Browse Forums Landscape & Garden Design 1 Aug 09, 2010 8:28 pm Folks you'll all be aware I haven't been active here for a bit. There is no doubt a massive backlog of questions and I am not currently in a capacity just now to get through them all. I will get through them in time but something like 3 months of questions to get through! In the mean time I will be popping from time to time to answer them. Eventually I'll work through them all In the mean time, feed the soil. If in doubt , feed the soil before you reach for that fertiliser and feed the plant. Top dress with organic soils. Use uncomposted mulches nice and thick to between 75-100mm Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ Slow releases or as I should say these days, controlled release only. Organic composts. Organic based fertilises where applicable. Molasses, seasol and seaweed products. In many cases the problems just go. I have also been (along with a few others) experimenting with diluting natural yoghurt and fullcream milk in water and the results have been extremely favourable. If you are after ideas about how to landscape some basics. Lawns, do you really need it? It is said the only thing a lawn can do that no other plant can is provide a practical area for kids to play on. So many amazing choices for alternatives. Make it native. This creates not only the ultimate in being waterwise but it also creates habitat for native wildlife, they can provide more enjoyment than you may be aware of. Can you eat it? Growing your own food is more than a trend! This is a shift in lifestyle worldwide and triggered by so many different impulses that it has shed the trend tag. This is changing entire communities in a positive way in every sense. Be a part of it. If we want modern, be the leader and change what we call modern Re: Landscape feedback from me. 2Aug 09, 2010 8:32 pm I will also add that in a world of censorship is bewilders me as to how you guys can possibly get honest or genuine information???? Re: Landscape feedback from me. 3Aug 09, 2010 8:33 pm Thanks Oh Master Fu! Deemaree Kyndylan Capers: viewtopic.php?f=36&t=46852 My blog: http://www.sufficientlysufficient.blogspot.com/ Re: Landscape feedback from me. 4Aug 09, 2010 8:37 pm Fu you rock! I'm seriously considering no lawn at all out the back now.... make it all vegies and natives with pathways '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: Landscape feedback from me. 5Aug 09, 2010 8:39 pm Way to go Lisa! Deemaree Kyndylan Capers: viewtopic.php?f=36&t=46852 My blog: http://www.sufficientlysufficient.blogspot.com/ Re: Landscape feedback from me. 6Aug 09, 2010 8:47 pm You have the bug Lisanne! You will love what you achieve Don't be shy on experimenting with different ways to grow veggies and also growing natives. So many make sensational hedges even when the label says you can't. I would really love to see a citrus hedge. Re: Landscape feedback from me. 7Aug 09, 2010 8:55 pm I just have one question, and have been hanging out waiting to know... is it time to prune our roses here in the West?? I can't hold out any longer! Oceanic with Nautilus upgrades. Handover 8 September 2010 Re: Landscape feedback from me. 8Aug 09, 2010 9:20 pm NATIVES FTW I have the ONLY native garden in the street Dichondra makes a great lawn alternative too I went outside once. The graphics were alright, but the gameplay sucked! Settlement:22nd June Slab:27th August Frame:16th Sept Bricked:21st Oct Roof:24th Nov Linings HANDOVER23rd March! Re: Landscape feedback from me. 9Aug 09, 2010 9:41 pm Yeah Dichondra is one. My fav is Grevillea Gin Gin Gem but there are a few others as well like Casurina cousin it. Darwinia citrodora protstrata or prostrate form, Grevillea Poorinda Royal Mantel, Kennedia microphyla I think it's called off the top of my head. Dichondra is lovely but watch out with it in the sun. You can have it in the shade and it does so well where the lawn may not grow so well Lipia is fine here in the west as well. Re: Landscape feedback from me. 10Aug 10, 2010 9:31 am Oceanus2 I just have one question, and have been hanging out waiting to know... is it time to prune our roses here in the West?? I can't hold out any longer! Sorry not a flash year (winter) for them here. For those not aware, the weather the east coast gets in late May-July is akin to what we here in the west get in August and September. This is when we see frosts (and yes they happen on the swan coastal plain too). The roses turn to poo and of course when they turn to rubbish we prune them because it doesn't matter. Now this year has been tricky. The coldest winter possibly on record. We have seen below 5 deg temps since June I think but they have not let up much at all. Nurserymen saying the worst frosts in 18 years. Farmers making the call as well. Certainly even getting bad frosts in places we never see it and harming lawns and even trees that would normally not bat an eyelid. Agonis flex, Tuart trees, Euc. ficifolia (It's still a Euc in my books ), Euc. victrix, torquata and even Jarrah and Karri are all getting flogged with burnt foliage- unheard of!. Certainly up with the worst ever in memory. Cold like that was uncharacteristic. So now we enter August which is as I mentioned when we normally start getting the frost risk and very low temps till nearly October. This will be occurring this week even. The last few days have nailed some of the coldest on record. When the roses are pruned the new shoots emerge and they want it to be nice and warm for them We are seeing a heap of damage where people pruned in June July cause the book said to and seeing burnt and damaged growth further effecting the future growth. It's going to keep putting energy into new growth and repairing it self. That will mean a tired plant come early summer. One thing is for sure the roses will be stressed and chuck out some good flower. It will be short lived. So hold on yet! Still many frosts on the way. I'd be hitting them for a prune this year in early September on the West Coast. You'll be glad you did. In the mean time here is what you can do. 1. Rotted sheep or cow poo covered with thick layers of straws to 100mm. Pull away from the stem. (cover the rotted straw with shredded tree prunings in summer) 2. Seasol and Powerfeed or to avoid annoying ** industry types having a sook, any seaweed product or liquid compost. 