Your garden has sprung or is slowly springing back to life. Your grass is greening, your flowers are blooming, and your desire to head outside and enjoy the good weather is increasing. Here are a few spring garden care tips that will set you up well for summer.

Care for your lawn

After its winter snooze, your lawn is springing to life – or trying to – which means it’s hungry. Spring garden care rule #1: Feed your lawn with a lawn builder. This will help strengthen roots, promote growth and thicken your lawn.

If your lawn is looking patchy, sow some seed and apply top dress to fill in dips and holes. Use either a specialised weed free top dressing mix or a washed sand.

Spread the top dressing over the top of the lawn at a depth of about 4 to 7mm, rubbing it into the lawn with the back of a rack or lawn level. Ensure that at least 1/3 of the leaf is poking through the soil.

For established lawns, weekly watering will be sufficient. Ensure heavy watering periods rather than shallow water applications, as this will promote deeper roots and a healthier lawn.

Mowing the lawn at a longer length will also help the roots grow longer, building a more drought resistant lawn – and let’s face it, there are some pretty bloody hot days awaiting us!

Plant a veggie patch

Make a great summer salad from your very own veggie patch!

Plant beans, carrots, celery, chillies, cucumber, eggplant, garlic, leek, lettuce, melon, potato, pumpkin and tomato.

Prepare vegetable gardens by forking mushroom compost or cow manure through the garden, then giving a thorough water before planting. Add blood and bone and sweeten the soil with garden lime.

Protect vegetable and flower seedlings with animal-friendly snail pellets (use as per product instructions).

For a great harvest, plant blue, purple or yellow flowers near your veggie patch. Bees are especially attracted to these colours and will help pollinate your vegies.

Spring garden care rule #2: Water gardens regularly as spring flowering plants use a lot of water when in flower.

Get on deck

Spring garden care rule #3 – make the most of the warmer months!

In 2012, domain.com.au estimated that adding a deck could increase a property’s value by up to $100,000. Given how the property market has skyrocketed since, it’s probably more now. Cheaper than adding a large extension to your home, decking is the most cost effective and time efficient method of adding square metres to your home.

But getting decked out is about more than just finance, it’s about lifestyle.

Australians love outdoor entertaining – especially during the summer months, which are fast approaching! One of the ways you can have more fun in the sun while investing in the value of your property is to add a deck.

If you home lends itself to it, create flow between internal and external spaces by having your outdoor living area lead off an indoor entertaining area. You’ll get more use of the deck if it’s accessible from a communal space.

Check if you need to get council approval. Not all decks need it, but some do.

And remember this is an investment in quality time with your family and friends, as well as the value of your property. That means you want a structurally sound deck that will withstand the test of time. So make sure you have it professionally designed and installed.

About Empire Walls

We ensure each client receives personalised service, their retaining wall is fit for purpose and we guarantee our retaining walls from the ground up. Retaining walls are just the start – offered as part of our complete landscaping services, which also includes decking.

• For examples of our work or if you’re after a service not listed here, please see empirewalls.com.au.
• For more information and/or a free quote, call Adam on 0421 573 001 or email empirewalls@live.com.au.
• For free landscaping tips and to stay in touch, follow us on Facebook.

The weather will be warming up soon and you’ll be heading outdoors with family, friends, or even by yourself. But how inviting will your backyard be looking after a few months of hibernation? Here are some trends to get on top of before spring is sprung.

Split level yards

Whether you’ve got a big yard, small yard, sloping yard, you can have a split level yard.

If you have a small yard, a split level yard can maximise the ground space you have available by adding vertical layers to your garden.

Retaining walls make sloping yards, once inaccessible, dangerous or prone to flooding, a thing of the past. With some smart engineering, now you can access all areas!

If you have a rather large block and you want to reduce the mowing, weeding and general gardening, while increasing the value of your house by adding square metres to the floor plan.

How? Get on deck!

And that brings us to our next point…

Outdoor entertaining

In 2012, domain.com.au estimated that adding a deck could increase a property’s value by up to $100,000. Given how the property market has skyrocketed since, it’s probably more now.

