Browse Forums Landscape & Garden Design 1 Jul 01, 2011 11:03 pm Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ would appreciate your valued advice here. this front yard needs more tweaking. what should i do to add colour? The landscaper said to wait for the plants to grow, before I do additional work on it. The brief is to come up with an oriental feel. I thought making the naturestrip similar with the ground material in our property would make it look bigger. It turned out to be sad and bare. Please help me. What plants do you think I should get? Do I need to put more pebbles? I have like a half cubic metre of medium to large mud rocks that I can use. Re: advice please! 3Jul 02, 2011 10:48 am A thing i think relates to a lot of oriental gardens is variety. You get a different view every few steps So a consistent approach doesn't help. A sculpture can also help. 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: advice please! 4Jul 02, 2011 4:49 pm I tend to agree with the landscaper. Its hard without knowing what plants you have there, apart from the weeping Jap maple i can see. Personally I find that generally gardens just looks so dull & drab this time of year in Melbourne. The plants don't have that flush of new growth that give the garden a sparkle plus the lack of daylight hours. I would hang off till things come alive a bit more then make a call. Some ideas ahead, i would consider some ground cover grevilleas with some of your left over rocks. Also maybe path of stepping stones. Re: advice please! 5Jul 02, 2011 9:01 pm The dullness is partly from the flatness and relatively large expanse of nothing. If you go to any Japanese garden you will find that it is not long before you are either walking up or down artificial hills. If you have large rocks use them to create a small hill. Cover with groundcover and maybe another maple or a little cyprus. Here is an interesting website on the use of small hills in oriental gardens: http://www.zen-garden.org/html/page_obj_tsukiyama.htm Re: advice please! 6Jul 02, 2011 9:45 pm The plants in there are hebe emerald green, acacia cognata fettucini, and weeping maple, and some mondo grass. The large cordyline has been there since we moved last year. We transplanted it and now its leaves are turning brown. I have been stressing about this for weeks now. I just can't accept that I asked a professional to do this and yet I am not happy about the result. Re: advice please! 7Jul 03, 2011 9:51 am I am a big fan of the acacia cognata which looks good but can take 2-3 years to grow to a reasonable size I would be looking to add some low growing conifers as ground cover, tough, don't need much water, green all year round and can fit the oriental theme. 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: advice please! 8Jul 03, 2011 9:52 am Considering the size of the plants used i can understand why you are not happy. It takes years before a garden matures, its just part of gardening, unless you are prepared to drop a tonne of cash on mature plants. I don't know the ins and outs of your brief with the landscaper but the "bones" of an oriental garden is there. Have a look at "framing" the garden with a low hedge of say Korean box. Eg along the drive way on both sides and across the front entrance. Re: advice please! 9Jul 03, 2011 2:59 pm I still have black and green mondo grass (a friend gave me), around 8 pots. Its not enough, but she said I can segregate them. Will that work for "framing" the garden instead of hedge? If I get those conifers, where can I put them? Along the right side (referring to picture), maybe? The landscaper did a good job in the backyard. I know I have been over-thinking this project when we started. Along the way, I kept second guessing myself. And its pretty much all me to blame, hahaha... You, guys, are great help! Thanks heaps. Re: advice please! 10Jul 03, 2011 5:32 pm is there any way you could make a level change?? Mounded earth to add some change in height?? maybe use the mud rocks(BTW I have no idea what a mud rock is) to introduce a dry riverbed meandering through the landscape?? 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: advice please! 12Jul 03, 2011 8:27 pm starting it from beside the shrub under the window and then run it down towards the letterbox then around the bed to the next bed 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: advice please! 