Hi all, My IP's rear yard is all dust at the moment. What can i do to make it more presentable to tenant? I'm thinking abt new lawn. Thanks
It depends on your cost, time and budget. I'd replace the path if possible. It could be paved instead. Lawn may or may not be good. Tenants will like to have a lawn to look at, but not to look after. A new lawn especially will require maintenance. The most suitable for a tenanted property is probably turf, which is also more expensive - however you can't rely on tenants to look after new grass. Look at mulching areas, especially where you plan gardens. Local councils sometimes mulch green waste, and sell it quite cheaply. Perhaps you could wait until it's tenanted before putting in plants, to find out if they are willing to do the minimum care which would be required.
Wow - what a dustbowl (& mudpit when wet)! Agree about the broken path - get rid of it! Do you need it? Personally I would just do concrete for driveway & path replacement - pavers can have their own issues with weeds and settlement, especially if you don't know what weight is going onto it. Assuming it is about to be let - I would go the turf route but specify you require access to maintain/establish the lawn - or put in timed sprinkler system. If you had lots of time available you could seed it. Make sure the type of grass is suitable for the local climate. If you want to keep the gardens then mulch ... if not, pull out the borders and grass them too.
Is that a parking area off another street in the photo? I would gravel/bluestone rock it to define that area. Then take out the path and grass it and put some mulch and a few hardy plants in the garden bed - I'm a big fan of perennial daisies - even I can't kill them
It is troubling The way they have built up the garden bed against the house ! Remove the rocks and path then spread/remove fill, define the drive area and gravel (or concrete and build a shed), grass the rest and just put in some stepping stone/pavers to corner of house. For pavers (see Damo at Better bricks and paving in Moolap, say Chris from Syd sent you )
Bobcat. Several tonnes of decent soil to a generous depth, turf. Will look 100% different in hours. BUT nobody to use it until its established. Keep it watered during that time and why nobody to walk on it as it will take time to settle and roots grow in. Now is wrong season. Essential extras like driveway, path, garden beds also look like they are needed. Keep garden beds minimal and use one type of edge - Not roof tiles / rock and rotten timber. New additional plants...Tip video yard and take it to nursery. I would rip up all the concrete and start from scratch. If cost is a issue crushed and compacted quartz/gravels can be a cheap solution for path and drive BUT will need edging etc and compacting is critical to avoid weeds. Otherwise clear whole yard to level and add concrete then fill soil to correct levels and turf. The secret to the job is the bobcat. Massive labour saver. It pays for itself in a few hours. One concern is its too late in Melbourne (Bell Park ?) to do the green work now. Wait till Sept.
Thanks everyone for input, i will get tenant in first, and doing the yard in spring. That will give me a bit time to think too.
