Garden Renovation. Recommended Gardeners?

Thanks for the help – 1 decision down – Banksia and Seaside Daisy.
Actually we have some seaside daisies that have survived so you are right, they are hardy

If you ever drive to Sydney have a look at the bushes in the median strip of the highway. I remember when these were planted, maybe 6 or so years ago (might be off by a couple of years), and obviously no maintenance or watering since then. And they are now about 2-3m high. Those are about as hardy as you can get – not sure of the precise plant, a banksia of some kind.

In terms of flowers, if you can be bothered – seaside daisies are close to indestructible.

I have had experience maintaining rental properties and gardens for years (since i was 15, now 24).

If you would like to contact me i am more than happy to discuss the possibility of coming out and having a look at what you have to work with. Designing an easy and low maintenance garden is something i have a fair amount of experience doing, or if you just need maintenance of what you have already got (weekly, fortnightly or monthly depending on the need/job).

Jamie – 0406 208 568

SupaSal said :

I have written into lease agressments…

Thank you Dr Freud.

I have written into lease agressments that garden maintence is part of general house cleaning. No disagreements as of yet from any leasees, they know its a few hours every few months and the sun is a nice change from the study!

Thanks
I might just try Jim’s though each franchisee is different, I am in Richardson.
Thanks for the tips on the natives – sounds like lots of different Banksia will be the go.
I am not much into garden maintenance myself.
I have found this forum really valuable. I don’t like just going to the yellow pages. All it tells you about the company is if they can afford to pay for an ad and whether or not they can engage the right people to make their ads attractive.
It is great to hear about people’s experiences.
And yes I am the one with the kitchen. There is lots to be done which is way overdue. I am also getting a large tree removed, a new driveway (that was pulled up by the tree) painting and a new fence. So many decisions to make, eergh! and roadblocks along the way. I didn’t know that I had to get approval to get the tree removed, and that it is likely to take 5 weeks all up!

Native shrubs don’t automatically mean you don’t have to worry about watering or pruning etc. The key word is low maintenance, never no maintenance. There is always maintenance no matter what you put in. You should put in any tree you like as long as it is suited for it’s purpose. Tennants are obliged to maintain the property even if it is covered in grass and hedges, it is stupid to try and bullet proof your property against lazy people so do what you think is best and rely on the agreement that the tenants make when they sign the lease. I know a lot of capable gardeners/landscapers including the company I work for however I suggest that you speak to people you know to get word of mouth reccomendations from those that have first hand experience with a gardener/landscaper that has done a good job.

Gees, Gardening Girl, my place (which I own) would just set your teeth on edge. I have overgrown everything, including weeds, which I purge now and then. I like things to be a bit messy, just like in Nature, y’know? The manicured look leaves me absolutely cold. Horrible.

You mostly seem to be emotionally upset that tenants do not feel or behave the same way as you do.

No one has helped the OP much. My advice would be to work out exactly what you want done – make a list – and ring a few out of the Chronicle. Removing and/or planting stuff is not rocket science. A further suggestion is to ask around your workplace or local shops or neighbours.

GardeningGirl said :

Gotta disagree about the deciduous trees, you’re absolutely right about the benefits but there’s one big drawback the average tenant probably would not appreciate, it’s the autumn leaves. Unless perhaps the landlord provides a trashpack and collection service but putting the leaves in the trashpack still requires work. If you’re replacing the bushes which you’re removing research anything you’re thinking of planting, nursery labels don’t always tell the whole story and some of those “hardy fast growing hedging plants” that sound so good in theory turn into the biggest headaches.

Bigger risk is the gutters getting blocked and water getting into the roof when the gutters overflow. If there are trees shedding leaves onto the roof and you can’t/don’t want to remove them, get gutter guards put in. If there aren’t, then get trees that don’t grow above the roofline.

Also +1 for natives that don’t require water, tenants don’t water plants. Any kind of banksia will grow like a weed, put out a bit of nice looking colour here and there and not require maintenance.

Actually the place I recently landscaped for tenants has heaps of nice natives I selected at random based on no knowledge, purely their appearance, and they’ve all thrived with no maintenance.

bitzermaloney said :

GardeningGirl said :

Been there done that because otherwise the tenants would have had to battle through prickly shrubbery just to reach the clothesline. Small garden, and we even got rid of the lawn because it served no purpose and would require weekly maintenance. Agent said they had the perfect tenants, they’ll treat the place like their own. Tenants excuse for large weeds in paths (I don’t mean little ones in garden beds finding their way through the mulch, I mean big step-over ones right in front of you on inspection day) was they aren’t into gardening. What, so cleaning the toilet IS a hobby of yours? You want NO maintenance, you rent an apartment.
If you do bother spending money on providing a “low maintenance for renters” garden I hope they do the right thing and do the small amount of maintenance that is inevitably required no matter what. Or just concrete the lot and let them enjoy the reflected heat, not so welcome now but the agent can tell them it’s solar passive for winter, since solar passive is one of the expressions real estate agents are fond of randomly tossing around.

That’s about as helpful as it is sarcastic. Next time GarderningGirl why not actually offer a bit of advice instead of vent a spleen (or was that a liver?).

My advice to catada assuming it’s the same place that you’re doing the kitchen and possibly want to live in at some point in the future, stick with natives shrubs, a couple deciduous trees (light & heat in winter, shade & cool in summer), and get rid of the lawn (though also avoid the concrete) and find local “lawn handyman” (eg. Jim’s mowing) to do the hard yacka if you don’t have time yourself.

If Catada was after some suggestions on what/how rather than who I’d be really happy to help. Yes, it was a vent, it was one of those times when you are reminded how little people care about anyone else and it still disappoints me to be reminded of it (yes, I know, I know, before you say it, “first world problems”), but perhaps it will help someone else be better prepared, especially if they “possibly want to live in at some point in the future” which was our plan too. Keep it simple and don’t count on anything you do now to not need redoing by the time you want to move in.
Gotta disagree about the deciduous trees, you’re absolutely right about the benefits but there’s one big drawback the average tenant probably would not appreciate, it’s the autumn leaves. Unless perhaps the landlord provides a trashpack and collection service but putting the leaves in the trashpack still requires work. If you’re replacing the bushes which you’re removing research anything you’re thinking of planting, nursery labels don’t always tell the whole story and some of those “hardy fast growing hedging plants” that sound so good in theory turn into the biggest headaches.