You didn't happen to ask whether she minded having them posted on this forum?
No I didn't.... and I wouldn't be comfortable doing so. But I will PM you.
Browse Forums Landscape & Garden Design Re: All Australian Native garden - anyone attempted it? 82Nov 02, 2008 10:26 am Fu Manchu DeeElle FM thats simply gorgeous. You did a great job. How ever did you manage the tire tracks .. with a rake oh and on a serious note, that is a fantastic selection of plants on that list. again a few WA natives Thanks Fu, before speaking with Greenmark landscapes we had never thought about a native garden, but once they showed us the plants on the list we were converted. Very happy with their choice! Re: All Australian Native garden - anyone attempted it? 83Nov 02, 2008 10:37 am joles I went up to our block and saw the most amazing garden while driving around the estate. Luckily the lady was out the front, I stopped and chatted with Nancy and she kindly let me take some photos. Her front garden is one of the best water wise gardens I've seen with a beautiful dry creekbed. I'm assuming it's native.... but I know nothing about plants. Shrek, you're garden is also right up there in the best I've seen.... the water scares me with kids though , but just looking at both Shrek's and Nancy's gardens I can see my DS looking for bugs and spiders and lizards and maybe even snakes .... what a fantastic image that is.... much better than one of DS on the couch playing PS3. I'm sure that's part of Mike's motivation as well.... a visually stunning space, but also a wonderland for the kids. Jo Hi Joles, thank-you for your kind words! The billabong is full of tadpoles, water snails etc and a frog has recently moved in and starts croaking right on dusk every night! The birds love having baths in it also! Our grandchildren (5 and 3yo) love looking at the wildlife and sitting on the edge of the deck with their feet in the water. They don't go out the back unless we are out there with them, I hear what you say though! The great thing is that we have two sets of bi-fold doors and large windows that we can see the whole garden through so we can enjoy it when we are inside. Thanks again, Shrek Re: All Australian Native garden - anyone attempted it? 84Nov 02, 2008 10:45 am shreksm Hi Joles, thank-you for your kind words! The billabong is full of tadpoles, water snails etc and a frog has recently moved in and starts croaking right on dusk every night! The birds love having baths in it also! Our grandchildren (5 and 3yo) love looking at the wildlife and sitting on the edge of the deck with their feet in the water. They don't go out the back unless we are out there with them, I hear what you say though! The great thing is that we have two sets of bi-fold doors and large windows that we can see the whole garden through so we can enjoy it when we are inside. Thanks again, Shrek Sounds absolutely idyllic shrek. Well done, it's a beautiful garden. Re: All Australian Native garden - anyone attempted it? 85Nov 02, 2008 11:00 am shrek your garden is an inspiration!
tyvm for posting the pictures. I showed my partner yesterday and we fell in love with the design. I think we might try and replicate some of your ideas (hope you don't mind). We live near a large reserve so hopefully the snakes don't come over for a visit, but I certainly wouldn't mind a tadpole, frog or yabbie or two. How beautiful .. you are very lucky. Do you need to intervene to keep the billabong clean or does it take care of itself? Re: All Australian Native garden - anyone attempted it? 86Nov 02, 2008 11:37 am donuts shreksm Hi Joles, thank-you for your kind words! The billabong is full of tadpoles, water snails etc and a frog has recently moved in and starts croaking right on dusk every night! The birds love having baths in it also! Our grandchildren (5 and 3yo) love looking at the wildlife and sitting on the edge of the deck with their feet in the water. They don't go out the back unless we are out there with them, I hear what you say though! The great thing is that we have two sets of bi-fold doors and large windows that we can see the whole garden through so we can enjoy it when we are inside. Thanks again, Shrek Sounds absolutely idyllic shrek. Well done, it's a beautiful garden. Thanks donuts, we love it! Re: All Australian Native garden - anyone attempted it? 87Nov 02, 2008 11:53 am DeeElle shrek your garden is