OCD Garden Maintenance

26/09/2026

Latest Onsite Supervisor

Meet Simon the tame Maggie at the local waste transfer station.

Apparently he has a fondness for cheese & has a partner named Simone who was on her lunch break today and couldn't have her pic taken, perhaps next visit.

21/09/2026

Spring Growth Has Arrived 🌿
Spring growth is well underway — plants are growing, weeds are appearing and gardens can quickly start needing some attention.
Now is a good time for a proper clean-up and to get the garden ready for the warmer months ahead.
That might mean weeding, pruning and reshaping, removing unwanted growth, fertilising, improving tired soil, mulching or checking the reticulation.
But it's not just about making the garden look tidy on the day. It's about getting it back under control, helping the plants worth keeping and making it easier to manage over summer.
I'm currently taking bookings for spring garden clean-ups.
If your garden could do with some attention, send me a message with a few photos and we can have a chat. 🌱
OCD Garden Maintenance

19/09/2026

A Garden Rescue – From Then to Now 🌿
This has been an ongoing garden project at an investment property, and these photos show just how much it has changed.
When I first came to the property, the front garden had become badly overgrown and needed more than a tidy-up. The decision was made to strip it right back and start again with a simple plan.
Because the property is rented out, keeping the garden manageable was an important part of the design. In my experience, you can't always expect tenants to have the same interest in gardening, or put the same amount of time into it, as the property owner would.
So the aim was to create an attractive garden while keeping the ongoing maintenance reasonably simple.
I chose hardy native plants suited to the conditions, with consideration given to how they would grow and fill the space as they matured. Rather than filling every gap on planting day, they were given room to develop.
You can really see that progression through the photos. What initially looked quite open has gradually filled out as the plants have established and started doing the job they were chosen for.
And there's been another nice result along the way – the native planting is now bringing more birds, bees and other beneficial wildlife into the garden.
The last photo is how it's looking today.
It's come a long way, but the garden isn't finished developing yet. I'll continue maintaining and shaping it as the plants mature, and there's still more filling out to come.
That's one of the things I enjoy about creating a garden – planting it is really only the beginning. 🌱

11/09/2026

11/09/2026

OCD GARDEN MAINTENANCE – HANDY HINT

Dont be afraid to hard prune Roses.

The following pics show some roses from a large cleanup job recently completed. The roses were long overdue a prune, with lots of dead branches and some disease present, along with a heap of weeds growing through the middle of them.

A hard prune was necessary to remove the dead branches/ disease, allow access to the weeds to be removed, along with shaping the rose bushes to allow future healthy growth and to help eliminate any future issues.

Roses are a very tough plant and can not only survive a hard prune such as this, but will actually thrive afterwards due to it.

It looks severe now, but these roses will bounce back quite quickly now that spring is upon us. With some regular fertilising throughout the growing season, this will ensure a healthy bush & a bountiful supply of beautiful blooms.

(I will post some more pics further in the season to show their revival)

OCD Garden Maintenance – Handy Hints
Practical gardening advice from what I see out in my gardens every day.

07/09/2026

Latest Onsite Supervisor.

Meet Polly from Mandurah.

A beautiful friendly senior cat who does a very good job at supervising, she even hopped in my ute.

Very curious and very friendly old girl who loves a pat and gives lots of head butts & is a delight to work with.
:)

25/08/2026

I'm going to start posting some Handy Hints that I have learned over the years at my gardens. Enjoy the first one :)

OCD GARDEN MAINTENANCE – HANDY HINT
Gravel in garden beds – low maintenance? Think again.

Gravel is sometimes used in garden beds to stop weeds and reduce maintenance. Unfortunately, it doesn't always work that way.
W**d seeds blow in and grow amongst the gravel, while existing weeds can also find their way through from underneath. Once they become established, removing them can be a very time-consuming job.

Machinery isn't always an option either, particularly around windows where flying stones can cause damage. Spraying will kill the weeds, but it doesn't remove them - and sooner or later, more will grow.

What I would do instead?
For garden beds, I generally prefer a suitable wood mulch such as pine bark, or even better in the right situation, planting groundcovers that will eventually cover much of the bare soil and leave less room for weeds to establish.
Choose the right groundcover for the position and it can look good, protect the soil and make the garden easier to manage.

I'd rather prune back a healthy groundcover than spend hours pulling weeds out of gravel.

Gravel certainly has its place - a properly maintained driveway is a good example. But as a long-term solution for stopping weeds in garden beds, it's something I'd think carefully about.

OCD Garden Maintenance – Handy Hints
Practical gardening advice from what I see out in my gardens every day.

20/08/2026

Is your garden starting to get away from you? 🌿

It doesn't take long at this time of year.

A few weeds become a lot of weeds, plants start growing into each other, hedges need attention and suddenly that little list of garden jobs has become something much bigger.

Before you rush out and buy new plants or put down fresh mulch, have a look at what your garden actually needs first.

A little spring tip: get the weeding and pruning sorted and check that your reticulation is working properly before you start spending money on finishing touches. There's not much point putting new plants in if they're not going to get the water they need.

Sometimes your garden doesn't need changing.

It just needs some attention to get it back under control and looking cared for again.

I'm starting to organise my spring garden work now, so if you're looking outside thinking “I just want my garden back”, send me a message and we can have a chat about what it needs.

David
OCD Garden Maintenance

12/08/2026

🌿 Spring is Nearly Here
Have you looked at your garden lately and thought it could really use some attention?
After winter, your garden might be looking a little tired or overgrown, or perhaps there are a few things you’ve been meaning to get done for a while.
With spring only a few weeks away, now is a good time to have a look around your garden and think about what you’d like to change before the warmer months arrive.
I’ll have availability for spring garden clean-ups, restorations and makeovers, so if you’d like some help getting your garden back into shape, get in touch and we can have a chat about what you’d like to do.
Let’s make your garden somewhere you can enjoy again this spring. 🌱
OCD Garden Maintenance