Browse Forums Landscape & Garden Design 1 Apr 12, 2010 9:56 pm Well, we have been in our home for a little too long to admit to... I'm embarrassed to say because we still do not have a front garden. I have a patch of dirt that I lovingly weed to keep it 'looking nice'. We receive a front landscaping package from Stockland and I had a guy come out quite a while ago and was not particularly impressed with what they were willing to do to prepare our patch for garden - which was not much at all. Apparently Kikuyu will grow over concrete so you don't need to do much prep work! Anyway a little while later and my landscaping guy is coming out again (tomorrow)....I have prepped my soil for turf and have dug some garden beds and am nearly ready to go... except for a very confused plant choice list in my head. I love the tropical look but do not have huge garden bed area (mostly lawn)... so here's what I like... Dwarf purple fountain grass Phormium - sweet mist (dwarf bronze) Canna Lillies Mondo grass Clivea miniata Strelitzia reginae Rhoeo - moses in cradle Also I can have 2 trees in the package and I love both the weeping japanese maples and also magnolia (any with pink flowers - not so much the kay parris and little gem) So as you can see I have a random style of plants that I like. Can anyone help??? Im in Melbourne... not too far from kek. (if you're free tomorrow at 1pm - pop over ) Thanks for any suggestions given. Re: Front garden assistance required 2Apr 12, 2010 10:20 pm Drop the cannas they can fill the garden and hardly look good for long. They tend to be bug chewed and ragged a bit more often than not. The sweetmist Flax might get a bit frazzled over the summers. Worth a go though. Re: Front garden assistance required 3Apr 13, 2010 7:00 am kezandcheds Can anyone help??? Im in Melbourne... not too far from kek. (if you're free tomorrow at 1pm - pop over ) I'd love to, but sadly I'm off to work as soon as I've gulped down my porridge. I love my cannas, but I am finding, as Fu says, that bugs seem to like them. A couple look like the very hungry catterpillar has been paying a visit. I'm still happy with them though - the chewed leaves can be removed if they bother me too much. One thing I'd suggest with your plant choices is to try to get some variety of shapes in there. Most of what you've listed are a bit same-same in shape (upright, kind of strappy things) and personally I think too much of the same can look more like a stack of geometric blocks than a garden. Perhaps you could insert a round, bushy type of thing for some contrast? Nandinas? Gardenias? Correas? At least make sure you have variety of height amongst your choices.... I wouldn't bother with mondo grass from the landscapers - to get any sort of decent effect with mondo, you need a lot of plants (I think I have 50 in the small 2 x 3m section of paving under the clothesline) and you want a bit of value out of the 30 or however many they provide. You can add mondo later if you want - if you shop around, you can buy plants for $2 each. Re trees, Japanese maples are lovely, and planting one now is probably good timing. Many that were planted at the beginning of summer have struggled with the water restrictions and a few of my neighbours have pulled theirs out. If you've prepared the soil well and look after it through any dry periods over the next few months, by next summer it should be better able to cope with the heat. The traditional types of Magnolias are pretty, but here's of my favourite trees.... the Forest Pansy (Cercis Canadensis) - check out these photos: http://images.google.com.au/images?hl=en&q=forest+pansy&cr=countryAU&um=1&ie=UTF-8&ei=0ofDS8r7OY7c7AOrm_HJCQ&sa=X&oi=image_result_group&ct=title&resnum=4&ved=0CB8QsAQwAw Pink flowers and stunning foliage... You don't say which way your house faces, so it's hard to know whether you'll be dealing with full sun, or morning or afternoon sun/shade. That's going to dictate your choices too, to a degree. Cliveas won't survive in full sun, but if you have a shady spot or an east-facing area, they ought to do well. With shade-loving plants, you might need to wait until your trees and larger shrubs grow before planting them. Keep in mind that it's not like choosing your tiles and benchtops for the house - if you get those wrong, it's an expensive business to change them. Plants can always be replaced if it turns out you don't like them (or if they don't perform well) - they're relatively cheap after all. Our landscaping package gave me a basis for the front garden, but I added a lot more plants, moved a few around and even chucked some that I wasn't happy with. So don't be too nervous about the whole process. Post some photos when it's done! Hi, Appreciate any recommendations for town planners or advisors who can help assist to assess and draft an objection to a neighbour’s development in Northern Beaches.… 0 3631 Hey guys, We're very new to building and have got our contract back with a, btw you need a retaining wall, addition. Going by my very limited ability to read site… 0 2674 |