My Gardener, James

Back at work for the year! Snapshot of a job this morning in Altona; weeding and deadheading and a bit of bindweed taming.

Bit of weeding in Essendon the other week

Quick little job in Sunshine today pulling weeds out of a lawn, with a bit of help from the client to make things go faster. Many hands make light work, and I'm always happy for you to be an esteemed colleague if you want to join in on the job :)

Huge transformation in Sunshine West today! Amazing what 5 plants and a bit of mulch can do. Clivias from Diaco's Garden Nursery and mulch from Deer Park Building & Garden Supplies

Psyllids and sooty mold and citrus leaf miner, oh my! A bit of damage control today in Ashburton. Opted for the pesticide-free option of pruning off all affected areas due to the sheer amount of psyllids and to hopefully help with the associated sooty mold, with the client to follow up with systemic insecticide granules later on the lilly pillies. Citrus leaf miner easily dealt with by taking off affected leaves.

Another happy customer! Looking forward to planting this one in a couple months

A fiddly job but well worth the effort! Front yard tidy in Sunshine yesterday clearing out a heap of oxalis and an Osteospermum gone cactus

This Barbie is a landscape designer! (in training until next year)

A bit of a behind-the-scenes for a design I'm working on for a client in Keilor East

Tidying up the portfolio. A commission from late last year that I planted back in January

Working in Kingsville today! Annual hard prune for a few roses and making way for some new climbers in the middle, recommended native wisteria (Hardenbergia comptoniana) as a splash of color and the Japanese wisteria look without having the Japanese wisteria ✨enthusiasm for life✨ Thanks for the trust!

Finished off getting this patch in Attwood ready for planting. Fixed the boxes, added a few more leaves, and mixed in some mushroom compost with the soil

Smashed out this beauty in Albion today with the help of the client. Got all the materials but need a hand putting it all together? More than happy to help

Getting this little plot in Attwood ready for planting in Spring! Will be adding some soil and mixing in mushroom compost later this week or next so the soil fauna can come in and do their thing

A fantastic situation if you wanted a bumper crop of nettle tea, but unsurprisingly this Avondale Heights client wasn't keen on that amount. Mint taking over the back part of the garden but easily controlled so just keeping an eye on it

How bloody good! Super happy with how these steps in Sunshine turned out. Repurposed existing concrete where possible and secondhand bricks and pavers to make the steps. Will be coming back after the fence is replaced to do the top couple steps

Smashed out this banger in Essendon this afternoon. Pebbles are 20mm "beach" from Deer Park Building & Garden Supplies

Absolutely delightful day for it this morning in Coburg North. Mini retaining wall finished (minus capping) two weeks ago, backfilling with soil to level it out some so it can be a nice little entertaining area.

Design brief: keep as much of the circle as possible while still connecting the two sections

Today's coworker was very polite, if a bit easily distracted

Keilor

Super happy with how this native garden in Sunshine North turned out. Worked with the client from plan to planting and mulching, with a few minor tweaks come end of it. Pedestal will be for a bird bath. Plants sourced from Diaco's:
- Westringia "Jervis Gem" along the front of the house
- Leptospermum "Starry Night" along the side fence
- Boronia "Heaven Scent" along the front fence
- Hymenospermum flavum "Gold Nugget" in the corners
- Bracteantha "Kimba Jewel" and Brachyscome "Radiant Magenta" as fillers

Forgot to do a true before and after in Sunshine West, but against the fence was just as overgrown. Uncovered a concrete border all around which should help with keeping the lawn from creeping back into the garden.

A bit of weeding this arvo in Sunshine between the rain showers with a very enthusiastic coworker

Bit of black mulch to zhuzh things up in Avondale Heights. Really helps the Lotus berthelotii "Golden Flash" to pop

Closed for the week while tackling ye olde Rona, in the interim here's a planting/mulch job from Thursday. Lomandra "Little Con" out the front, a Grevillea "Bonnie Prince "Charlie" in the corner to hide a dead zone, a Callistemon "Little John", and a Banksia "Bird Song". Dichondra "Silver Falls" scattered throughout to add a bit of contrast

Huge day today back in Avondale Heights and an early start meant it all got done before the rain properly hit. Time for a drink.

Huge day today in Avondale Heights levelling this area and throwing down some fake grass so it's an easy to manage trampoline spot. Pavers pre-existing on-site, just repurposed.