Rock Solid Landscapes | Business service

Rock Solid Landscapes

Phone: +61 417 477 187

Add/Update information

Reviews

Tags

• Landscape company
• Business service

25.01.2022 The 3 maples that live in my front garden. Acer palmatum dissectum 'Atropurpureum' standard, Acer palmatum dissectum 'Viridis' standard Acer palmatum 'Sango Kaku' the coral bark maple. You don't need to live in a cold climate or have a big garden to have one of these.... #japanesemaple #japanesegarden #landscapedesign #gardendesign #rocksolid See more

25.01.2022 You can't beat a Bukinghamia. Ivory Curl (Buckinghamia celsissima) is a small tree / large shrub. And an Australian Native to boot. An abundance of cream flowers at this time of the year. The birds and the bees love it! This one is in our back yard and is growing more upright than normal, as it competes for the sunlight.... It is growing in rocky ground and is never watered or fertilised. See more

25.01.2022 Catherine Hill Bay project coming along nicely.

25.01.2022 There is a decking product out there that is just out of this world when it comes to look and durability. It is Millboard decking. It is touted to be the NO Maintenance decking. The Reseller for the East Coast of Aus dropped off some sample packs and talked it up. Here is a video of me trying to scratch a sample with some scissors. Appears to be great stuff.... Very minimal expansion, not like the plastic composites on the market. It can even be glued straight to concrete. It doesn't absorb water and never grows mold. So if you are cashed up and want the best decking on the planet, give Millboard a go. #millboard #decking #nomaintenancedecking #landscapedesign #rocksolidlandscapedesign

24.01.2022 Here's a link to some recent plans on Google Drive. Some are concept, some are more detailed. https://drive.google.com/open

23.01.2022 Craning in some sandstone logs for a garden at Belmont High School. Thanks to Newcastle Mini Cranes for a great job. #SandstoneLogs

22.01.2022 The following images show how a landscape evolved from the clients initial sketch to the final landscape plan. followed by construction and the last is just over 18 months of maturity. #RockSolidLandscapes #LandscapeDesign #GardenDesign... #Landscaping #RetainingWalls #Sandstone See more

22.01.2022 The facade of the yard at Belmont is looking the part after a long, ongoing, makeover. Had finding time between doing designs.

21.01.2022 Expedition day in Sydney. Looking for ideas for raw materials for future designs.

21.01.2022 Planting a Grass Tree is not as straight forward as most plants. Especially in heavy soils. Here we have excavated the hole only half as deep, mounded the soil around the hole. Placed the Grass Tree and filled in with a course free draining mix. Here we have used river sand. We have also dug a drainage trench out to one side and filled this with river sand. This way it should never be sitting in water. #grasstree #catherinehillbay #landscaping #Australiannativeplants

21.01.2022 After many years at our yard at Belmont, we have moved to a new shed at Cardiff. Now everything is under cover and secure.

21.01.2022 It's a nice feeling when you get such great feedback. Makes the hard work all worth it Thanks Lucas.

21.01.2022 FROM THIS TO THIS It has been a pleasure to Design and Construct this front courtyard at Valentine. We completed all the works including Design, earthworks, concreting, brick and block walls, waterproofing, stepping stones, decorative aggregate, weathering steel edging and plantings. ... The owner organised the rendering and garden lighting. We are waiting on a front sign with the street number and name.

20.01.2022 This is a 150mm diameter treated pine log that was a post for a retaining wall. It snapped at ground level. I think the picture speaks for itself! And some people wonder why I refuse to build anything structural out of treated pine.

