Browse Forums Landscape & Garden Design 1 Aug 29, 2009 8:58 pm We are in the process of undoing all the damage done by the previous owner of our house (complete with rampant jasmine and ivy growing up 20 metre trees ). Our first step has been to clear this area of fishbone fern - I didn't get a before pic but it completely covered this area. We were pleased to find another agave hidden amongst it (along with many pups) and a beautiful group of rocks. Garden 1 Garden 2 Now what to plant! As you can see there is a slope so we don't want to wait too long incase a downpour washes all the dirt across the driveway. This is near the front door - elsewhere around the house there are tropical type plants (banana trees, birds nest ferns, bromeliads) so we will probably stay with this kind of feel. It is beneath a massive jacaranda, plus there is a poinsettia squished in there too (which I will be pruning back after flowering - it's very spindly). Also an unidentified bush which I have seen so many times around the place but never known what it is - if you recognise it please let me know! Plant? Plant closer Tomorrow is the next stage of ripping out more fishbone Re: What would you put here? 2Aug 29, 2009 9:58 pm I'd say plant a tangerine Seriously though, I hate to tell you, but leave it. Why? Because you just dug up the fishbone fern. Or so you think you did That stuff is likely to come back with a vengence. Every one of those little balls in the soil will shoot a new fern. This is a nightmare plant to get rid of but it is doable with diligence. I'd hate to see you go to your local nursery and come home with a boot load of plants, plant it out, mulch it, water it in thoughrly and see the whole lot have to come out because the fishbone fern took over again. Wait till it grows back a little and hit with some roundup (mix a cap of seasol in with it) then watch it die and then come back again, hit it again and again. This will also be what is required for you to get most of the jassies and ivy out. Though when you do them use some blackberry and tree killer. search it on here and use my name as author, I have posted a fair bit on it. Re: What would you put here? 3Aug 29, 2009 10:29 pm Don't worry, I've dealt with fishbone before it's a nasty bugger! When I was younger I helped my nana clear a massive section of that and that spidery plant (that I can never remember the name of - big fleshy roots, long white and green striped leaves) so she could plant a flower garden. I think I recall roundup being used and we barely had any recurrence at all. We weren't going to go overboard, I quite like the sparseness of it but we are concerned about soil erosion and really just want to keep it all in one place if nothing else. I'm going to get move the agave pups along the front, the poor things have been struggling along beneath the fern for so long. Off to hunt out the blackberry and tree killer post though, the ivy is going to be my nemesis I feel. We got a quote to remove it from one tree that was $500 We're hoping that it is only clinging to the bark all the way up (as it is at the bottom of the tree) and not got it's roots into the tree itself. Re: What would you put here? 4Aug 29, 2009 11:05 pm The agaves will need to be planted at the back, they are going to get pretty big. For the soil, get plenty of powerfeed on it, or some humic acid. This can be bought from http://www.asapsupplier.com/product_inf ... cts_id/197 This will help bind the soil and reduce erosion. A heavy layer of natural green mulch will also help (freshly chipped or mulched tree waste or plant material). That is not only the most waterwise mulch you can get, it is the healthiest for the soil, it is some of the cheapest available, it has lots of different sizes that mat together and don't move. They will also, not themselves, absorb moisture, which is exactly what you want. The water needs to be in the ground, not the mulch Bought in Nov 21 at the height of the market (classic). Good area, atrocious floor plan. BUT has land out to the left-hand side that we can extend out on (see second… 0 6694 Thanks mate. Yeah good points! Leaning towards Option 3 to get a bit extra space in the cabinets but not going too crazy high (and expensive). Would require a mini… 13 30522 Hi It came to my attention after the handover that - The facade cladding on the face and the side are not straight. -The face tapers down by 50mm from left to right and… 0 888 |