Browse Forums Landscape & Garden Design Re: Help needed for my screening plants - PLEASE! 3Feb 11, 2010 4:09 pm Hi Shreksm! I am absolutely NO help on answering your question - but just wanted to say thanks for sharing your photos. We've actually used your garden as an inspiration for our landscaping - though it's highly doubtful we'll achieve something as nice as this! What a lovely surprise to log on today and see how great it looks 2 years on from your original thread. Are you happy with the other plants you have in there? Is there anything that is a particular favourite, or any that you would rather not have? I'd also love to know how your creek is going and how you are finding the maintenance of it. Any other tips for achieving and maintaining the look? Thanks! Re: Help needed for my screening plants - PLEASE! 4Feb 11, 2010 4:36 pm Maybe Fu can shed some light on what's up with the stunted plants... Like Jellylegs, I just wanted to say WOW - love your garden!! Re: Help needed for my screening plants - PLEASE! 5Feb 11, 2010 4:53 pm I've got the acmena smithii lilly pilly and they have been in about 18 months. Same sort of growth, but are now are taking off. Tip pruning or clipping will make them bush up quicker definately. No chance they got fried in last years heat wave? Mine got knocked around hard and two are actually back to the size they were planted. Your garden looks fantasic too! Re: Help needed for my screening plants - PLEASE! 6Feb 11, 2010 5:11 pm JellyLegs Hi Shreksm! I am absolutely NO help on answering your question - but just wanted to say thanks for sharing your photos. We've actually used your garden as an inspiration for our landscaping - though it's highly doubtful we'll achieve something as nice as this! What a lovely surprise to log on today and see how great it looks 2 years on from your original thread. Are you happy with the other plants you have in there? Is there anything that is a particular favourite, or any that you would rather not have? I'd also love to know how your creek is going and how you are finding the maintenance of it. Any other tips for achieving and maintaining the look? Thanks! Thanks Jellylegs, glad that our garden can be an inspiration to you! Overall, we are very happy with the plants selected, we have taken out a few that we didn't like the look of and were just growing too big for the area that we have. Most that were planted 2.5 years ago were tubes so, until they grew where they were placed we didn't know what they would look like. I really like the 'foxtails' (Naffray - I think) we have throughout the front and backyards, but overall, all of the plants fit in well together. I actually really like the 'bush mulch' and rocks that we have used, I really like them as features throughout the garden. The billabong is coming along great. Over winter we had a bit of a problem with excessive algae, however I kept picking it out and since summer started it hasn't been a problem. The plants surrounding the billabong have really grown and they help in shading it from the sunlight, reducing the algae. We have also added 4 little Murray Rainbowfish who are getting along very well with the 100 or so tadpoles we have. We didn't have frogs for some time, however, in the past two weeks we have heard them croaking at night, amongst the bushes. Maintenance wise, all I really do is cut off the dead fronds of the plants etc and that is about it. The mulch is quite thick (about 10cm) so I hardly ever water, only during long period without rain. I give the plants some seasol about twice a year, I don't know if this is enough, but the plants seem to be doing well. The landscaper would like me to plant more plants, however, I like to be able to see some sections of mulch as a contrast. I am open to suggestions that anyone here might have! I will post some more pics, Regards Shrek Re: Help needed for my screening plants - PLEASE! 7Feb 11, 2010 5:13 pm kek Maybe Fu can shed some light on what's up with the stunted plants... Like Jellylegs, I just wanted to say WOW - love your garden!! Thanks Kek, here's hoping the Guru can help me out! Thank you for your kind words! Shrek Re: Help needed for my screening plants - PLEASE! 8Feb 11, 2010 5:17 pm BeatrixKiddo I've got the acmena smithii lilly pilly and they have been in about 18 months. Same sort of growth, but are now are taking off. Tip pruning or clipping will make them bush up quicker definately. No chance they got fried in last years heat wave? Mine got knocked around hard and two are actually back to the size they were planted. Your garden looks fantasic too! Thanks Bea, I think you are right. The funny thing was that the bushy ones along the neighbours fence got quite burnt last year in the 40 degree days so I cut off all of the dead leaves and since then they have bushed up and grown great. The other ones didn't get burnt at all as they get more shade from the gums - go figure!!! Thanks for your kind words too! Shrek Re: Help needed for my screening plants - PLEASE! 9Feb 11, 2010 7:17 pm Yeah I think trimming them from the burning is what made the others bush up. I found the same thing happened with mine. Trim the others in autumn when the heat drops and give them a slow release feed like dynamic lifter or blood & bone, seasol and a good drink. Probably only have to it a couple of times for an informal screen. Re: Help needed for my screening plants - PLEASE! 10Feb 11, 2010 7:28 pm BeatrixKiddo Yeah I think trimming them from the burning is what made the others bush up. I found the same thing happened with mine. Trim the others in autumn when the heat drops and give them a slow release feed like dynamic lifter or blood & bone, seasol and a good drink. Probably only have to it a couple of times for an informal screen. Thanks, will give it a try! Re: Help needed for my screening plants - PLEASE! 11Feb 11, 2010 7:36 pm A very lovely garden Shrek. Love your choice of plants. Re: Help needed for my screening plants - PLEASE! 