LANDSCAPE DESIGN: HAWKESBURY

What Do I need for a D.A. in the Hawkesbury?

The rules that inform the development of the are you live in is called a DCP, or Developmental Control Plan. The DCP for the Hawkesbury requires that a Landscape Plan comes with:

• A Site Survey conducted by a professional surveyor indicating site contours, slope, and site features such as buildings and existing trees.

• A detailed Site Assessment Plan indicating the features of your site such as sun path, wind exposure, good and bad views, the presence of priority weeds that need to be removed and sources of noise such as a highway for example. If your builder or architect has provided a Site Assessment plan that is usually sufficient but New Terrain can provide one for you if needed.

• A Landscape Plan scaled at 1:100 or 1:200 on A3 paper showing hardscape and softscape features including existing trees and proposed plants and trees

• A Plant Schedule listing all of the proposed plants including: quantities, typical heights and widths of the plants at a mature size (or at 10 years old for trees), their Latin/scientific names, common names and the pot size they’re to be ordered in.

• Knowing your BAL or Fire Rating can have a big impact on what kind of plants you can plant, how many plants and trees you will be able to plant and even how close to your home they can be planted if you have to maintain an Asset Protection Zone or APZ in areas more prone to fire risk. New Terrain’s familiarity with Bushfire Planting Requirements and Guidelines can help you with the garden design and plant selection process.

Knowing the Living Zone that you live in such as R1 Residential Zone, C4 Living Conservation Zone, etc. can make a huge difference in the types of plants and amounts of plants you will need to have in your landscape plan to fulfil the Council’s basic requirements. New Terrain’s knowledge of the Living Zones, garden styles and plant selections in the Blue Mountains can help you get your landscape concept approved.

Contact us to see how we can help you.

Challenges to Landscapes and Gardens in the Hawkesbury

Due to its proximity to the Nepean River, the Grose River, the Hawkesbury River and a large number of tributaries, streams and ponds, the region tends to have a high water table and is prone to flooding on wet years. This also means that the soils in the Hawkesbury can be very heavy clay/silt-based soils. What does this mean for you? Clay soils don’t drain well and can be difficult for plants to get established because their roots have to break through the tough clay. Some exotic and native plants hate having wet feet- meaning their roots need free draining soil. It also means that clay and silt-based soils have the potential to be very rich soils that can be great for growing plants if they are treated in the right way. New Terrain can look at the challenges of your site and provide not only solutions to which plants will thrive in heavy soils and frosts but offer solutions to improving soil drainage.

Working with Native and Exotic Plants

There’s a huge variety of native and exotic plants that are available for landscape designs and knowing which ones will suit the Hawkesbury region is what New Terrain Landscape Design does best. Many of the plant nurseries in the Sydney region specialise in growing and selling plants more suited to the hotter and more humid climate of Sydney and some plants aren’t able to cope with the clay soils and occasional winter frosts of the Hawkesbury.

Australian native plants are always and excellent option when considering a landscape plan. When the right plant is selected for the right spot, natives can help sustain native wildlife and pollinators and can be much hardier than their exotic counterparts. Many planting schemes in the Hawkesbury feature gardens that seamlessly blend native and exotic plants into the landscape.

Contact us to see how we can help you.