20.01.2022 If you are after an exceptionally strong retaining wall that doesn't cost the earth and looks don't matter. Then you can't do better than a No Fines concrete Retaining Wall. Give us a call if you want to know more.... #nofinesconcrete #retainingwall

20.01.2022 A mission of a job continues. Found water. Found the sewer in a boggy trench in front of the wall. Excavate the boggy earth and replace with stabilised sand. Change engineering design to allow for sewer.... Send back the retaining wall blocks. Order new reinforcing and blocks. Today we finally got to pour the footing/path. See more

18.01.2022 A Garden constructed by Rock Solid Landscapes with help from the client and planted and maintained by the client. Five and a half months on and the Catherine Hill garden is thriving. The owners have been busily applying well composted cow manure to the entire garden followed by a sugar cane mulch. The site soil was an ugly mix of bush sand and clay fill. Well rotted cow manure is a must to build a healthy soil.... As you can see form the pictures, some plants are thriving in this coastal environment. Others are not doing too well contrary to being suitable for the coastal position. Part of my design process is to help clients well into the development of their gardens with sound Horticultural advice. The client and I will be working together to select new plants to replace the ones that are struggling. The client also commented that during the current lock down, the garden is a haven where she can potter around and forget about the rest of the world.

18.01.2022 Hydrangea. Always a stunning display in the right spot.

18.01.2022 Job complete. We cut and filled the site. Stump ground 4 stumps. We found and had to raise 1 data pit, 1 telecom pit, 1 sewer inspection and 1 stop valve lid. All were buried below 4 stumps, lots of roots years of school rubbish.... We then installed the artificial lawn, concrete slab, gardens, timber stairs and the sandstone logs. Very satisfying work #RockSolidLandscapes #LandscapeDesign #GardenDesign #Landscaping #RetainingWalls #Sandstone

18.01.2022 Spring has sprung at our beautiful, Neglected garden :-( Time to get stuck into it.

16.01.2022 A few years ago, my daughter Jess and I got some logs and drilled in some different size holes to try and attract more native bees. Well I can honestly say that we are seeing an increase in native bee numbers. Yes there is a tiny native bee in the Autumn Crocus.

16.01.2022 I am advising a young couple on how to built a Gabion Retaining Wall. Here are some progress pictures. They will be saving tens of thousands of dollars by doing it themselves. They are also saving big dollars by using broken up concrete and brick at the back of the baskets and only using the expensive stone on the face. I am very impressed with their efforts to date. This is a Service that I offer. If you want to tackle your own landscaping project, save thousands of dollars... and have the satisfaction of standing back and admiring a job you have done yourself, give me a call 0417 477 187. #gabion #gabionwall #diy #retainingwall See more

16.01.2022 A good design doesn't happen overnight. Ideas are thrown back and forth between client and designer, till a final design emerges. Many things have to be considered. - Clients likes.... - Clients wants and needs. - Sit constraints. - Budget. - etc.......... Here is a timeline of images showing the clients first idea through to a final plan. I also managed the project for the client who lives in Sydney. Arranging quotes from qualified contractors, helping to sort through the quotes, selecting contactors and supervising the works.

15.01.2022 More progress pictures form the Catherine Hill Bay Project. A big thank you for S&J Landscaping for bringing my design to life.

14.01.2022 It's been a long time since we have done crazy paving! Grouting and sponging is so satisfying.

14.01.2022 Bought a new toy today. Some jobs you just can't do without machines. This job would almost be impossible without mini dumpers. We have been using them since early 2000's. Thanks to Makinex for our new Cormidi Dumper.... #Makinex #Cormidi #cormidic85 #nofinesconcrete #retainingwall

13.01.2022 And the fun begins! Hand excavation on this one.

12.01.2022 Here are the Millboard sample packs. #millboard

12.01.2022 Helping a client lay over 100 organic stepping stones through their garden I designed at Catherine Hill Bay. They have worked extremely hard. Not many would take on such a big project themselves.

11.01.2022 I am offering a service that is unique to any other. I not only do Landscape Design. I also do Project Management Which includes:... On site consultations dealing with all aspects of landscaping. DIY advice and help with building your landscape. Problem solving. Council Approvals. Organising Engineers, Surveyors, contractors, etc. And, if you want, I can also oversee their work. And anything else you need help with. Visit www.rocksolidlandscapes.com.au for more info.

10.01.2022 This is a garden at the Beaches Estate at Carherine Hill Bay that I designed a couple of years ago. Looking good. The owners have been doing a great job at maintaining it.