Cheaper than adding a large extension to your home, decking is the most cost effective and time efficient method of adding square metres to your home.

If you home lends itself to it, create flow between internal and external spaces by having your outdoor living area lead off an indoor entertaining area. You’ll get more use of the deck if it’s accessible from a communal space.

Concrete finishes

A natural and durable material, concrete lends itself to a variety of forms and finishes – sandblasted, honed, burnished – for a contemporary industrial yet refined feel. Use it instead of the traditional tile or pavers for walls, floors and other landscaping features.

About the author: Providing complete landscaping services to residential and commercial clients for more than 10 years, Empire Walls are the retaining wall specialists in Melbourne and the Mornington Peninsula. We ensure each client receives personalised service, their retaining wall is fit for purpose and we guarantee our retaining walls from the ground up. Retaining walls are just the start – offered as part of our complete landscaping services.

• For examples of our work, please refer to the Empire Retaining Walls online ‘Portfolio’. 
• If you’re after a service not listed here, refer to this listfor details of our complete landscaping services.
• For more information/a free quote, call Adam on 0421 573 001 or email empirewalls@live.com.au.
• For free landscaping tips and to stay in touch, follow us on Facebook.

First impressions are important. And since your front yard is the first thing people see – whether they are coming to visit, or to inspect your property for purchase or lease – here are a few ideas landscaping ideas for your front yard, so you can make a positive first impression.

Install a fence

Other than increasing street appeal, other benefits include:

* Increased child and pet safety

* Block unattractive views

* Increased privacy

* Reduced noise

* Creates a sense of space

* Evokes a sense of security

And it doesn’t need to be a traditional, whimsical, white picket fence. Make a statement with a strong, durable retaining wall – although that could probably be incorporated if you wanted!

Here are some pictures to inspire you.

Please note, council approval may be required.

Make an entrance

If your house lends itself to it and you don’t already have one, install a front landing.

Decorate it with a small outdoor setting and some pot plants to create a warm, welcoming entrance to your home.

Protect it from the elements by installing an awning, so you can use it all year around. Even enclose it with some railings so as to again:

* Increase child and pet safety

* Create a sense of space

* Evoke a sense of security

Best of all you’ve got an awesome new outdoor entertainment area! If someone pops over unannounced and the house is a mess, you can have a cuppa outside and not feel any less the entertainer.

Or you could go for a statement entrance like this.

Easy care lawns and gardens

If you’re looking for designer appeal at a fraction of the cost and also without the crazy maintenance schedule, consider the following:

* If your lawn is dead, dying or patchy as hell, consider installing hardy new turf. The best time to do this is towards the end of winter, start of spring.

* Minimise the number of plant species in your garden to make it easy to care for and to give a more uniform look.

* Install an irrigation system – especially if you have a tendency not to water your plants and let them all die.

* Lay down some wood chip – this will help your plants retain water, while also keeping weeds at bay.

About the author: Providing complete landscaping services to residential and commercial clients for more than 10 years, Empire Walls are the retaining wall specialists in Melbourne and the Mornington Peninsula. We ensure each client receives personalised service, their retaining wall is fit for purpose and we guarantee our retaining walls from the ground up. Retaining walls are just the start – offered as part of our complete landscaping services.

• For examples of our work, please refer to the Empire Retaining Walls online ‘Portfolio’. 
• If you’re after a service not listed here, refer to this list for details of our complete landscaping services.
• For more information/a free quote, call Adam on 0421 573 001 or email empirewalls@live.com.au.
• For free landscaping tips and to stay in touch, follow us on Facebook.

Structural tips

Tiered gardens

Maximise the ground space you have available by adding vertical layers to your garden. Retaining walls are especially fabulous for this. Remember they do retain heavy soil behind them, so have them installed by a retaining wall expert, to avoid any risk associated with collapse, which could be pretty devastating in a smaller space.