3. Molasses in water around the base on the soil each month. 4. Blood and bone Stinky That will set you in excellent organic eco-friendly stead to have exceptional roses this year or should I say this season. The past season has been extremes with one of our hottest summers knocking the flowering around. Then after March 22nd the cool weather arrived and ushered in one hell of a late flowering season that amazed many. The poor roses are stuffed! Let them rest and be patient. I will add I hate roses but am more than happy to make sure you get bloody nice ones ...and no I am not available to prune at the moment They are methods that have seen some of my clients get some of the best roses for many many years when compared with earlier pruning. Oh and when you have pruned, don't reach for the Lime Sulphur go for some cert organic Pottasium bi-carbonate Way way better and far more practical. No smell and safer to use for you Re: Landscape feedback from me. 11Aug 10, 2010 10:02 am I have a very big problem with the use of Milk and Yogurt on plants. Firstly, you will get good short term results, followed by very very bad results long term, but you must understand why. yogurt contains Lactobacillus bulgaricus, a bacteria that is found on plant foliage (where the word "lactose" comes from). This is where the misconception that "if its found n the leaves then i'll put it on the soil" comes from. Yogurt also contains many vitamins and minerals (vit A, C, and Iron - to name a few), so diluting yogurt and pouring it on the soil is basically putting these vitamins in the soil. It has been proven that too many vitamins and minerals in soil, is a very very bad thing for your plants. You can actually overdose your plants. Fu, I know you always push increasing microbes in soil etc, however this is a totally different angle altogether. Its almost like any method of "too much of a good thing is not a good thing". You're basically overdosing your plants with those vitamins and the bacteria, which will cause more harm than good. In moderation, it can be a good thing, but you should defiantly not be using dairy products outdoors...that is a definite no no. Also, if you want to think about organic type gardening, this goes against the principal of that. When will you ever find yogurt of full cream milk in the forest? It is not a natural element, and therefore is not smart to be introduced to plants who have never experienced or seen such a thing in their genetic makeup. And lastly, if you were to understand the number of chemicals and preservatives that are in yogurt and milk (fresh yogurt form coles is not as fresh as it sounds), then you are just pouring all of those into your ground, and your plant is sucking it up. I know you are well respected on the forums Fu, but I wouldn't recommend this to the gardening community. Molasses is a different cattle of fish, as it is derived from a plant and is made up of organic matter (as long as its good molasses and not one filled with preservatives and chemicals). Cheers Re: Landscape feedback from me. 12Aug 10, 2010 10:10 am well fair call there and some good science behind it by the looks. Well known and respected Hort media types were always getting in trouble for saying to use it to control black spot, but gardeners know it works and has been used for generations for that purpose. Then finally the trials were done and it was deemed both safe and effective. All valid points in relation to it on the soil I guess but I have been getting very favourable results for a long time now and in fact allowing me to grow a plant that should by rights be dead. However I will consider your advice, it's sure not silly. Re: Landscape feedback from me. 13Aug 10, 2010 10:15 am Thanks mate. There's a good chance that you've found a good dilution and you're using it in moderation vs the chemical balance of your soil already and is providing a good amount of minerals to the plant! Hope it's enough to get it established, then it can fend on its own. Re: Landscape feedback from me. 14Aug 10, 2010 11:57 am Oh and this isn't really a discussion post but more a public notice letting you know I can't be here as much as I would like. Still we have some great posters that posses both experience and technical knowledge that is of an exceptionally high standard, so I'm sure all is not lost and I do encourage them to get active and keep the fun coming. Re: Landscape feedback from me. 15Aug 10, 2010 12:03 pm lisanne Fu you rock! I'm seriously considering no lawn at all out the back now.... make it all vegies and natives with pathways There are also lots of others that rock here as well that are offering some really good advice Love seeing it Also keep the threads coming showing your results using some of my methods. If you are on a budget, be creative and apply the principals as best you can. After all some of Australia's greatest landscapes and gardens have been constructed on a shoe string using recycled products and creative adaptations. The garden Josh visited and featured on Gardening Australia recently is a testament to that Landscape Design Parramatta We have been doing a large amount of landscape design work in Sydney… 0 3 Need advice on the backyard plan above. Should I excavate and cut all of the dirt to level with the house slab or semi-excavate as per photo above? Both left and right… 0 24865 Thanks very much! And would the landscaper/contractor generally involve the engineer or is that something the client would do? Thanks for your help 2 10027 |