our blog

normark news, landscaping tips + more
Sep 15 2018
Love0

Landscaping Tips and Designs for Harsh Summers

By Landscaping Tips

Australian summers are hard on everyone, including plants. As the season progresses, lawns brown, flower gardens shrivel and homeowners grow frustrated at their inability to keep their yards looking descent. We can’t decrease the harshness of Australian summers, but we can give you practical tips and a few landscaping designs that will help keep your lawn and flower beds looking good through the season. In order to successfully maintain your yard through the heat and dryness of summer, you need to pay attention to three things: 1. The type of plants that you have and how you plant them, 2….

Read More
Sep 02 2018
Love0

9 Steps to Make a Small Backyard Useful and Attractive

By Backyard Garden Design

Small backyards are a challenge, but not impossible to landscape. In fact with the following 9 steps, you can make the limited space in your backyard useful and attractive. Step 1: Consider your needs Every family has their own lifestyle and unique needs. Some families need an outdoor area to relax and enjoy the breeze or to entertain guests at a barbecue. Other families require space for their pets or a place for children to play. What are your specific needs? Step 2:  Divide your backyard into zones that meet your needs Next consider the shape, size and layout of…

Read More
Aug 15 2018
Love0

6 Simple Landscape Ideas to Improve Your Front Yard

By Front Garden

People frequently ask us for simple ways that they can improve their front yards. Thankfully, years of experience have given us many ideas to share and in this post, you will find 6 straightforward, cost-effective ways that you can enhance the appearance of your front yard and your home. Add in vertical details A flowering vine climbing up a fence or a corner of the house; an ornamental tree with colorful annuals at its roots and tall flowers planted along the front of the house are all vertical details that can add a touch of class to an otherwise common…

Read More
Aug 01 2018
Love0

Polished Concrete Surrounds for Fibreglass Swimming Pools

By Pool

Fiberglass swimming pools were designed to be affordable, attractive, safe and easy to maintain. Polished concrete makes the perfect surrounds for fiberglass swimming pools, because it shares these same characteristics. Why do we say polished concrete surrounds are affordable? Concrete is composed of three basic ingredients: water, an aggregate (such as rock, sand, or gravel) and cement. These ingredients are inexpensive and when you mix them together, they provide a hard surface which lasts for years with only minimal maintenance. Another reason concrete makes affordable pool surrounds is that it is easier to lay than tiles, travertine and other materials….

Read More
Jul 05 2018
Love0

Garden Ground Cover

By Plant Selections

There are many types of ground cover available, but which one is the right option for your garden? We’ve compiled a list of ground cover plants and where they thrive to help you choose the perfect option for the look you’re going for and the level of maintenance and care you prefer. In general, a ground cover plant is any plant that grows wider than it does tall. So you have a lot of options, from low growing ground cover with a creeping or trailing habit to short, broad shrubs. “Woody” shrubs are what most people associate with hedges –…

Read More
Jun 20 2018
Love0

Front Yard Hill Landscaping Ideas

By Front Garden

An upward sloping front yard can be an eyesore without proper landscaping. Left to its own devices, it may soon become bare as erosion and a lack of water absorption thin out the plants that manage to grow there. The front yard is an important part of your home’s first impression on visitors and passers-by, so finding solutions to a front yard that slopes down to the house with landscaping is important. Ideas for Landscaping a Hill One common recommendation for landscaping a slope on a budget is to plant a hardy ground cover. This can work well with short…

Read More
Jun 11 2018
Love0

Low Maintenance Plants Australia

By Plant Selections

If you want a “set it and forget it” garden, you’re in the right place. Not everybody wants to spend weekend mornings bent over garden beds. If you’re looking for container plants or landscaping plants that are easy to care for, we can help you find the perfect low maintenance plants and flowers for your yard or home. Low Maintenance Outdoor Plants Choosing native plants and plants suited to a low-water environment, like succulents and cacti, is a surefire way to minimize lawn and garden maintenance. In general, you can’t go wrong with native plants. They’re adapted to Australia’s harsh…

Read More
May 19 2018
Love0

Backyard Garden Designs and Ideas

By Backyard Garden Design

Backyard garden designs and ideas often seem to feature an enormous amount of space with endless possibilities. If your Melbourne backyard is closer to the size of a postage stamp, what you really need are very small back garden ideas that fit your space and your landscaping budget. Landscaping Ideas for Small Backyards You’ll never get lost in your small backyard, but working with a very small area often limits how many backyard garden designs and ideas you can incorporate. Ask yourself what you want out of your backyard: a living area, an edible garden or flower garden, a water…

Read More
May 04 2018
Love0

Best Plants for Steep Slopes

By Garden Design

Steep slopes and banks are vulnerable to erosion, but you can’t rely on just any plant to stabilize a hillside or steep bank. The slope also carries water away down to the bottom, so a hard rain running down the slope can pull at your plants and stress them without giving them a deep watering. Choosing the best plants for steep slopes in Australia means considering the watering challenges presented by slopes as well as the climate and sun exposure. Much of Australia tends to be hot and dry, so the best plants to stabilize a steep bank in Australia…

Read More
Apr 23 2018
Love0

Simple Landscape Ideas for Small Backyard – Landscaping Your Backyard

By Backyard Garden Design, Landscaping Tips, Small Garden Design

Landscaping Your Backyard The front yard is for impressing your neighbors, but landscaping your backyard is all about you. Even when you’re working with a small backyard area, you can create a space that acts as a private retreat for you to relax with friends and family. Landscape design pictures and inspiration often seem to involve huge areas, but working with a small backyard requires a focus on functional and simple landscapes with maximum effect. Small Backyard Landscape Ideas The perfect backyard for you is unique depending on the total area available, any slopes or uneven ground, the availability of…

Read More