Take it up a step

If you do install a retaining wall, it can be handy to maintain access to the tiers so that you can easily conduct garden maintenance – planting, weeding, etc.- and the best way to do this is by adding some stairs as part of your retaining wall design. Not only will they be practical, they will provide some additional seating and become the focus point of your landscape.

Create an outdoor entertainment area

If you’ve added layers to your garden by installing a retaining wall will often create some additional space for a small outdoor entertaining area. Think about installing some brickwork or decking – somewhere you can pop a cute outdoor dining set, have a coffee, glass of wine or beer and enjoy the scenery.

Decorative tips

Add some extra height

While we’re talking about adding height, consider a vertical garden. Something that will flower all year and spill over the edges will look fabulous. Not much of a green thumb? Buy some fake greenery. Another enchanting option is succulent wall art.

Fake it

Photo sourced from the Liz Marie Blog, via Country Living

While we’re talking outdoor entertaining areas – if your yard is a little too small for a real lawn, consider a faux grass rug. Offering the illusion of a luscious green lawn while also making the space look bigger, pop your faux grass rug under your outdoor dining table or between a couple of outdoor chairs of the ultimate outdoor living experience.

About Empire Walls

Providing complete landscaping services to residential and commercial clients for more than 10 years, Empire Walls are the retaining wall specialists in Melbourne and the Mornington Peninsula. We ensure each client receives personalised service, their retaining wall is fit for purpose and we guarantee our retaining walls from the ground up. Retaining walls are just the start – offered as part of our complete landscaping services.

For examples of our work or If you’re after a service not listed here, please see www.empirewalls.com.au.

For more information and/or a free quote, call Adam on 0421 573 001 or email empirewalls@live.com.au.

For free landscaping tips and to stay in touch, follow us on Facebook.

Landscaping idea 1: 

Level up

Ideal if you have an already sloping backyard, but also great for those who want to break up large areas of lawn.

Think raised garden beds…Not the aluminium Bunnings type, but a true landscaping feature.

Retaining walls can be designed and installed in a variety of aesthetically pleasing materials suited to your surroundings.

Landscaping idea 2:

Level out

Retaining walls make sloping yards, once inaccessible, dangerous or prone to flooding, a thing of the past.

Not just a practical solution; as shown (above), retaining walls are great landscaping features.

However, these are stabilising structures that need to be correctly engineered and installed to withstand the pressure of the soil they retain. Avoid DIY jobs.

Landscaping idea 3:

Step up

If you want raised areas, like those shown above, to remain accessible, stairs are a fabulous idea.

Not only will they allow you to make the most of your space, they will quickly become the focal point of your yard.

They may even lead to your outdoor entertaining area, which brings us to our next point…

Landscaping idea 4:

Entertain outdoors

If you have the space, those stairs could lead you up the garden path to a place that used to be inaccessible but is now a small sanctuary or fabulous outdoor entertaining area.

Imagine sitting here, in the sun, reading a book, cup of tea in hand, or roasting marshmallows in the fire with friends, while sipping wine.

Bliss!

Landscaping idea 5:

Create an outdoor living space

Reduce the mowing, weeding and general gardening, while increasing the value of your house by adding square metres to the floor plan. How? Get on deck!

If you home lends itself to it, create flow between internal and external spaces by having your outdoor living area lead off an indoor entertaining area. You’ll get more use of the deck if it’s accessible from a communal space.

Close it in, maybe with bistro binds, so you can still appreciate the great outdoors, and you basically have a whole other room happening!

About Empire Walls

Providing complete landscaping services to residential and commercial clients for more than 10 years, Empire Walls are the retaining wall specialists in Melbourne and the Mornington Peninsula. We ensure each client receives personalised service, their retaining wall is fit for purpose and we guarantee our retaining walls from the ground up. Retaining walls are just the start – offered as part of our complete landscaping services.

For examples of our work or If you’re after a service not listed here, please see www.empirewalls.com.au.

For more information and/or a free quote, call Adam on 0421 573 001 or email empirewalls@live.com.au.

For free landscaping tips and to stay in touch, follow us on Facebook.

