Browse Forums Landscape & Garden Design 1 Apr 07, 2010 11:10 pm I don't know where to begin with lanscaping... I would either like some reassurance from more experienced member that my preliminary ideas are okay... or told that my ideas suck and maybe some possible new suggestions I live in sunny Brisbane. Attached is a basic site plan of our house's position on the block. The brown areas are the tiled porch and patio both undercover. The grey areas are a) exposed agg. under clothesline and b) slab for watertank. As will be also seen in the site plan is a large gum tree that must be retained due to silly council laws. Small retaining walls where required were incorporated into the fencing which is already on the boundary lines... so the yard to work with is pretty much entirely level now. So far these are my preliminary ideas.... Garden in front is provided by our builder I was thinking down the left side of the house a paved area, with pebbles and creeping thyme. However I have no idea if creeping thyme will survive in that area?? I was thinking down the right side of the house keeping it grassed with no gardens. I was thinking in the backyard... wooden screens on the right side (and maybe back?) of water tank so that it doesn't stand out so much Not sure what to do with gardens in the back.. because not sure if there are any plants that will grow under the gum tree? Maybe a garden in the right hand corner of the yard because it is away from the gum tree? Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ Our new house - moved in but so much more to do! https://forum.homeone.com.au/viewtopic.php?f=31&t=31696&p=442009#p442009 Re: Lanscaping help/ideas/opinions? 2Apr 09, 2010 6:55 am I think you're lucky to have an established tree. That thing would take years and years to grow if you planted it now - as it is, you have shade and something nice to look at without doing any work. Planting under it takes some thought, but I'm sure you can grow things there. The good thing is that shade-loving plants will like the light conditions and shelter. The not so good is that the tree will be sucking pretty much everything out of the soil. But I think you should be able to build up the soil and grow some shallow-rooted plants successfully. I had a thriving fern garden under a gum tree at our old place, with a tree fern, a couple of birds nest ferns and some smaller species. An elkhorn grew happily on the trunk. I also had hellebores and cliveas and some Plectranthus. A camellia in a large pot was thriving on the eastern side, where it got morning sun but was shaded from the afternoon heat. There were others, but I can't think of them just now.... I wouldn't have just grass along the side of the house; it would be a bit boring to look out onto. Some plantings along the fence line will give a nice view, even if it's just a narrow bed with informally hedged shrubs and some smaller plants in front. A screen around your tank is a good idea and you can plant in front of that too. For your narrow side area, I'm thinking it's going to be pretty shaded, so Thyme might not do all that well. How about native violets or dichondra as a ground cover instead? Is there a style of garden that you have in mind, a particular "look"? That might dictate some of the plants you choose.... Re: Lanscaping help/ideas/opinions? 3Apr 09, 2010 12:37 pm trees play such an amazing roll on what goes on under the soil too. We never stop to think how they control the water table and stabilise it. This is why so many farms are becoming saline The issue is equally important in urban areas) It is yet another eason why I am so big on trees. If you are a bit shi--ty about having it, manage it to the best of your ability. It will be well worth it A certified arborist will do a 5 year management plan for you and it will outline the current hazards and concerns and how to address them so you and the council can hug Re: Lanscaping help/ideas/opinions? 4Apr 10, 2010 7:43 pm Thanks for your replies kek and Fu Manchu. The gum tree is slowly growing on me... i'm definately putting a garden bench beneath it to make use of the shade. I'm thinking that I like the look of English style cottage gardens... though i'm not so sure that an English style garden fits in very well with an Australian gum tree... or is really appopriate for Brisbane heat (even with the tree's shade ). Cottage Garden 1 Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ Cottage Garden 2 Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ Our new house - moved in but so much more to do! https://forum.homeone.com.au/viewtopic.php?f=31&t=31696&p=442009#p442009 Re: Lanscaping help/ideas/opinions? 5Apr 10, 2010 8:00 pm Exactly, you may like them, however this is a garden you will own for a long time to come. Is it going to be appropriate that you will have the water to maintain this garden in the foreseeable future? SEQ is growing at a massive rate and even if rain does keep up, the infrastructure of the water supply will be handling 100's of thousands more people than today. So get into a waterwise garden and enjoy the benefits. You don't want to be a slave to the garden now do you? Enjoy it instead Re: Lanscaping help/ideas/opinions? 