Browse Forums Landscape & Garden Design 1 Apr 24, 2011 1:23 am I am planning out a small backyard in inner city Sydney. I have a northfacing unroofed courtyard approx 6m x 4m that will be decked. The courtyward will be bordered on the south by the house living room (bi-folds leading out) and on the north by a reinforced retaining wall approximately 1.5m high and then after about 1m there is a small step up (about a sleeper in height) to a gently sloping lawn approx 6m x 6m leading to a jumble of tin shed, hard standing, compost bin etc that will be screened. My idea is to plant a frangipani either side of retaining wall as they will provide summer shade over courtyard but allow winter sun and frame the view from inside - is there another obvious choice I could consider? I love these plants as they just shout Sydney! to me and feel they won't mind growing next to a breezeblock concrete wall. I need a fence at the top of retaining wall to prevent toddlers toppling down and was planning a simple post and wire to allow maximum view of what ****** beyond and avoid casting a shadow in winter months. This leaves me with a garden bed between the lawn and the top of retaining wall. I am looking for suggestions for a single planting that will a) deal with full summer sun until frangipanis grow up b) not grow too high to obstruct view of lawn (to keep eye on said toddlers) c) not hang over the retaining wall as that forms the back of our seating and needs to be clean d) go with the "look" of frangipanis I would also like to plant them in stones to prevent any soil washing down into the courtyard and to stop our cat and dog getting under the fence and digging. If they need to be pruned to keep low that is OK. Finally, if they had white flowers that would be a plus. Re: sydney inner city garden 2Apr 24, 2011 8:09 am Murraya min a min is a dwarf version of the standard Murraya, keep it clipped to the height of your choice. Its tropical looking glossy green leaves, fragrant white flowers and will suit the frangipani's. http://www.nationaltropicals.com.au/virtuemart/flowering-plants/murraya-min-a-min Re: sydney inner city garden 3May 02, 2011 11:33 pm Have a search for my WA Garden Week thread, there are some good inspirations for small gardens in there Re: sydney inner city garden 4May 03, 2011 6:52 pm As its a small garden how about fruit and vege, by this I mean dwarf citrus in pots ,herbs like parsley, coriander, bay topiary with some white or coloured busy lizzies underplanting in pots ,or separate pots. Fresh supplies in the garden are always handy sydney inner city garden 5May 03, 2011 9:55 pm But be aware that gardens that have a lot of pots are very water intensive. They also are higher care but in small areas the care side of things is easier. Try use gardens first so water is used conservatively. Re: sydney inner city garden 7May 10, 2011 2:58 pm Claret Ash is a bit big for a little garden As is the golden elm and where possible, do your bit for the health of your local environment by growing small native trees instead. Have a heap of mice? Where are the trees for the owls and hawks to roosdt in? Have lots of random pest insects? where are the trees needed for their predators? To many introduced birds in your area? Where are the plants in our gardens to get the right ones in? All that ads up to far more successful small gardens and less work. Also seeking to further greatly reduce the impact many plant choices are having on our urban climates, our health and resources. Re: sydney inner city garden 8May 10, 2011 5:06 pm There is a beautifull website called www.secretgardens.com.au. It shows secret gardens of sydney. very beautifull courtyard ideas. Happy viewing. Hi I live in a 100yr old semi and my neighbour added an additional floor last yr and our architect has advised that we can knock down our semi and build a free-standing… 0 37681 10 15701 I would try the Queensland Electricity and Gas Ombudsman We had the same problem in Victoria and spoke to the Victorian Ombudsman and the supply was disconnected the next day. 1 745 |