We’ve been the retaining wall specialists in the Mornington Peninsula for more than 10 years, providing complete landscaping services to residential and commercial clients in:

• Arthurs Seat
• Botanic Ridge
• Carrum Downs
• Dromana
• Frankston
• Frankston East
• Frankston Heights
• Frankston South
• Karingal
• Langwarrin
• Moorooduc
• Mornington
• Mount Eliza
• Mount Martha
• Portsea
• Red Hill
• Rosebud
• Safety Beach
• Sandhurst
• Seaford
• Settlers Run
• Somerville
• Sorrento
• Tootgarook
• Tyabb
• Aspendale
• Aspendale Gardens
• Beaumaris
• Berwick
• Black Rock
• Blind Bight
• Bonbeach
• Brighton
• Carrum
• Chelsea
• Chelsea Heights
• Cheltenham
• Cranbourne
• Cranbourne North
• Cranbourne South
• Cranbourne West
• Dandenong
• Edithvale
• Hastings
• Highett
• Mentone
• Mordialloc
• Parkdale
• Patterson Lakes
• Southland

And now, Empire Retaining Walls is pleased to announce our specialist services are being offered in:

• Armadale
• Ashburton
• Ashwood
• Bentleigh
• Bentleigh East
• Carnegie
• Caulfield
• Caulfield East
• Chadstone
• Cheltenham
• Clayton
• Elsternwick
• Glen Huntly
• Glen Iris
• Glen Waverley
• Hampton
• Hughesdale
• Huntingdale
• McKinnon
• Mount Waverley
• Mulgrave
• Murrumbeena
• Notting Hill
• Oakleigh
• Wheelers Hill

Services include:

Retaining Walls

• Timber
• Concrete
• Reinforced besser block
• Brick
• Stack stone
• Segmental block

We ensure each client receives personalised service and a top quality custom solution made of the finest materials. We are fully licensed, fully insured and we guarantee our retaining walls from the ground up.

Complete landscaping services

Whether you’re looking to make a big impression, add value to your home or improve your lifestyle through the creation of an enjoyable (perhaps even enviable!) outdoor space, we’ve got you covered with our complete landscaping services.

• Design
• Excavation and earthworks
• Decking
• Fencing
• Brickwork
• Repair work
• Consultations

Where to from here?

• For examples of our work, please refer to the Empire Retaining Walls online ‘Portfolio’.
• If you’re after a service not listed here, please all Adam on 0421 573 001 to discuss your needs.
• To obtain a free quote, call Adam or email empirewalls@live.com.au.
• For free landscaping tips and to stay in touch, follow us on Facebook.

We’re in the depths of winter and it is bloody cold, there’s no doubt! It seems like spring is far, far away, but it will be here before you know it. So here are four things you should do in August to prepare your garden for spring and ensure your little pocket of the great outdoors reaches its full potential.

1. Check for repairs. Exposed to the elements, retaining walls and decks take a beating during winter. And some of the damage caused to these structures can be dangerous, so be sure to check if any maintenance is required.

a. Here are some tips on:

i. What to check your retaining wall for; and

ii. How to protect your deck.

2. Plant and prune. It’s time to trim your fruit trees and roses, and transplant deciduous trees and shrubs while they’re still dormant. Plant fruit trees, top up the veggie patch and consider a sustainable, low environmental impact mulch that will enrich your soil as it breaks down. If you’d prefer flowers over food, it’s time to plant your annuals.

a. Tip: Prune at a 45 degree angle. This helps the plant heal better and therefore limits the chances of pests or diseases taking hold. If you have pruned plants that are infected with pests, sterilise the tools used to avoid spreading disease.

3. Weed and feed. It’s time to rip out the weeds, maybe throw down some wood chip so you can reduce their regrowth. Treat your plants and your lawn to a slow release fertiliser. If you’re laying new turf, the end of August is a good time to do so.

a. Tip: If you have a furry friend, be sure to get a pet friendly fertiliser.