6Apr 10, 2010 8:35 pm I'll just have to wait until I move to England until I fufil my cottage garden dream Our front garden has been provided by our builder with waterwise plants... so it would make a lot of sense to keep that theme going. I'm sure in the future I will slighty modify the front landscape but it will do for now while I focus on the back and side yards. Frontyard 1 http://i935.photobucket.com/albums/ad198/miss_new_home_owner/houseinternal020.jpg Frontyard 2 http://i935.photobucket.com/albums/ad198/miss_new_home_owner/houseinternal021.jpg Our new house - moved in but so much more to do! https://forum.homeone.com.au/viewtopic.php?f=31&t=31696&p=442009#p442009 Re: Lanscaping help/ideas/opinions? 7Apr 11, 2010 9:43 am You can still plant a cottage-style garden, with its informal massed plantings and winding paths - just not using most of the traditional plants. You'll still achieve the look with drought-tolerant plants. And gum trees work just fine with this style (I know; I used to have a cottage garden with native trees and shrubs ) How about some of these for plants that will survive in dryer conditions: Lavender (I love the Italian or French ones) Herbs like rosemary and ornamental oregano - beautiful plants, flowers and scent. Geraldton wax - another pretty flower Lamb's ears - lovely furry leaves and they multiply like mad. Brachyscombe or erigeron Salvias Prostrate banksias Correas Good old agapanthus Echium "Pride of Madeira" - might be a weed in some areas? But how can you resist this: Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ There are lots of others, but those would be some of my picks. With some larger shrubs at the back of beds, maybe a small tree or two as well, you'd have something spectacular. Re: Lanscaping help/ideas/opinions? 8Apr 11, 2010 12:09 pm There are some seriously awesome cottage-style gardens around using waterwise natives. If you go for the look in the second picture, you don't even have lawn, which is a huge water saving. Take a look at some of the pics in the slideshow on this page: http://watercorporation.com.au/W/waterw ... -1558-4831 There's a link to a cottage garden PDF here: http://watercorporation.com.au/P/public ... -0121-6842 And one here: http://zanthorrea.com/info.php and you wouldn't call this garden cottage style, but it is one of my favourites and may inspire you: viewtopic.php?f=19&t=29645&start=0 A lot of your plants will like a little bit of shade from that tree rather than the baking sun all the time! If you don't want it, can I have it please Re: Lanscaping help/ideas/opinions? 9Apr 11, 2010 5:45 pm The WA lists are just as helpful for ideas in other parts of the country Re: Lanscaping help/ideas/opinions? 10Apr 11, 2010 8:29 pm hi there, new to the forum, hello everyone! There is no reason with a bit of research why you can't have a sustainable "cottage style" garden, using water-wise plants. Can I suggest you try your local library for a really good book called Australian Gardens for a Changing Climate by Jenna Reed Burns ( Penguin Books). This is a good book to give you some ideas for your garden. If you like the idea of planning what you want to do before you start the garden, another book to try to get hold of is The Essential Garden Design Workbook by Rosemary Alexander (Timber Presss). I recommend both these books as easy to understand for the average person, a good basis to start that garden you would love to be in. Your off to a good start in trying to get some advice, next you could try to look at what your micro-climate is, gain an understanding of where it's shady and what areas get sun, and for how long. What areas are shaded, this will impact on where you can put your lawn, try to look at these considerations first. Creeping Thyme will probably struggle in the humidity in Brisbane, but there are good native alternatives, get some advice from your local plant nursery as to what grows well in your area. regards Julie Re: Lanscaping help/ideas/opinions? 11Apr 14, 2010 10:32 am Thanks for your advice guys. Will definately look for those books Julie. I guess I can't do too much now anyway... cause it just a waiting game until the SS fixes his mistakes.. so that we can move in Our new house - moved in but so much more to do! https://forum.homeone.com.au/viewtopic.php?f=31&t=31696&p=442009#p442009 Re: Lanscaping help/ideas/opinions? 12Jun 16, 2010 11:20 pm For water wise plants there really is only one place to look. The reason is the guy who put this together is one of Australia's best water consultants. His knowledge has been sort by a number of state water authorities. He is also someone who has taught me a hell of a lot over the years and we do beg to differ on a few points He is also one of the countries best Horticulturists and has an enormous passion for sustainability and non BS info No finer easy to use data base in the country and it's West Aussie. and let me assure you that it is still highly relevant considering the new age of landscaping and gardens is originating here http://www.watercorporation.com.au/w/wa ... esults.cfm I would say both styles you have pictured are steel. The lower chord of the first pic would be a massive lump if made using timber considering the size of the rafters. If… 1 6150 Hi guys We have just removed a very large grape vine which was mounted to a structure along this wall. This is a shared wall with our neighbour, and after removal, we… 0 3953 |