After moving into our new home in time for Christmas 2024 and finalising some house build issues and projects through January 2025, (see previous post) we turned our attention to planning some initial landscaping.

Our goal was to cover the dirt that was around the house with grass, install a few trees and garden plants to soften the yard & add some character to RAce Country Cottage.

There is also a video on my Youtube channel about the landscaping project.

We had earlier planted some larger trees in the front of the house, installed rows of young silver oaks to both sides of the property, & obtained some garden features consisting of two water fountains & an outdoor fire pit & seats. Now we needed to build on this initial setup.

We had discussions with a garden center in Nakhon Phanom about laying sod and planting some trees and shrubbery. After the company visited our site & we sat down & explained our wishes, the communications went cold and we couldn’t get them to engage in our project. So we needed to find another supplier. We made inquiries with a company in Sakon Nakhon , but found the pricing to be excessive. Ace, my partner, then found a company in Roi Et – about 3 hours from our place that was willing to do a site visit & quote on the job.

Long story short, we were happy with their approach, job quotation & installation date. As promised they arrived on time in the middle of February for a 2-day installation with a team of 5 ladies, 2 men, and 2 supervisors. On arrival day they turned up with two trucks packed full of 970 sq meters of Nor Noi grass turf, plants, trees & tools for the job, they had picked up close to Bangkok the night before.

Once the trucks were unloaded with the garden goodies it was down to work to lay the sod & begin the plantings. Prior to their arrival, we had two truckloads of sand delivered and spread to the front & rear of the yard. The company advised they wanted to lay the sod on sand & they would distribute to level and even out the ground. Apparently, this is the practice locally to lay sod on sand as it is easier to work with & the roots make their way through the sand to the dirt below.

When the sand was spread they also distributed bags of enriched soil over the sand to help the grass establish roots. Unfortunately, it seems in Thailand that some of the sod supplied is short of dirt backing the grass making it more challenging to get rooted and survive. The team took two days to complete the laying of the 970 meters of sod around the house to the plan by 5 ladies.

With the sod down & rolled out, it needed significant watering. It was shortly realised that our garden hoses around the house were not up to the task as our 2000 liter water tank could not supply enough continuous water. As it turned out they finished the sod laying on a holiday Wednesday when the Government offices were closed & services not available. We made a number of attempts to source a water supply truck but learned that only the next working day they would be available. This wasn’t going to work for the sod, as it was drying out in the hot, blazing Isaan sun. A trip to the local Fire Dept & some negotiations luckily secured the delivery & distribution of water for the grass. They offered a 6000 liter truck for 500 Thb & we agreed – it took 3 trucks for 1500 Thb to water the lot. We need our own water well.

Besides the grass laying there was a plan to plant some trees & shrubs as well. We planned for garden beds on each corner of the sidewalk around the house. We also had some trees for the front & back yards to install. We kept the trees to a smaller size for ease of planting & for cost control. Plants in Thailand seem to grow well & quickly in the sunny, humid conditions when watered well. We are happy to watch them grow over the years.

The two men on the team were relegated to digging holes in the concrete-like hard dirt around the yard. Keep in mind we hadn’t had rain for about 5 months so the ground was rock hard. With pick axe, shovel & strength they planted the lot – Fox Tail palms along the front near the road, 3 Lum Sum trees to the right front side, a golden champaca in the front yard & 2 others to the rear as well as a variety of shrubs in the garden beds.

During the grass laying & planting a local “water well drilling rig” was passing by the house. We waved the truck down & had a discussion about putting in a well & sorting out a location. It was agreed the team would come back the next morning to put in a well. The cost was quoted at 8000 Thb – this included drilling until water was found, (no depth limit), the well casing – we needed to separately purchase the submersible pump, pipes & fittings – which turned out to cost about another 8000 Thb – Total 16,000 Thb.

The team showed up around 8 am and immediately & unfortunately got their truck bogged due to its weight on newly laid grass & dirt that was apparently too wet underneath. With the aid of a farmers’ tractor they were towed out and found a new way to enter the property from an adjoining banana plantation.

With the rig set up and drilling underway, it took about 3 hours to reach a water supply at 16 meters. They drilled through 2 layers of bedrock as well. Once they found water they pulled the drill out and put down 4 inch pvc pipes as well wall casings & using their own pump brought up nice clean, clear water. We were sent off to purchase a submersible pump and associated materials that the drill team installed and made to work before leaving.

With a 1 inch pipe there is plenty of water and pressure to reach around the yard. We installed 3 separate house fittings around the edge of the property to easily water the gardens.

So with the beginning of the landscaping completed & a good water supply to water the plantings we headed to a local garden center to pick up some further plants & shrubs to add to what was already completed. I am positive that it will be an ongoing initiative to add to the garden with a variety of plants, trees, vegetables & flowers. This garden center is about 20 minutes from our house on the road between That Phanom & Mukdahan. It’s in an area with about 12 plant shops that offer a vast array of garden plants & accessories. We made some selections & asked for them to be delivered due to the volume, that wouldn’t fit in our vehicle. Early that evening they arrived with a stack of items for us to plant.

It’s now a hobby to care for and grow the landscaping of our property. We have a few ideas for a couple of feature areas to create & for possible other plants. There are a number of fruit trees on site & Ace has begun an attempt to grow grapes. A veggie patch, some roses, & other delights are in the works.

So just to recap on where we have gotten to, the pictures below hopefully share the results so far as of yesterday. Of interest, we hadn’t had rain since October 24, but on 3 March 25 an early summer storm arrived with severe winds and lots, & lots of rain. It was great for the grass, that was struggling in the hot Isaan sun.

Other Things Happening

We are awaiting a replacement for our double front entry door. The builder originally installed an aluminum door set that in hindsight was not fit for purpose. It was a double swing door that looked nice but was not fit for purpose and had gaps on top & bottom. It was agreed with our builder that the door would be replaced with a wooden double door that opens inward & with a proper door frame to ensure no gaps. The new door was ordered in late December and is now scheduled to arrive & be installed around the middle of March 2025. Looking forward to that activity & hoping the results are as expected and positive.

Thanks for checking out our recent adventures at RAce Country Cottage.