4. Complete landscaping projects. The fourth and final tip to prepare your garden for spring, but by no means the least important. By the time spring/summer rolls around, you want your outdoor entertaining area to be fully established, not a construction zone. Now is the time to install landscaping features like retaining walls, decks, fencing, brickwork etc.

a. Tip: We offer complete landscaping services and specialise in retaining walls. Contact us for an obligation free consultation and quote.

About the author: Empire Retaining Walls offers residential and commercial customers, including builders and architects, practical and aesthetically pleasing landscaping services and solutions. Whether you’re looking to make a big impression, add value to your home, improve your lifestyle through the creation of an enjoyable (perhaps even enviable!) outdoor space, or just maintain that space, we’ve got you covered with our complete landscaping services. For examples of our work, please refer to the Empire Retaining Walls online ‘Portfolio’.

Here are our three top landscaping tips for homeowners who want to make the most of their properties now, while investing in their increased value for the future.

1. Install a retaining wall.

If you have a sloping yard, or it’s prone to flooding, a retaining wall will level out the yard making it more accessible and improve drainage. Practically, retaining walls prevent soil erosion and generally make your yard a safer place.

Aesthetically they can also make stunning landscaping features, taking your average backyard from drab to fab…  Imagine having a split level backyard – tiered flower beds, outdoor entertaining areas, a grassy knoll or two. Think designer appeal but for a fraction of the cost.

And that’s just the backyard! What about the front?

Create a stunning first impression with a spectacularly designed retaining wall that separates your home from the street. It will increase privacy, in some cases reduce noise and block unattractive views.

Consider retaining wall materials>

2. Erect a deck

Decking isn’t just for those who have a pool. Cheaper than adding a large extension, decking is the most cost effective and time efficient method of adding square metres to your home.

If you home lends itself to it, create flow between internal and external spaces by having your outdoor living area lead off an indoor entertaining area. You’ll get more use of the deck if it’s accessible from a communal space.

In 2012, domain.com.au estimated that adding a deck could increase a property’s value by up to $100,000. Given how the property market has skyrocketed since, it’s probably more now.

Read more about getting on deck>

3. Easy care lawns and gardens

According to domain.com.au, a Michigan University study found that homeowners achieved a 109 per cent return on every landscaping dollar spent – higher than any other home improvement. The same Michigan University research found good landscape design increased perceived home value by 5–11 per cent.

For your enjoyment and resale value, you want something that looks fabulous but is relatively low maintenance. Consider laying hardy new turf, minimising the number of plant species in your garden to make it easy to care for and to give a more uniform look. Irrigation systems are also a big winner.

Click here for autumn lawn and garden care tips>

Empire Retaining Walls offers residential and commercial customers, including builders and architects, practical and aesthetically pleasing landscaping services and solutions. Find out how we can help you today>

A deck doesn’t just add space to your home; it can also add value, as discussed in our previous blog, ‘Boost property value by $100,000+ by adding a deck’. To make sure your deck withstands the test of time while enduring the elements, regular care and maintenance is required. Here are our top tips to protect your deck.

Clear the deck:  Don’t let leaves accumulate and if you have potted plants on your deck, elevate them or move them periodically. It’s also a good idea to keep shrubs from growing close to your deck.

Prep your deck:  Deck preservatives  do not work effectively unless applied when the deck is clean and dry. Remember to clean between decking board cracks.

Seal your deck: The only way to protect your deck successfully over time is to apply a deck preservative. Remember these products lose their ability to protect wood over time and have to be reapplied.

Repair your deck: Check regularly for loose boards, nails or moisture damage. If you have significant damage, consult a professional regarding repair to make sure the result is structurally sound.

Empire Retaining Walls offers complete landscaping services in the Mornington Peninsula Shire and surroundings. This service includes decking and repair work.

We ensure each client receives personalised service, are fully licensed and fully insured

• For examples of our work, please refer to the Empire Retaining Walls online ‘Portfolio’.
•  If you’re after a service not listed here, please all Adam on 0421 573 001 to discuss your needs.
• To obtain a free quote, call Adam or email empirewalls@live.com.au.
• For free landscaping tips and to stay in touch, follow us on Facebook.