Browse Forums Landscape & Garden Design 1 Sep 14, 2009 2:53 pm Hi, I have been grappling with a problem in my front garden for a while now. I have a reasonably flat garden bed. The first row is Callistemon 'Little John' (bottle brush). I then have a row of Lomandra Tanika (grass-like). I have a row of 4 Magnolia Little Gem trees behind the Lomandras and then a row of Correa 'Dusky Bells' with Dianella 'Silver Streak' that I've just planted behind the trees. Behind these plants is a paved area with a feature pot and then a row of Phormium Maori Maiden with some Lomandra Tanika. I've tried to attach a plan but it didn't work, so here is a rough top-down text plan: m m m m m LLLL m m m m m..............m= Phormium Maori Maiden (reddish looking, weeping nz flax) L=Lomandra Tanika [][][][][][] .FP. [][][][][][] ..............[] = Pavers/stepping stones FP= Feature Pot C C C C C DDDDD C C C C C..............C= Correa 'Dusky Bells' (leafy shrub), D= Dianella Silver Streak (upright flax lily) ...M......M......M.......M ..................M= Magnolia Little Gem (tree) L L L L L L L L L L L L L L L L..............L= Lomandra Tanika (grassy-like) J J J J J J J J J J J J J J J J J ..............J= Callistemon Little John (bottle brush shrub) The landscape designer designated Poa Eskdale (another grass) around the Magnolia trees, but I hate that plant and should have taken the advice of the landscape constructor and not put it in. I'll be ripping it all out, which is why it's not in the plan. I'm trying to figure out what to put between and around the Magnolia trees. I want some contrast and colour. Some of the options I've come up with are mass plantings of either Dianella 'Border Gold', Phormium 'Maori Queen', Phormium 'Baby Bronze' or Dianella 'Cassa Blue'. These plants are all strappy leafed. I'm very open to other suggestions and also something to put in a feature pot (was thinking Bird of Paradise). I have clay soil (but now contains a heap of humus, some blood and bone, gypsum, powerfeed, seasol and organic humate). Any help appreciated. Cheers, Jamie Re: Front yard plant selection problem 2Sep 14, 2009 6:05 pm Rather than using Flaxes/ Phormiums stick to the Dianellas. They are proven performers in the heat when compared with the flaxes that burn and look crappy. Dianella Emerald Arch is a beauty. Kangaroo paws are another good choice for no other reason that them being West Australian ![]() The dwarf Native Frangipanis are also worth a look, they grow to about 1m. Leschenultias will also put on an excellent colour show and look much like a diosma for the rest of the year. The Dianella Casa Blue is a good reliable choice. In the pots, what about Banksia birthday candles or cherry candles? The dwarf evergreen pink frangipani would be a good choice too. Pink petite or something it is called. The leaves are rounded on the ends. (it is one of the obtusas) Re: Front yard plant selection problem 3Sep 14, 2009 7:09 pm Thanks Fu, Where do you get dwarf native frangipanis from and what is the scientific name? I have the normal ones (Hymenosporum flavum) down the side of my house (although 2 died due to being too close to the compressor fans from the Air Conditioner over summer). I'll check out the other plants you mentioned. Cheers, Jamie To address your needs for your east-facing front yard with its unique elements, let's break down the solutions based on your… 1 23990 Point taken. I relocated it last week and was successful. thanks for the info. 15 18914 Hi All, Built a new home in 2022 the backyard had some drainage issues with the backyard flooding, I got a plumber out and they installed 3 storm water drains and plumbed… 0 10067 |