13Feb 11, 2010 7:56 pm Wow, what a gorgeous garden - especially seeing as it is still young! Looks quite mature Second Time 'Round Re: Help needed for my screening plants - PLEASE! 14Feb 11, 2010 8:19 pm First_Timer_Ray Wow, what a gorgeous garden - especially seeing as it is still young! Looks quite mature Thanks Ray, many of the natives grow really fast! Just wish my lilly pillys would do the same! Re: Help needed for my screening plants - PLEASE! 15Feb 11, 2010 10:08 pm Mate, hat off to the landscaper who did this A very high standard of design and knowledge. Even some of our excellent WA plants please post his details up if you can because this is to be commended If only you guys could understand the difference to our cities if there were more gardens like this. It would be a significant change in city temps, fauna, water use. It must be pretty nice to sit there and have a cuppa in the morning or a nice cold beer in summer Re: Help needed for my screening plants - PLEASE! 16Feb 11, 2010 10:23 pm A little off topic, Melb folk with kiddies (or not) check out wombat park in templestowe where a couple of acres of native gardens have been designed very simlar to shrek's stunning garden. All the play equipment etc is implemented to be part of the natural landscape. Worth the trip. Re: Help needed for my screening plants - PLEASE! 17Feb 11, 2010 10:31 pm Oh yeah The hedge You'll be pushing poo up a hill to get those to grow well. I'd be ripping them out and plating something more befitting anyway. Thomasias, They would be sensational in there as a hedge. Might be able to get them from a WA nursery or call Zanthorrea nursery and see if they'd post them to you. Something different over you way and something that would be excellent in that position http://www.zanthorrea.com/ Westringea "Smokie" would be a cracker in there. Nice and dense with less hassle. It is a fruticosa and so if smokie isn't available another fruiticosa would be fine. If you can, try get a Verticordia nitens or Verticordia chrysantha in that garden somewhere It will knock your socks off with summer colour! I mean knock your socks off. i know they'd grow well in that garden. There are a few non native species in there so a few Leucodendrons or Leucospermums would be nice as a hedge/ screen Much better than lily pillys Pretty sure you guys get a heap of our Gero waxes (Chamelauciums) over there now days and they would be a highly recommended option for a fast growing hedge. Many Grevillea species would do a nice show for a hedge in their and create a bit more habitat too Oh! Take a look at growing the amazing Acacia cognata. Not the hybrid forms but the plain one. Sensational Those options will make the people with the lily pillys down the road want one of those selections you have instead If you get stuck finding them over east email http://www.zanthorrea.com/contact.php Alec or Jackie can then help you out Re: Help needed for my screening plants - PLEASE! 18Feb 11, 2010 10:36 pm Thanks Fu, your comments are much appreciated. The landscaper is Phillip Johnson and his company is http://www.phillipjohnson.com.au His work is awesome and we couldn't be happier with what he has done. He is all about creating sustainable landscaping environments - that's exactly what we were looking for, creating a native environment that would attract wildlife and be low maintenance. It's not everyones cup of tea, but we love it. We spend so much time out on the deck.
Shrek Re: Help needed for my screening plants - PLEASE! 19Feb 11, 2010 10:43 pm Fu Manchu Oh yeah The hedge You'll be pushing poo up a hill to get those to grow well. I'd be ripping them out and plating something more befitting anyway. Thomasias, They would be sensational in there as a hedge. Might be able to get them from a WA nursery or call Zanthorrea nursery and see if they'd post them to you. Something different over you way and something that would be excellent in that position http://www.zanthorrea.com/ Westringia "smokie" would be a cracker in there. Nice and dense with less hassle. It is a fruticosa and so if Smokie isn't available another fruiticosa would be fine. If you can, try get a Verticordia nitens or Verticordia chrysantha in that garden somewhere It will knock your socks off with summer colour! I mean knock your socks off. i know they'd grow well in that garden. There are a few non native species in there so a few Leucodendrons or Leucospermums would be nice as a hedge/ screen Much better than lily pillys Pretty sure you guys get a heap of our Gero waxes (Chamelauciums) over there now days and they would be a highly recommended option for a fast growing hedge. Many Grevillea species would do a nice show for a hedge in their and create a bit more habitat too Oh! Take a look at growing the amazing Acacia cognata. Not the hybrid forms but the plain one. Sensational Those options will make the people with the lily pillys down the road want one of those selections you have instead If you get stuck finding them over east email http://www.zanthorrea.com/contact.php Alec or Jackie can then help you out Thanks for the advice FU, I sort of thought that taking 2.5 years to grow so little then they weren't probably suited. I will look in to what you have suggested and give it a try. Shrek Re: Help needed for my screening plants - PLEASE! 20Feb 11, 2010 11:13 pm I bet they'd love to see the garden too Murraya could be a great option for you. It creates a great tall screening hedge but doesn't drop fruit like lily pilly. The flowers smell divine. 2 10836 i had the my concreters concrete right up to the fence. I have pits all along my path, so the water tends to drain away from the house and into the pits. There's only one… 7 13440 All 3 items listed are defects and are of concern. Please seek qualified independent inspector and/or legal advice for your state. 1 8495 |