1. What a landscaping plan covers
A guide from Bunnings on designing a landscaping plan frames the work as a set of choices. It begins with what the guide calls "zones", and offers a starting list of four: a zone for growing, one for resting, one for eating and one for playing. Growing fruit and vegetables may matter most to one household, a space for family entertainment to another, so the guide suggests defining which zones suit a household's way of living and noting them down.
With the zones set, Bunnings turns to the garden itself. A shed, a clothesline and trees are features to design around, along with where the sun rises and sets, where neighbours are, which way the wind comes from and any road noise. The guide likens the zones to rooms on a floor plan, where what matters is how the outdoor space flows, such as whether a path is wanted from the veranda to a pool or tall trees are needed to block powerlines. It advises checking with the local council for permit requirements before work starts.
2. Ground cover and planting
Ground cover gets a list of options in the guide: grass, mulch, decking, pebbles, pavers and artificial turf. Bunnings suggests weighing how the textures and colours of those materials sit together, and how each one works in practice. A mulch made for play areas is put forward for spaces where children play, grass for spaces children and pets use, and pavers, decking or concrete for entertainment areas, particularly where equipment such as a barbecue, a fire pit or a pizza oven will be used.
The guide also describes borrowing from what is already there. Using the natural elements of the surrounding landscape, a technique it names ‘borrowed landscape’ and says is inspired by traditional East Asian garden design, can give a garden depth and variety. Bunnings suggests putting the tallest plants at the back, mid-sized ones in the centre and the shortest at the front, and thinking about how tall trees will eventually grow and what they will do, such as offering privacy or screening powerlines.
The local Muwinina people knew this country as nipaluna.
3. Water, plants and upkeep
The guide covers water drainage and irrigation, and also plant choice. The guide notes that grading a garden so water runs away from the plants prevents pooling and root rot, and that irrigation keeps plants watered and reduces maintenance. Rain catchments and grey water tanks are described as ways to collect excess water and ease the pressure of watering. For choosing plants, it lists weather conditions, local climate, soil quality and how much upkeep someone is willing to take on, and suggests looking at how much sun and shade a space gets.
For low maintenance, the guide points to perennials and evergreen trees, which it says give colour all year and need little care. Households with children or pets are directed to non-toxic, hardy plants such as spider plants or camellias, and keen cooks to vegetable patches and herb gardens. Deciduous trees are offered for a garden that changes through the seasons, with autumn leaves, shade in summer and winter sun through bare branches. Feature areas such as a bench or a fountain, or a pool or spa on a bigger budget, are listed as ways to add variety.
4. About Hobart
Hobart is the capital of Tasmania, on the River Derwent estuary in the island's south-east, with the 1,271-metre kunanyi / Mount Wellington above it. Its harbour is the world's second-deepest natural port. The local Muwinina people knew this country as nipaluna. Aboriginal Tasmanians, who generally call themselves Palawa or Pakana, had occupied the land for possibly as long as 35,000 years before British colonisation.
European settlement started with a military camp at Risdon Cove in 1803, on the eastern shore. In 1804, a massacre happened at Risdon Cove. Later that year Captain David Collins moved the camp to Sullivans Cove, where he named it Hobart Town after Lord Hobart. The Mouheneener were the area's Indigenous inhabitants, a tribe that was semi-nomadic. Violent conflict with the settlers, and the diseases they brought, dramatically reduced the Aboriginal population, and free settlers and convicts quickly took their place.
Questions
- What is landscaping?
- A guide from Bunnings on designing a landscaping plan treats it as planning an outdoor space, starting with the areas it calls "zones": a zone for growing, one for resting, one for eating and one for playing. The same guide covers ground cover, planting, water and feature areas.
- How does landscaping work?
- In the guide Bunnings sets out, it starts with identifying zones and assessing the garden's conditions, such as trees, a shed, sun and shade, neighbours, wind and road noise. Plant choice depends on local climate, soil quality and how much upkeep someone is willing to take on; water drainage and irrigation are also part of the plan.
- How many people live in Hobart?
- Greater Hobart had 247,086 people in 2021, with a median age of 39.
- What is the history of Hobart?
- A military camp was set up at Risdon Cove in 1803, and later Captain David Collins moved it to Sullivans Cove in 1804, where he named it Hobart Town after Lord Hobart. Whaling quickly became a leading local industry, and the town served for a time as the main whaling port of the Southern Ocean. The city took the singular name Hobart in 1881.
- What is living in Hobart like?
- Hobart sits on the River Derwent estuary below kunanyi / Mount Wellington and has a mild maritime climate. Its harbour is the world's second-deepest natural port, and well-known drawcards include its convict-era buildings, plus Salamanca Market and Museum of Old and New Art.