Browse Forums Landscape & Garden Design 1 May 06, 2011 1:32 pm Hi, I am looking for easy maintenance ideas of what to do with the council land on my corner block. I want it to be low maintenance i.e not grass or lots of mulch! I am not allowed under council regulations to put any kind of stones and fake grass which is my preference is expensive for such a large area. Is there any other ideas of what I could do? Cheers Re: Corner Block Ideas 2May 06, 2011 2:15 pm My mate Ben Mitchell (now farm manger for City Farm community garden in East Perth) has a corner block and did it a native verge that stops traffic. He has very low maintenance and although there is a heap of mulch, the type used is the single best and cheapest and also comes in good volumes, Tree lopper mulch. It is a young garden but in a few years he won't need to mulch and the colours are amazing throughout the year So much life is in there, little honey eaters everywhere. viewtopic.php?f=19&t=38279&p=568503&hilit=Ben+Mitchell#p568503 viewtopic.php?f=19&t=11343&hilit=Ben+Mitchell Glad you won't be using plastic grass and some Perth councils are banning its use in accordance with their sustainability policies. "Plastic grass is to landscaping as a blow up doll is to s ex" Re: Corner Block Ideas 3May 06, 2011 4:29 pm
shrubs at the back At the front I've got agapathus, native grass, and pig face Not much work and plenty of admiring comments The Harder You Try - the Luckier You Get ! Web site http://www.anewhouse.com.au Informative, Amusing, and Opinionated Blog - Over 600 posts on all aspects of building a new house. Re: Corner Block Ideas 6May 06, 2011 5:24 pm Lunchtime I have seen alot of areas plant pigface as it seems a good ground cover and will take over everything along the side. We are going with this - not sure how long it will take for the pigface to grow enough Mine are about 1m across after about 3years starting from 50mm pots The Harder You Try - the Luckier You Get ! Web site http://www.anewhouse.com.au Informative, Amusing, and Opinionated Blog - Over 600 posts on all aspects of building a new house. Re: Corner Block Ideas 7May 06, 2011 6:16 pm Absolutely environmentally unfriendly. I completely understand that many of you may just not get me. You know what many in my industry just don't get me. I don't get boxes of carp and marketing this rubbish and marketing that. I have a very deep understanding of the people, topics, products and advertising you guys encounter. As do many in my circles. It's a wonder any of you can get anywhere in making a decision as to what to do. I like to think I can help give some direction through the rubbish to give you straight out no nonsense success that is both low maintenance (lets face it who has the time at all) and a sustainable enviro friendly option that will help your home in the not so distance years ahead, stand out among the many as something that was done right. Only problem is, all that, it is often a direct opposite to what you encounter and so fair call you may not get me or understand me or what I stand for sometimes The word artificial has no place in a garden that is genuinely low care It will always come round from somewhere later and kick you in years to come or just outright be playing some part in a cumulative affect on where you live. Every bit counts. Here in Perth we are a great case study of what all that means in so many aspects of environment, climate and micro climate. Recycled rubber in particular is not cool (commonly used in all manner of landscape applications in Australia). What do we do with it? Well something I'd hope but ultimately the answer doesn't lay in our gardens. The problem overall with inert substances (including pebbles, rocks and gravel) is that they do nothing to return anything to the soil. No matter where that soil is, if nothing is going in, what comes out will degrade to the point that things get very expensive indeed. To get something that works both next week and in ten years or 100, requires a constant cycle of organic material going in as it goes out. That is just the very principal of how a forest sustains itself. Copy that on a more intensive level to apply to what we ask of our gardens and landscapes and it just works. Anything less and we are joking ourselves as to what low maintenance really is. Re: Corner Block Ideas 8May 07, 2011 5:35 pm How about dark green mondo grass around the edge, then red flax plants, 75cm to 1m apart down the centre. Compost then a layer of mulch of small bark chips. Another idea is to plant a rambling ground cover, like a flower carpet rose in red or pinks Corner Block Ideas 9May 07, 2011 6:02 pm Pick of the mulches is the cheapest. It comes straight off the back of your local tree lopping contractors truck. Best by a mile!!! Corner Block Ideas 10May 07, 2011 6:06 pm It highly important to consider not just what looks pretty but are they going to be the sorts of plants that will need spoon feeding when water is tight and heat is on? Flaxes have gone out of fashion quicker than a lady gaga outfit. Plants that need a heap of water might need a good second option as an alternative. 3 or 4 months without rain is a real possibilty in many capital cities and regional centers. Everyone over east seems to have forgotten the ten years of drought pretty quick. Re: Corner Block Ideas 11May 07, 2011 6:10 pm Fu, you do so well to give us access to your knowledge. And I was amazed at the difference in my garden just by using tree lopped mulch, everythings doing better, looks great. We just have mulch on the verge at the side, the guy across the road parks his work car on it. In a few months well plant something so it looks pretty when we put the house on the market my new build thread- Ben Trager https://forum.homeone.com.au/viewtopic.php?f=31&t=89826 my switch build thread (2011) https://forum.homeone.com.au/viewtopic.php?f=31&t=36569 Re: Corner Block Ideas 13May 07, 2011 6:34 pm Neh just my phone but yeah, can't go back and edit. my new build thread- Ben Trager https://forum.homeone.com.au/viewtopic.php?f=31&t=89826 my switch build thread (2011) https://forum.homeone.com.au/viewtopic.php?f=31&t=36569 Re: Corner Block Ideas 14May 07, 2011 6:34 pm Sea lavender Limonium perezii is another idea, comes from the canary islands and is pretty and very drought tolerant, Salt bush, Rhagodia spinescens an australian native, both on a TV special. the Sea lavender looks lovely Re: Corner Block Ideas 15May 07, 2011 7:09 pm Kiwi, we need to be very mindful of using exotic plants. 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