By doing this however, we are back in the hands of the SS and this means waiting... I spent much of Friday calling the SS to find out - each time he resonded with "haven't they called you yet?..." so I'm not sure if it's because he hasn't arranged it or if he's getting stuffed around by the plumber (and the other tradies who are also supposed to be turning up).

In the meantime we did some more digging to get the termguard pipes underground so that the concrete won't be poured directly on top.

The front yard is still a work in progress... The right side (as you look at it) is almost ready for the rocks to put in place and so we're planning to get working on it this weekend... Might have to look at getting some dirt delivered.

We might even have concrete by the end of the week and I could get enough dirt (sorry... soil) to do the garden outside of the lounge room as well. ...oh but that would mean moving the bricks and pavers again.... it's like a puzzle.