10.01.2022 We're back into the swing of things after 2.5 years concentrating on landscape design. Here we are replacing an old timber wall with a new steel post and concrete sleeper one. Don't panic, we have protected the house with plastic. #RockSolidLandscapes... #Landscaping #RetainingWalls #ConcreteSleepers See more

10.01.2022 I have been slowly working on some displays at the yard to make it more of a design ideas centre. I have completed some panels to show off some stunning concrete cladding from Maison Design in SA. They have been sitting wrapped in plastic during all the rain we have been having. Today was a good day to get them out and drying. I will be building these displays over the next few weeks in between the design work. Look out for some more popping up over the next few months. I wi...ll have some Millboard, Stoneset and Bamboo engineered screens. #maisondesign #millboard #stoneset #landscapedesign #bamboo #landscaping #gardendesign #screening See more

10.01.2022 One of my current designs on a steep, long block on the Lake.

10.01.2022 I fell in love with Standard Japanese Maples when I was doing my Diplome In Horticulture at Ryde TAFE back in the early 1980's. I purchased this Maple back then. It followed me around in a pot from Sydney to Wollongong and finally to Lake Macquarie. When we moved into our current house I decided this was our last move and planted it in the front yard, where it has thrived for the last 18 years. This is the best time of year. The leaf buds are just starting to open. Pretty soon it will be greeting me with a full head of fresh new leaves when I come home from work.

10.01.2022 Just a couple more.

09.01.2022 A well planned garden can have colour all year round. Lots of colour can be achieved with the use of annual and perennial plants. Even some varieties of bulbs can be grown in the Hunter region.

09.01.2022 Plant of the month Osmanthus fragrans or sweet Osmanthus. Not the best for our warm climate. HOWEVER, if you can get it to grow it will reward you with these tiny but beautifully fragrant flowers. Think of a cross between peach and apricot.

08.01.2022 Catherine Hill Bay project nearing completion. The client loves sandstone and Cowra Gold pebbles. We opted for a lighter sandstone to contrast against the gold of the pebble. The pebble has been bound using Pour On.

08.01.2022 This must be siting on something solid??

08.01.2022 PLEASE NOTE: we are changing web hosts and our emails are down for an indefinite period. Please address all correspondence to [email protected]

07.01.2022 Watch this space

06.01.2022 From this to this. Give Rock Solid Landscapes a call if you have a project that others baulk at. We even did it with the fence up!

05.01.2022 A forgotten art is wet bedding stone and tiles onto a wet sand/cement bed. We chose to do this here as the concrete plant sent us concrete that had concrete from the previous batch in it. Consequently it went off before I could get a decent finish to it. Won't be using them again!! Luckily we had room to raise the finished level up a little to accommodate the thicker bed. The method I use is to wet the concrete then dust over neat cement and broom it around to make a slurry.... I then screed a 4/1 sand/cement bed 10-20mm thick. It has to be just wet enough to make a ball when you squeeze it. Next step is to dust it with neat cement. The sandstone is tapped into this bed to ensure a full surface connection. Light, quick taps with a rubber mallet. You can tell it has stuck when you see some moisture appear at the edges of the stone or tile. A wooden float also makes a good tool to tape them in. Especially when tapping in smaller pieces or tiles. You know they are stock if you cannot pick them up easily. Job done. See more

04.01.2022 Worth The wait!

04.01.2022 Autumn is coming. Every year like clock work, our Autumn Crocus bursts into flour. Great border plants.

04.01.2022 The sound of running water and the reflection of light will help create a peaceful zone in the garden.

03.01.2022 Spent the day in Sydney and surrounds looking for plants that are not your ordinary everyday garden variety. Sorry bad dad joke :-) When I design a garden, I want to be able to offer the client something different. Sometimes you might have a plant on a plan, then you see a plant in your travels and you think to yourself "That would be so much better". Constantly researching and searching is the key to a good garden design.

02.01.2022 After over 35 years as a landscape contractor. I am changing direction. I now offer Landscape Design and Project Management services. Please visit www.rocksolidlandscappes.com.au for more details.

01.01.2022 Back in the day, my first landscaping business was Heritage Landscaping. This was before moving from Wollongong to Newcastle. I recently drive through Helensburgh to see if the streetscaping I did in 1993 for Wollongong City Council was still there. Sure enough it was, along with a sign I had fixed to one if the seats 27 years ago.