THE BLANK SLATE GARDEN

A PRACTICAL GUIDE TO STARTING A PERTH GARDEN FROM NOTHING

A$19 - instant pdf download

You've got a blank block. Maybe it's builder's rubble and dead couch grass. Maybe it's just… nothing.

Every time you walk outside and look at it, you feel a mixture of excitement and complete paralysis.

You know it could be wonderful, if only you knew where to start.

This guide is the where-to-start.

“Designing a garden doesn’t have to be intense or overwhelming. It really can look like wandering quietly around the space, listening to the birds, and daydreaming a little”

why is starting a garden so damn hard??

Starting a garden from scratch looks simple from the outside - you plant things, they grow…but it gets surprisingly complicated once you're standing in your empty yard trying to figure out which direction is north and why all the hydrangeas you bought a week ago are already dead.

Where do the beds go?
Should you keep your lawn, rip it up or kill it slowly with black plastic?
Do you need irrigation, or can you get away without it?
What style of garden do you even want?

Most people spend months doing nothing because they don't know where to begin. Meanwhile the dead lawn gets deader and the garden dream slips further away.

The truth is, you don’t have to build a complete garden all at once. You just need to know the right first moves - the ones that have the biggest payoff and that you won’t regret in five years’ time. That’s exactly what this guide is about.

(and in case you’re wondering, here is a photo of my garden now…)

What's inside:

🌿 The ten minute garden plan Designing a garden doesn't have to be intense or overwhelming. I'll show you how to start shaping your garden in a single afternoon (no experience required).

🌿 How to audit your irrigation Perth gardens need water. I'll walk you through what to check, what to upgrade, and what to do if you have no irrigation at all.

🌿 Where to place your beds Why perimeter beds are the foundation of almost every good garden, how deep to make them, and the two mistakes most people make when starting to landscape their gardens.

🌿 How to deal with your lawn How to identify whether you have couch or buffalo grass, why it matters, and the most effective ways to remove each. Also: why you should never, ever use weed mat.

🌿 Edging: the most overlooked design hack The single thing that makes a garden look structured and intentional, and the edging materials that get more beautiful as they age.

🌿 If you're short on time: just plant trees Why trees transform a garden faster and more profoundly than anything else (and my top ten trees for Perth gardens).

🌿 Three ways to shape your layout How to add paths, place beds in obvious spots, and divide your garden into rooms, without needing a landscape designer or a complete plan.

🌿 How to fill your beds Layering plants for structure and lower maintenance, how to avoid a chaotic garden, and why choosing plants that actually want to be in Perth changes everything.

🌿 A note on Perth soil Why wetting agents and liquid fertilisers don't fix sandy soil, and what does. Plus a pointer to my soil guide for those who want to go deeper.

“If this guide achieves only one thing, and that one thing is stopping you from buying weed mat, it will be worth it”

By the time you finish this guide, you'll have a clear plan for your garden.

You'll know where your beds are going, how you're handling your lawn, and what needs to happen first.

That paralysed feeling you get every time you walk outside? poof! gone.

About casey

I'm a Perth gardener, writer and cookbook author who has spent the last ten years turning a sandy, empty patch of dead grass into a flower-filled, bug-filled, slightly wild garden that I love.

I've written a Sunday Times gardening column, published three cookbooks, and run sold-out garden workshops across Perth.

I know this city's soil, its climate and its particular gardening challenges. And I write about all of it without the jargon, without the pressure to be perfect, and without telling you to buy a single thing that won't actually help*

*always fully in support of you buying an excessive number of plants, though ;)