Help - No idea about garden, plants, trees etc.

Hello,

I am totally new to the whole landscaping, gardening thing and as we will be doing this ourselves very soon i am trying to figure a couple of things out.

We have been offered over half a dozen trees by my parents for the garden of our house.

We have a small backyard and a small front yard.

I have bought a couple of magazines and have been looking around to find ideas of what i like and so far i have a list of flowers and trees i like.

I realise some trees will be too big and i am hoping someone will be able to shed some light on this for me.

My parents have offered us the following trees if we want them, they are in pots and most are a few years old. Oak tree, Carob tree, Silver Birch, Nectarine tree, Apricot tree, Plum tree and a few others i dont know the name of.. we are thinking it would be nice to put the carob tree at the front of house but dont know if this is good idea or not.

As for the back i have very few ideas of what to do.
I like the modern yukka look but i dont want it in my garden. I love the look of lots of flowers and natural looking gardens.

This is my list of flowers i would love to plant.

iris
tulip
roses
violets
petunia
grape hyacinth
celosias

It may be obvious i have no idea what is possible and what is not... I love the look of full garden beds and i would love to cover underneath of trees with flowers and shrubs... something like this



sorry for loooooong post.. anyone who could help would be appreciated

well unless you are on acres you don't want an oak tree. the largest ( not the oldest) oak tree in Australia is in the main street of the town where I live. It's massive.

I guess where you are located will have some bearing on what you can and can't plant. I say this because many bulbs are also weed problems in some areas and not others

We are in Lyndhurst, Victoria.

I kind of assumed the Oak was out, my dad showed me what one did to the house next doors fence.. not pretty They have beautiful leaves though.. what about a carob tree? Would it be risky to plant one of those?
Other than that does anyone have any advices of the planting of flowers underneath fruit trees or maples or other not quite so large trees..?

Chinese tallow, Manchurian pear, Forrest pansy (Cercis canadensis) , Claret Ash, Apricot trees, Other stone fruit trees,
They'd all give a nice feel to the garden Not too big either.

If you can find a carob tree why not have a go at growing it

Oh great, my Dad grew 2 from seeds. It is now about 1.5m. I was worried to put it in the front as im not sure how big carob trees get?

Do you have tank or grey water availble for the garden? If not, you'll struggle to keep that type of garden looking good with the current water restrictions ....I know, I used to have one like it.

Good soil preparation, deep mulching and careful plant selection will help. Many roses are suprisingly hardy, so those should do fine. Petunias don't mind it a bit hot and dry either. Have a talk to your local nursery and see what other plants they can recommend that will suit your look and survive the drought.

Thinking back to some of the survivors I had, there were penstemons, heliotrope, roses of course, gardenias in morning sun positions, agapanthus, foxgloves, convolvulus, a wonga vine....

Hence why I posted the link to waterwise cottage plant selections list
Have a look also at this pdf which was written by one of WA's most respected Horts.
http://www.zanthorrea.com/info/Australi ... Garden.pdf
The look you are after is achievable and this shows how you can do it in todays conditions.

I recall years ago, a garden near Esperance which was a cottage garden, built from out of a barren paddock. It was done sustainably and that was because they had to. Absolutely incredible cottage garden. It is an area of Australia that is very hostile for plants and goes way past what regular urban gardens ever put up with. Out near Lucky Bay and Hellfire Bay in the Cape Le' Grand National Park. "Hellfire Gallery and tearoom" or something like that. Worth a look if anyone is ever out that way.

You're a font of knowledge, Fu..... Just trying to help with some local experience.

I have some photos somewhere...

thanks for the advice, one up side is that our garden is TINY