Side yard makeover

Most of us have that dead side yard at our house. You know the one, where nothing grows, you throw the bins and you never walk around there because it’s either too hot or damp?? When you build a new home it’s usually the last thing you think about when it comes to landscaping. No one really ever sees it right?? Except you! And it probably annoys you because you’re just not sure what to do with it. Plus you don’t want to spend a lot of money on making it look presentable. But it’s one of those jobs when done you’ll be so proud of it. Plus if you ever decide to sell your home it will become a space potential buyers will appreciate.

I just freshened my space up! I painted the fence black, removed all the old timber edging and added lots of succulents and black bark.

Tips for your side yard makeover

• Don’t spend huge money on having extra concrete poured out there. If you already have it then bonus! Use steppers and rocks to full the area. Bunnings have cheap pavers in different colours and shapes. Usually large amounts of grass won’t grow because it’s a narrow space, so throw down a few wheelbarrows full of rocks to fill it up.
• Pick hardy plants. I have a massive succulent garden around the side of my house. If you follow me on Instagram you’ll see it pop up from time to time. All of the succulents were free cuttings from friends and I just keep splitting them up.
• If you want something against your fence line I’d probably recommend a vine – like a Jasmine. The bamboo looks good, but it grows so quick and looses leaves now and then so it will be a clean up job. Yukkas are hardy too, but they do grow in to monsters and will be hard to remove when you’ve had enough of them.
• Scour your local buy swap sell pages for garden cuttings. The narrow side of your house is also a good place to propagate plants and transfer them to other parts of your garden when they grow bigger.