an inspiration! tyvm for posting the pictures. I showed my partner yesterday and we fell in love with the design. I think we might try and replicate some of your ideas (hope you don't mind). We live near a large reserve so hopefully the snakes don't come over for a visit, but I certainly wouldn't mind a tadpole, frog or yabbie or two. How beautiful .. you are very lucky. Do you need to intervene to keep the billabong clean or does it take care of itself? Thanks DeeElle, don't mind at all, use as many ideas as you like! If you haven't done so already, check out our landscaper's site, greenmarklandscapes.com.au for more ideas on a larger scale. Phil has some wonderful gardens in there he has created. The great thing about them is they are designed and built to promote native eco-systems to attract native wildlife. We haven't added fish or anything, the frogs just made there way in and before we knew it we had heaps of tadpoles. As the garden and plants grow around the billabong, it provided more cover and shelter for the frogs etc and more will come. The small amount of mosquito larvae initially was eaten by the tadpoles. The waterfall is a must to keep the water moving as mosquitos don't like moving water when laying. The waterfall also provides oxygen to the water to help keep it clean. We run our waterfall for approximately 2 to 3 hours every second day. Sometimes we get a little bit of algae, but we just scoop it out with a rake. Once the billabong and its plants are fully developed, the eco-system with take care of itself. In the short time we have had it, it has brought us so much enjoyment and I hope that it can help others like yourself to create something you can enjoy for years. Thanks again for your kind wishes, Shrek Re: All Australian Native garden - anyone attempted it? 88Nov 02, 2008 12:05 pm Good to know how you are managing the system. Your post has given us some very good ideas .. we are pretty keen to support the natural eco system. Our area was previously wetlands (there are still lots of creeks and waterways that the developers are using for water recycling and water management) so we think this style will fit right in. In fact we have an existing creek on the other side of our back fence .
Thanks again Shrek. Re: All Australian Native garden - anyone attempted it? 89Nov 02, 2008 10:04 pm I bought the December Better Homes & Gardens today for the DIY dry creek section. The pics in there are s bit un-inspiring after seeing Shrek's garden though I may still give it a go though ... Re: All Australian Native garden - anyone attempted it? 90Nov 02, 2008 11:14 pm donuts I bought the December Better Homes & Gardens today for the DIY dry creek section. The pics in there are s bit un-inspiring after seeing Shrek's garden though I may still give it a go though ... I agree donuts. We bought it as well and thought the design was a bit tired. Oh well at least it gives you an idea of rock sizes . Re: All Australian Native garden - anyone attempted it? 91Nov 04, 2008 12:33 pm DeeElle donuts I bought the December Better Homes & Gardens today for the DIY dry creek section. The pics in there are s bit un-inspiring after seeing Shrek's garden though I may still give it a go though ... I agree donuts. We bought it as well and thought the design was a bit tired. Oh well at least it gives you an idea of rock sizes . Hope it wasn't the only reason you bought the mag I feel bad for talking it up now... ...I got a bit more out of the words...was interested in the steps and dimension than the piccies...I picked up a couple of cheap magazines on my last country trip which had a dry bed pics in it...I'll scan (shhh!) and post when I get to a scanner. I think the rock sizes are critical for getting it right...went to the local landscape supplier yesterday and I reckon I'll need to use 20-50 mm ungraded pebbles and 50-150 mm ungraded pebbles to get the "look" right...plus some bigger yonnies scattered through the design. mmm....donuts Homer Simpson 1956- Links: Site Costs Ready Reckoner | H1 Addiction Medical Advice | Château TDL: The Backyard Re: All Australian Native garden - anyone attempted it? 92Nov 04, 2008 12:52 pm Congrats to shreksm for a great vision in turning that area into a native garden. A few years growth, a gum tree or two and it would start looking a lot like a little pond in the bush where I used to spend hours as a kid.
