Landscaping

I am going to attempt to get this part of my garden landscaped myself despite never have done landscaping or gardening before. Gulp.

I have a bit of a plan in my head on what I’d like to achieve but before I dive in I thought it wont hurt to share it here in case I’m making any big mistakes. Best find out now while planning rather than too late!

I’ve attached a pic of the area I’m going to be doing. It’s the are running between the fence and house starting from where the paving ends. It’s an area that will be looked at end enjoyed from the paving area but it also has access to the side gate at the end so it has to be kinda functional as well and allow access. Although we very rarely use this gate.

I’m thinking of running some clumping bamboo along that fence. And I’d like to run some spaced out pavers down the whole space with a mixture of gravel and some floor plants in between them. Along the sides I’d like some low plants and I’m hoping for some citrus trees in pots.

So my main concern now is am I making a mistake in choosing clumping bamboo? Would I need to install a barrier to stop it going beyond the fence? Then what do I do with this sand, do I need to dig it up and condition it with soil improver and make a bed where I want to plant my bamboo? Do i need to raise the level a bit first?

Feel free to chip in with any other advice for this space. The long side is north and the way the camera is facing is west. This is in Perth.

First of all that's a beautiful fence! Is it timber?

In my opinion bamboo is not the right plant for this setting because it visually doesn't suit the house and fence style. It will look too "twiggy". I would suggest a more leafy looking plant such as Viburnum or Gardenia. Viburnums grow very well in Perth and are used in a lot of display homes for quick coverage and nice foliage.

Secondly gravel around pavers is not a good idea. The gravel gets weeds and traps plant debris making it look dirty. The stones get loose and need to be frequently swept off the stepping stones. Plus you won't be able to wheel a wheelbarrow along them.

I like your second idea of stepping stones with plants around them. You could get some large bluestone natural shaped stepping stones and leave small gaps for plants to grow through.

Thanks for this reply Amile, it's really useful.

Firstly the fence is actually PVC. You'd never think unless you got up close. Apparently its very popular in the US but people are starting to use it here, especially on Hamptons style houses. We get so many compliments about it. Just need to make it look even better with some green in front of it now!

I'm going to look into the two species you mention now and look at some pics. I take your point about the twiggy look of bamboo.

That's funny you put a pic up of bluestone as that exactly what I had in mind. And with the tips you mention about stones I think I'm decided now on pavers with green between them now. I've been looking at Creeping Boobialla and also Dichondra Repens here. I put a pic of each up to show these. I think the Dichondra looks better and would be more practical as its kind of flatter. I think I'd need to install drip retic for this though but this doesn't put me off but I just need to know what to do.

Creeping Boobialla:




Dichondra Repens:

And two plants I'd like to look into to add along the side are in pictures below. I've seen these around but have no idea what they are. Would anyone have any idea on the species? Maybe not the exact ones pictures but similar possibly?

I'm looking for the purple long ones here.




And these fury things.

The purple flowers in the photo look to me like Salvias.

You could also consider lavender as a waterwise alternative. There are so many beautiful new varieties around now.

If you like purple flowers you could consider Scaevolas as a ground cover. These are a WA native plant and are also waterwise.

Hi matt1927,
I have “these fury things” purple fountain grass I have the Dwarf variety & it still is a big plant. So you would plant it on it’s own & maybe have a small plant between them. I have to cut it back regularly, but it is a stunning plant.

Oh wow. Look how big the furry things go! They look amazing this big. Think I need to plan this a bit then as I didnt know they got that big.

Things are getting a bit clearer in my head now.

I'm also wondering what these long stem ones are as I was thinking these may look good running down one side for a bit in front of some bigger plants behind them.

So on to my order of doing things. I'm thinking I will firstly start with my pavers and then place my big planters which will be home for the two citrus trees. Once these are all placed I was thinking I would then look to condition the sand that is left exposed to make it fertile. This in itself is another question which I will come on to seperatly I think. Once I have the sand fertile I would then install my drip retic. Then I would be ready to plant. So to sumarise:

Place pavers
Place planters
Fertilise sand
Install retic
Get planting

Does this sound like the right order to do things?

Also, do I need to raise the sand level before placing my pavers and planters? Or do I literally just plonk them straight on to the sand? You can see the down pipe drains are sitting high up and there is a gap under the fence at the moment. I'm wondering if I need to get a load more sand in and raise the level before starting anything here.

This is the website I got my Dwarf Purple Fountain Grass & they have the long stem ones called “Lily of the Nile, Africa Lily” they I’m not sure what state you live but the do ship to most of the capital cities. They are small plants 400mm pots but grow quickly & are really cheap so in the right conditions & tlc they will thrive. I planted mine in December 5 months ago.

https://plantsale.com.au/shop/

The plant you're looking at is Agapanthus. They also grow well in WA as they have tuberous roots that hold moisture through dry spells.

That’s it. Thanks a lot. Just read and it sounds ideal for what I want.

Think I’m clear on what I want to do now. So next steps is finding out how! I’ll keep updating on this thread.

We are also thinking of doing some DIY landscaping so will be definitely following this thread. Good luck!

Send us a link if you start a thread please.

I’ve finally sourced some bluestone natural pavers although another 4 weeks until delivery. I’m going to get these down and the big pots as my first step so I’ll start putting some pictures up once I get there.

Matt can I ask how wide the space is between your house and fence?

Our house plan is set to fill the block (with 3m rear and 5m front setbacks), leaving us with a ‘side yard’ space I’m trying to visualise .

A quick check of the plans tell me it’s 2.7m.

Awesome, thanks!

We would like to see the finished result please?