We are committed to delivering a high quality living environment that marries natural beauty with the best of contemporary urban design. It starts with stunning streetscapes – carefully designed to connect our residents to lush parklands, waterways and community facilities.

Merrifield’s landscape designer, Brett Foulis, Senior Associate – MDG Architects, has these essential tips for new residents looking to create a stunning front garden.

5 steps to a beautiful garden

Watering
Water your garden weekly as a minimum (unless you have more than 10mm of rainfall that week) garden beds can get dry even in winter and if you don’t keep the moisture up soils can become non-wetting (hyrdro-phobic) and difficult to saturate.

Weeding
Pull weeds out regularly so that it doesn’t become an overwhelming chore. Be careful of bringing in mulches or manures which may contain lots of weed seeds.

Mowing and edging
Warm season grasses like kikuyu, are hardy and vigorous but require regular mowing and edging to look their best. Don’t put lawn clippings on your garden or trees as piles of fresh clippings will kill your plants. We recommend putting them in your green bin to be composted by Council.

Fertilising
Apply suitable fertiliser such as Osmocote ‘Long Life Fertiliser’ once every 6 months. Alternatively fork through worm castings or organic compost.

Grass
Seeded or pre-grown turf grass is preferred and has a cooling effect on the ground around your home. Artificial turf heats up in the sun and will deteriorate over time and cannot be recycled (it will end up in landfill). Warranties for artificial turf range from 0 -7 years.