But I must say, in the most delicate and respectful manner I can, it still looks spiky, spindly, and scrubby. And that's how every native garden I've seen has ended up. This is not being critical or negative, just a personal observation on what you end up with by using natives. Do the hard jobs first. The easy jobs will take care of themselves. - Dale Carnegie Re: All Australian Native garden - anyone attempted it? 93Nov 04, 2008 3:55 pm Cabinfever Congrats to shreksm for a great vision in turning that area into a native garden. A few years growth, a gum tree or two and it would start looking a lot like a little pond in the bush where I used to spend hours as a kid. But I must say, in the most delicate and respectful manner I can, it still looks spiky, spindly, and scrubby. And that's how every native garden I've seen has ended up. I used to think the same but have seen some well established, pruned and well thought out mass planted natives that look good. I also used to think that the Australian landscape was depressing but have changed my mind and am starting to appreciate the harsh beauty of the native garden. Re: All Australian Native garden - anyone attempted it? 94Nov 04, 2008 6:17 pm to_do_list Hope it wasn't the only reason you bought the mag I feel bad for talking it up now... ...I got a bit more out of the words...was interested in the steps and dimension than the piccies...I picked up a couple of cheap magazines on my last country trip which had a dry bed pics in it...I'll scan (shhh!) and post when I get to a scanner. Don't feel bad Mike, I had a flick thru before I bought it so I knew what I was getting! Would love to see those pics when you can (scan)... Will still have a go at it when I get around to it, looks like a good challenge for a non-gardeny type like me who has no real idea but keen to learn... Re: All Australian Native garden - anyone attempted it? 95Nov 08, 2008 4:22 pm Hi all.
Shreksm - thanks for posting all those awesome pics. It looks fabulous. to Cabinfever - isn't it part of the all Aussie natives garden to be spikey and spindly? Hopefully in a few months I may be able to inspire you that they can look a bit fuller? We are planning to keep ours well groomed and a bit more mass planted wtih (probably) less of the grasses throughout and just used as borders. I am VERY excited for April to come around. The local nursery suggeted waiting until then as it was a bit cooler and some of the saplings would suffer through the summer heat.. So I am trying to be patient.. but.. it's not working! Oh well, gives us a chance to build our fence first I guess.. Re: All Australian Native garden - anyone attempted it? 96Nov 11, 2008 2:21 am This is very interesting and seeing the pics I think some of you will know the answer to my question. Some time ago, an experienced landscaper (whose contact details I've since lost) told me about a good practical book called something like "Grow what where" or "what plant where". Google search came up with books with both these titles but can someone tell me which is the good book. Or if you know of any other simple guide books on this topic I'd appreciate it. Re: All Australian Native garden - anyone attempted it? 98Nov 11, 2008 11:58 pm jamiet I have Grow What Where. I don't have the other book but Grow What Where is pretty good. Thanks jamiet, Can I confirm this is the same book that you have? It seems like a good reference book for native plants. Grow What Where, 3rd Edition (edit) By Natalie Peate, Gwenda Macdonald, Alice Talbot 400 pages Publisher: Bloomings Books 2006 Paperback - ISBN: 187647355X - AU $49.95 Re: All Australian Native garden - anyone attempted it? 99Nov 12, 2008 9:42 am Hi thlo,
I have that book, haven't used it much yet, but it seems really good. I like the way the chapters are set out...It also came with a CD rom, which I also haven't used yet...have to build our house first 'chelle We have a hand-over date...15/10...but I won't hold my breath! http://people-in-glass-houses.blogspot.com/ Fig Landscapes has produced an e-book and native plant index, available for purchase from their website. It's a great resource, full of inspiration and tips. Another… 1 12798 A question. Im in Queensland and building a new home. We managed to reach practical completion 6 weeks ago but we haven't heard any date for handover yet. Who should we… 0 6277 This is one of the reasons I decided to go overseas for my double glazed windows. As the builder indicated, he's worked on many upmarket builds, these were the most well… 13 20304 |