Kathy and Rod from Waterloo

 

CLICK HERE FOR BEFORE AND AFTER PICTURES AND MORE PHOTOS

 

Kathy and Rod answer questions about their project:

 

1. What were the major reasons you chose to replace your grass?

Really wanted to eliminate the lawn mower and reduce the air pollution.  Decided to create a

backyard cottage at our house and not travel to a cottage on weekends.

 

2. Did you do the work yourself and if so, how did you get started?

Yes Rod and I did all the work ourselves.  An overall plan was the first step. Then we cleaned

up the space getting rid of old landscape material and bushes and put in a new fence.  Took time

to see how the sun fell on the garden at different times of the day helped with plant selection.

 

Did you create your own plan/design for your landscape or purchase one from a landscaping/garden center?

Rod created a landscape design and we staged it in projects over 5 years.

Do you have any suggestions for where/how to start for others who are considering doing the same?

The plan is everything.  Decide on the function of your backyard.  We wanted a backyard garden retreat.

Determine the primary focal point.  Then going to public parks and gardens like RBG or garden tours for ideas and plant names to help you have the resources to put a design plan together. 

3. What resources did you use for selecting the features and plants in your project? For example,

workshops, books, websites that you would recommend.

We picked up issues of Fine Gardening Magazine, took the Region workshops on drought

resistent plants. Traveled to lots of garden centers for plant and landscaping ideas.

 

4.What were your biggest challenges in completing the project? Is there anything you wish that

you had known before you started this project that you know now? Any other tips/hints or advice?

It is critical to map out the hard scape.  We made sure the pond was the right size for the yard

as it was the major focal point.  Then we arranged the outdoor rooms/areas to flow with the softscape flower beds in balance, colour and harmony - one not overpowering the other. Other details to consider on the plan are hydro and water stations as part of the hardscape design.  We also created a recycling cistern that collects the rainwater off the house roof and use that for hand watering.

 

5. What sort of maintenance does your project require, how much time to you spend on it

compared to when you had a lawn?

I spend about 3 hours every 10 days cleaning up the weeds that grow compared to lawn

mowing 1 hr a week.  Mulching all the beds have really helped keep the weeds down. In flower

season we will tour the garden nightly and dead head.  It likely doesn't save time but it is way

more environmentally friendly and is a great space to relax and even work in. Gardening is

therapy but lawn mowing is just a chore.

 

6. What do you enjoy most about your new space?

The wonderful, different views it has created, both in the back yard and even from our

windows looking out. The new space is like a retreat to relax and enjoy nature.  We love

the sound of the waterfall and the beautiful birds that come to visit the pond and get a drink. 

We also enjoy feeding our koi fish; they are so friendly.