Browse Forums Landscape & Garden Design 1 Apr 09, 2010 2:52 pm Just incase I highjacked the turf thread sorry I just wanted to say how much this information fu gives us is a method that works and is sustainable and really cost effective for doing large garden beds (I like the rustic look anyway!)...so here is what i put on the turf thread: I also want to say a massive thanks to fu. We built on acerage about 10 months ago and after following fu's advice our garden has taken off with next to no watering. It is a balinese inspired garden and when I was madly digging green mulch and planting etc our neighbours wandered over and said "you won't get anything to grow in that, why would you put molasses on the garden etc etc..." our plants survived the really bad dust storms last year, they survived a big dry period and now we have had beautiful rain and it is just thriving. after only 10 months I dig down into what was clay soil and find worms. I just made big piles of mulch in the shape of a garden bed (with railway sleepers as garden edges), no weed killer or anything and it has just been an amazing process to watch the breakdown into healthy, beautiful soil that the plants love. i don't use any pesticide just the occassional dose of mollasses and powerfeed. there are a few weeds here and there because i need to plant some more smaller groundcovers etc, but really they are pretty much maintenance free! we are getting ready to lay 600m2 of turf and will be using the exact same principles. here are some photos (don't worry fu I am moving the big birds of paradise over winter - I didn't realise they grew that big as got them at the markets with no tags on them) and the yucca has permission to be an elephant as they are my centrepieces in big gardenbeds! but yes, i do pay attention when fu talks) "fu manchu" is a household name and my fiance goes 'what does fu manchu say about this' BEFORE AFTER now our neighbours go - what did you use in the gardens again? and most of them are 'green' with envy about how established our front gardens look. (excuse the pun). we have also used this method to help our trees we have planted on the boundary and they have doubled and tripled in size! i have laid down some sugar cane mulch (a bit of quick fix when i couldn't get green mulch!) and will be putting down a big layer of tree mulching again over the next few weekends so a big thank you Fu, you are an inspiration and a wise teacher of all things gardening and when you speak I listen Kylie handover happened 15/6/09...love living on an acre but still so much to do! Re: Thanks Fu Manchu - pics of front garden (acerage) 2Apr 09, 2010 4:33 pm You must be so happy - your plants look like they are absolutely thriving Very funny about your neighbours...at least they're not too embarrassed to come back and ask your secrets!! Re: Thanks Fu Manchu - pics of front garden (acerage) 3Apr 09, 2010 4:48 pm It's looking great - well done! And there's nothing wrong with sugar cane mulch (it's what I'm using ). I love your neighbours' about-face. Re: Thanks Fu Manchu - pics of front garden (acerage) 4Apr 09, 2010 8:20 pm Fantastic!! I hope my garden does as well as yours!! 'A bottle of wine contains more philosophy than all the books in the world.' Louis Pasteur Vegie garden: viewtopic.php?f=19&t=27637&start=0 My Backyard Adventure Re: Thanks Fu Manchu - pics of front garden (acerage) 6Apr 21, 2010 7:45 pm Found and read the post on molassas and how to use it. Can someone direct me to the forum that has the info about green mulch etc that Kylie talks about. We have just moved onto 1 acre and are very keen to find out the best way to prep gardens for plants/turf. Kyliee81 your yard is looking great. Building the Pl@ntation Retreat on 4009m2. All moved in!!!!!! Now for the real work https://forum.homeone.com.au/viewtopic.php?f=31&t=20588&p=285640#p285640 Re: Thanks Fu Manchu - pics of front garden (acerage) 8Apr 21, 2010 11:24 pm Re: Thanks Fu Manchu - pics of front garden (acerage) 9Apr 30, 2010 12:30 pm What is the tall, green, spiky looking thing in the left side of the third picture? I want one. Lara and Joshua http://pdheywood25.blogspot.com/ viewtopic.php?f=31&t=31186 16.03.10 Scrape 29.03.10 Slab 08.04.10 Frame 11.05.10 Lock Up 03.06.10 Fixing 24.08.10 Handover Re: Thanks Fu Manchu - pics of front garden (acerage) 10May 08, 2010 7:45 am Hi Larajane, they are yuccas but it is the big one 'elephantitis' or something Fu would know, that grows like 10 metres tall so plant carefully. it is the middle of a massive garden bed so no dramas for us but just be aware they can grow huge over time. I think you can keep cutting them back though. Kylie handover happened 15/6/09...love living on an acre but still so much to do! Re: Thanks Fu Manchu - pics of front garden (acerage) 11May 08, 2010 8:01 am seast Found and read the post on molassas and how to use it. Can someone direct me to the forum that has the info about green mulch etc that Kylie talks about. We have just moved onto 1 acre and are very keen to find out the best way to prep gardens for plants/turf. Kyliee81 your yard is looking great. Hi! we got our first load from a garden supplier in ipswich I think it was 'Enviro Soils' 10m3 cost about $200. I did try and register on mulchnet and call tree loppers, but noone returned my emails or calls The stuff from the first load i wouldn't get it again as it had chewed up mobile phones, plastic etc in it that we had to pick out (still excellent though, but just didn't like the thought of random pieces of plastic in the garden) My suspicion is they got it directly from the dump in Ipswich (you can get mulch but have to be careful what's in it) which is okay but the quality not so good as far as foreign stuff goes. The next load we got was from 'Sapar' Landscaping at Raceview and it was called 'Aussie Bush Mulch' the stuff we got was already a little bit composted so not quiet ideal but the plants still love it and it smelt like fresh euculyptus trees which was lovely. I planted a garden bed about 5 weeks ago and everything is thriving. My hot tip for plants is to go the Rocklea