Bob Maher recently sent a letter to Don, and invited him to come and see his garden. When Bob and his family first moved into their Newcastle townhouse 12 months ago, they were confronted with a small backyard (6mx5m) consisting of a bit of grass and a fence. So, with inspiration from 'Burke's Backyard' and 'Backyard Blitz', they set to work. In just over 6 weeks and a total of around 5 working days, they transformed the tiny area into a fabulous Mediterranean-style courtyard, complete with water feature, barbecue, garden furniture, a raised flower bed, potted plants and hedges.

The makeover

Amazingly, Bob and his wife, Wendy, did most of the work themselves. They began by cladding the horizontal paling fence with blueboard sheeting, capping it with polystyrene architraves, and then painting it a rich red colour (Dulux Tuscan Effects 'Da Vinci Red'). As the fence is only about 1.5m (4') tall, the paint colour was chosen to tie in with the colours on the neighbouring townhouses overlooking the courtyard.

The water feature was constructed from Hebel blocks (Hebel is a lightweight, aerated concrete product that is easy to carve), bagged, and then painted a deep plum colour (Bristol Paints 'Dark Plum'). The raised flowerbed was also constructed from Hebel blocks and then bagged and painted off-white (Dulux exterior low sheen).

A hedge of conifers (xCupressocyparis leylandii) has been planted as a privacy screen. Bob plans to keep the hedge trimmed at around 3m (10') tall. Other plantings include star jasmine (Trachelospermum jasminoides) around the water feature, potted mondo grass and Japanese box.

Further information

Dulux Tuscan Effects 'Da Vinci Red' costs about $69.95 for 4 litres. Hebel blocks (600mm x 200mm x 100mm) cost around $3 each. Call 1300 369 448 or visit the website: www.hebelaustralia.com.au

Copyright CTC Productions 2002