Browse Forums Landscape & Garden Design 1 Feb 17, 2009 11:56 am Hi all,
I am currently trying to plan our front garden while our house is being built. D@n kindly put together a photoshop of what our front facade will look like which i have shown below. As the facade is quite traditional/classic I am thinking that the front garden needs to be the same. I am drawn to formal gardens but am not interested in a high maintanence garden. I have also attached some of the pictures that I am drawn to so that people can get an idea what I am thinking. I am thinking of having a tree in front of the window next to the garage (near the centre of the house) to break up the roofline and then some sort of low water feature in front of the feature window (the curved window on the left) to draw attention to the window. Our block has a bit of an upward slope (about 20cm) on it so I am also toying with the idea of building up the front of the garden so that it is level and using a retaining wall (I've attached a photo if my terrible explanation doesn't make sense). What I'm wondering is whether my idea's will come together as well as they do in my head and secondly whether the plants that I am thinking of (I'm really interested in the Magnolia little gem) are appropriate for my area. I am in Adelaide so have clay soil and am on a hill which can get windy. In addition, my suburb can get frost in winter but can still get very warm in summer (although not as hot as the plains). What sorts of plants should I be thinking about that fit the classic/formal scheme which will survive well and won't be high maintenance? Here are the pictures I was talking about: My facade: Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ Tree's I am considering: Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ Retaining wall next to driveway: Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ Water feature (I wouldn't have the post thingy at the rear of the bowl): Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ Sorry about the different sizes of the photo's. I'm not sure how to resize them. Any alternative suggestions are very welcome. Thanks, Craigburn Re: Front garden design 2Feb 17, 2009 12:28 pm Will it be irrigated from a tank? There are some great drought resistant native grasses that look nice with the magnolia. After 4 years - we're in! Re: Front garden design 3Feb 17, 2009 1:23 pm Hi StoneCutter,
We will have a rainwater tank (approx 5000L litres so not huge) but it will be used for the rear garden and plumbed into the toilet. So I guess that I need to add drought resistant to my increasingly large list of plant requirements. We will be installing a dripper system on a timer in the front yard to mimise the water wastage when we do water. Re: Front garden design 4Feb 17, 2009 8:04 pm well if you do install a drip system please, please ake sure you use either KISSS drip system or the netafim system. Others are not good performers.
Please, also get the correct advice on the installation of these as every week I see yet another one installed by someone who knew not what they were doing who really should (ie. other irrigation mobs) What ever you do- GO TO AN IRRIGATION SHOP TO GET IT! I should do a how to on these one of these days This PDF from netafim themselves gives you an idea. http://www.netafim.com.au/uploads/Lands ... ochure.pdf Use a plate filter too, never those cheap bunky inline ones because they don't filter fine enough to maintain the system. Choose your timers wisely and you will need a water pressure reducer. try not to use the bunky ones for $5. A half decent one will cost around $15. Re: Front garden design 5Feb 17, 2009 8:06 pm Best ask too where this house is so we can take the climate and soil into consideration. Re: Front garden design 6Feb 19, 2009 8:14 am Hi Fu Mancha,
The house is located in the Adelaide Hills at Craigburn Farm, near Blackwood and Belair. Our Bondi Greenwall was impressive from day one with advanced lush plants to provide a wow factor to this recently renovated living area. The boundary was less than 1… 0 16642 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 12377 |