Markets excellent plants that don't die unlike the ones you get from that big useless (for plants I mean) green shed that starts with 'B'. The ones at the markets are 1/3 the $$$$ of plants you get from nuseries and the green shed but are just beautiful quality sun hardy, healthy plants. Kylie handover happened 15/6/09...love living on an acre but still so much to do! Re: Thanks Fu Manchu - pics of front garden (acerage) 12May 08, 2010 9:02 am Thank Kyiee Aww, after looking it up, I don't like the long flowers that it grows. I am looking for something similar, but small, and with no flowers. Lara and Joshua http://pdheywood25.blogspot.com/ viewtopic.php?f=31&t=31186 16.03.10 Scrape 29.03.10 Slab 08.04.10 Frame 11.05.10 Lock Up 03.06.10 Fixing 24.08.10 Handover Re: Thanks Fu Manchu - pics of front garden (acerage) 13May 08, 2010 9:03 am What is the green one, just behind the yellow one, to the right of the yucca? Lara and Joshua http://pdheywood25.blogspot.com/ viewtopic.php?f=31&t=31186 16.03.10 Scrape 29.03.10 Slab 08.04.10 Frame 11.05.10 Lock Up 03.06.10 Fixing 24.08.10 Handover Re: Thanks Fu Manchu - pics of front garden (acerage) 14May 08, 2010 10:55 am hi larajane it is a small golden can palm they can grow 3-6m depending on the growing conditions. i will show you some other pics of one of the recent gardens. Cordylines are nice too which are the green ones with pink/purple tinges, there are lots of different types, also I am planting lots of sun and shade loving bromeliads as they are really easy to grow and very hardy and don't need much water but provide lots of colour. I'm not sure where you are - we have a subtropical climate so these things grow really well outside. Excuse the mess I need to sweep up etc and also had a minor issue with the sleepers i was going to edge the beds with, so still have to edge the garden! Everything for us is still a work in progress -still need to do a deck into the front door! The patch where the weeds still are is a work in progress too where I am going to get a balinese feature pot or something similar. WHile its a bit rough around the edges at the moment until we fix up the edging you can see the plants are just beautiful and thriving (you can see a powerfeed bottle in the background!) I have only watered these plants once when they were planted and one other time in the 5 weeks (we have a bit of rain on and off though). Sorry for the ramble, i love talking about my plants! Kylie handover happened 15/6/09...love living on an acre but still so much to do! Re: Thanks Fu Manchu - pics of front garden (acerage) 15May 08, 2010 11:48 am Bummer, that is still way to tall! I want something that grows to less than 1m, and is completely green, with no flowers. I can't find anything suitable! I have figured out all of my garden, except for this one thing. Your garden is SO lovely I particularly love the colours, and the yellow ..bromeliad? I assume that is what it is I am not exactly a gardening expert. Lara and Joshua http://pdheywood25.blogspot.com/ viewtopic.php?f=31&t=31186 16.03.10 Scrape 29.03.10 Slab 08.04.10 Frame 11.05.10 Lock Up 03.06.10 Fixing 24.08.10 Handover Re: Thanks Fu Manchu - pics of front garden (acerage) 16May 10, 2010 3:28 pm Don't want to hi-jack the thread but what about a cycad LaraJane? Second Time 'Round Re: Thanks Fu Manchu - pics of front garden (acerage) 17May 10, 2010 3:36 pm Thanks for the suggestion FTR! Not quite what I am looking for, but I appreciate any suggestions. Lara and Joshua http://pdheywood25.blogspot.com/ viewtopic.php?f=31&t=31186 16.03.10 Scrape 29.03.10 Slab 08.04.10 Frame 11.05.10 Lock Up 03.06.10 Fixing 24.08.10 Handover Re: Thanks Fu Manchu - pics of front garden (acerage) 18May 22, 2010 12:28 pm Im adding more pics of our back retaining wall - most of the plants went in about 8 months ago as little babies. they are growing well with the principles of Fu manchu....the only thing im having trouble with is nut grass which must of been in some of the bobcat dudes dirt he put into the retaining wall. we are going to do a path with pebbles and sandstone pavers and some steps and then we are just about finished the back area we did have some trouble with the turf people - they talked the talk but didn't walk the walk so we didn't get what we were quoted and paid for but hopefully it will work out in the end after we jump up and down! still overall looks alot better than muddy dirt edited to add: i love rhoeo's and golden cane palms and have no shame in it Kylie handover happened 15/6/09...love living on an acre but still so much to do! Re: Thanks Fu! new pics of back retaining wall & plants 19May 22, 2010 2:20 pm kyiee, that looks great - I can just imagine it in a couple of year's time when everything's gained some height. You'll have a beautiful shady, private area for entertaining. Bummer about the turf guys, but I'm sure it'll turn out fine if you do all the right stuff from now on. Re: Thanks Fu! new pics of back retaining wall & plants 20May 23, 2010 7:41 am kek kyiee, that looks great - I can just imagine it in a couple of year's time when everything's gained some height. You'll have a beautiful shady, private area for entertaining. Bummer about the turf guys, but I'm sure it'll turn out fine if you do all the right stuff from now on. Thanks kek, that's what I am aiming for with the back area and we have full windows across the back and i wanted to be able to look out and see a beautiful tropical paradise through the windows! So I am slowly building my collection of bromeliads and ferns to go in there when the palms grow some height. The turf I am sure too will work out! We have been madly powerfeeding and molassesing!!! Kylie handover happened 15/6/09...love living on an acre but still so much to do! Thank you again Simeon.. I will call my certifier for that. Have a good day 4 5142 Can anyone recommend a good/affordable retaining wall and fence builder that I can get a quote from located in Sydney? 8 45705 Thanks for the insights, that makes perfect sense, and yeah, I will be leaning on the experience of the excavator operator entirely. 6 16106 |