Australia’s warm weather presents the perfect opportunity for entertaining and relaxing, and the backyard provides the ideal spot to connect with nature and enjoy quality time with family and friends.

Turning your outdoor room into a space you can utilise means making your garden work for your specific needs. Creating an appealing garden, with an area for lounging, eating, playing and cooking, all make a difference to how often you want to use your backyard. Landscape gardening expert and Charlie Carp Ambassador, Jason Hodges, shares his expert advice on creating a backyard oasis that not only thrives but offers a great destination year-round.

Your garden is the foundation for a good outdoor room.  It sets the theme for the whole space and can determine the look and feel. While budget is an important consideration, people can create a beautiful garden without breaking the bank. Selecting the right plants for the backyard garden is the first step. Jason suggests looking at neighbourhood gardens for inspiration to see which plants and designs work best in the area.

What type of garden do you want?

Start by imagining what you want your backyard to look like and plan backwards to achieve the goal. There are lots of simple projects that can be done around the garden that don’t take too much time or cost too much money but can have a huge impact.

Mature trees can be a starting point for building a scheme. They block the glare of the sun and can also be used as an anchor for shade sails, a hammock, pendant lights or hanging decorations.

Consider using native plants as they are durable and require minimal upkeep. Opting for native trees gives structure and architecture to your garden, and helps to create a garden capable of enduring climate fluctuations, requiring less maintenance and support the microclimate by providing a shady canopy during summer.

Make sure you regularly feed your trees.  The best choice for fast results in the garden is liquid fertiliser as it’s quick acting, allowing the plant to absorb both the micro and macro nutrients through the foliage quicker than any other fertiliser. A good one to try is organically based lawn and garden fertiliser, Charlie Carp as it’s a complete, all-purpose fertiliser, so can be used on your trees, garden and lawn.

Being an Australian brand, it’s also made for our environment and conditions and uses the whole Carp fish, so in turn, provides an almost perfect balance of vitamins and minerals for plants, soil and grass.

The best garden designs start with structural plants infilled with smaller plants.  Plants like Agapanthus and Frangipani are excellent choices as they are survival plants that require minimal maintenance and add beauty to the garden.  For a more structured look, use evergreen shrubs as the backbone of the garden and include small shrubs such as Buxus Balls in between.

Once you have this frame, fill the gaps with pretty flowering plants. In entertaining areas, try using palms and tropical plants for a more resort and relaxed feel. If you need to hide a wall, or an unsightly visual next door, an evergreen hedge creates a year-round structured look and adds a splash of much-needed green in winter.

Pay attention to your turf

Replacing old or damaged turf is a quick way to enhance your garden. Healthy turf will bring a clean, fresh look to your outdoor space and is a simple project. Lawns are a real luxury these days, helping to reduce outdoor temperatures as they don’t absorb and hold heat as do hard surfaces such as paving, so it’s important to choose the right lawn. I recommend using Sir Walter Buffalo grass, which is highly durable and well-suited to the Australian climate.

Prepare your lawn by aerating with a garden fork, patching up bare areas with seeds and using weed killers to remove any unwanted weeds. After a few weeks, begin feeding the lawn with a fertiliser such as Charlie Carp’s All Purpose Fertiliser refillable bottle (2.2L RRP $12.20) to help stimulate the grass’ growth and improve soil quality. This ready-to-use spray-on pack is easy to click onto your existing hose system and is filled with the essential vitamins and minerals to help your lawn look its best. Easy to use in both small and large spaces, it’s a handy way to fertilise the entire garden and should be done once a month over the warmer months.

Create zones

The next step in designing your backyard is to create zones for playing, eating, cooking and relaxing. A zoned garden works well for backyards of all sizes. Defining these zones using furniture, plants or other materials such as pavers and stepping stones provides autonomy for each space to shine individually while allowing the whole backyard to operate functionally. Adding a feature such as a water feature or fire pit will enhance the aesthetic appeal of your space and provide a simple statement focal point. Also gaining popularity is the outdoor pizza oven which adds an element of fun to entertaining.

To choose the right furniture start by considering your lifestyle and how you anticipate the space will be used. Will you need a large dining table for entertaining family and friends, or would a lounging area be more suitable? A well-designed entertaining area should be multi-purpose and suitable for the whole family. Choose pieces that are multi-functional, flexible and can be easily moved around to create an alternative setting.

An outdoor family room with seating facing each other will create an environment where conversation and interactivity will thrive. Consider the cooking area and whether a built-in barbeque will work, or if you need it to be able to move it depending on the weather.

Kids love having their own section of the garden and if space allows, section off a corner of the yard and make it child-friendly. If the yard is not big enough to accommodate a playhouse, small tepees are a great alternative. Another fun idea for kids is building your own hopscotch area with large format pavers. Paint them in bright colours and allow grass to grow between them. It creates a fun activity for kids while doubling as a step-stone path to connect your spaces.

Grow vegetables!

Urban edible gardening has surged in popularity in Australia, and you don’t need a lot of space, as vegetables can be grown in the ground, in raised garden beds, in containers, and even mixed into garden beds and borders.

One of the best things about growing your own is that it gets the whole family involved and teaches kids the importance of healthy eating from a young age.

When it comes to veggie gardens, the most important thing is the foundation, meaning the soil structure. You want to make sure your soil is full of nutrients and rich organic matter. Consider an organic fertiliser if you want to grow fruit and vegetables directly for the dinner table.

Charlie Carp’s Premium Organic Fertiliser Concentrate (1L RRP $12) is free from harmful chemicals and safe for families and pets. For the best results, complete spray coverage is essential, with a weekly dose recommended.

For those with smaller outdoor spaces, smart landscaping solutions can make all the difference. Small backyards can be enhanced with pots and planters, which can be rearranged every 6-12 months to keep the layout fresh and visually appealing. Planters can also be used to screen off less attractive areas while adding colour and texture to the space. Consider planting annuals for a pop of colour, filling pots with a variety of petunias, alyssum, California poppies, asters, pansies, and African daisies.

Create a garden that not only withstands Australia’s climate but also becomes your favourite destination.

There’s no excuse for not having a beautiful garden.

Charlie Carp fertiliser products are available from Bunnings, Mitre 10, Home Hardware and Amazon, and include Charlie Carp All Purpose Concentrate Fertiliser (1 Litre RRP$10.86, 5Litre RRP $51.98), Charlie Carp All Purpose Pellets (5Kg, RRP $24.60), Charlie Carp Organic Fertiliser Concentrate (1Litre RRP $12) and Charlie Carp All Purpose Fertiliser refillable bottle (2.2Litre RRP $12.20).

For more information visit www.charliecarp.com.au

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