13Jul 06, 2011 11:57 am craftytess I still have black and green mondo grass (a friend gave me), around 8 pots. Its not enough, but she said I can segregate them. Will that work for "framing" the garden instead of hedge? If I get those conifers, where can I put them? Along the right side (referring to picture), maybe? The landscaper did a good job in the backyard. I know I have been over-thinking this project when we started. Along the way, I kept second guessing myself. And its pretty much all me to blame, hahaha... You, guys, are great help! Thanks heaps. We too are thinking of doing a Japanese style garden in the front so I am interested to see how yours turns out. Can you share some pictures of your backyard too? For info on our build: viewtopic.php?f=31&t=43093 Built the McLaren by Dechellis - slab down 22 Feb - handover 30 Aug 2011 - and gardens finished 9 Dec 2012!! Re: advice please! 14Jul 06, 2011 12:24 pm Hi, Just an observation, it looks like your nature strip tree is a White Cedar (Melia azedarach) from the photo - I think. Keep in mind that depending on your aspect, you may get quite a bit of shade from this tree, which will determine which type of plants that you will use. Most of your plants are good for the oriental look - although I am not sure that the cordyline works very well. You really need to wait for the plants to mature a bit, but as mentioned some lower growing ground covers would soften the area. Have you seen the Casuarina glauca - Cousin It. Very hardy, low growing ground cover. Quick height could be achieved by replacing the cordyline with a nice weeping bamboo such as Gracilus textilus. Think soft weepy foliage will work well - Agonisa dwarf varieties. (As you can probably tell I am not a minimalist gardener!) Can I also ask how the ground was prepared? From the picture the ground looks very sterile, and preparing the soil you plant into plays a huge part in how well/quickly the plants will grow. I would be trying to get in as much organic matter as you can, which may not sit well with you with the pebble look that you are after. I also think adding some interest as suggested with some gentle mounding etc would work well, plus the dry river bed idea. Re: advice please! 15Jul 06, 2011 2:29 pm I dreamt a bit too big. I wanted to be different from the rest of the houses in our street. It sure looks different!!! In hindsight, I thought going oriental would be low maintenance. I asked for small gravel. I didn't realized this material is compacting. So I tried adding some plants the other day and it was hard, I mean the ground is hard. Big mistake. I just don't know how to fix the situation I am in. I have been to Laverton Market last weekend and with all the foray of plants there, it just confused me more. It saddens me that I trusted someone for this project and didn't even tell me that that ground material would not work. Anyway, the damage has been done. Now, it's gardening big time Re: advice please! 16Jul 06, 2011 2:39 pm Oh don't give up so quickly - if you have a look at the link amadio sent it will show you how you can add rocks and a few of the right plants to get the look you want. Keep it simple and it will be easier. In the meantime if you want to improve your soil you could add some mulch and molasses and other things that Fu Manchu talks about - it might not look the best but it will look better than what you have and by the time the weather warms up the soil will be improved and you will be able to plant things. It's not a bad base to start from ... keep your chin up For info on our build: viewtopic.php?f=31&t=43093 Built the McLaren by Dechellis - slab down 22 Feb - handover 30 Aug 2011 - and gardens finished 9 Dec 2012!! Re: advice please! 17Jul 06, 2011 2:41 pm @spottydog: That cordyline looks old and dry. Is that type of bamboo you're suggesting non-invasive? What if I put it in a large pot or planter? Re: advice please! 18Jul 06, 2011 2:49 pm @Maclaren: Thanks for the encouragement. I just felt I wasted resources for this project. We had the chance to create something nice, but failed. Well, as you would say, we are not there yet. I hope it will look better. Re: advice please! 19Jul 06, 2011 3:08 pm I agree with Mclaren - don't give up - it's not as daunting as you think. Gracilus is a clumping bamboo, and grows about 1m in diameter. Check out Red Cloud Bamboo - their website is fantastic. My concern at the moment would be to check your current plants and make sure that the pebble mulch isn't compacted around the base of the plants - otherwise it's like planting in concrete, and how does the water reach the plant. If it is, get the pebbles away from the plants - say a 30 cm radius and mulch (but don't mulch up to the base of the plant). Retain your pebbles where you want them for paths/effect, run a dry river bed as suggested, and add softening plants along the edges like mini cogs, mondo, even some of the new lomandras look lovely and soft. If it was me I would put the bamboo where the cordyline is, and meander the river bed down and around to the letterbox, play with it until you are happy and it looks organic and natural. Then just play and fill in bits and pieces as you can, a bit here a bit there - potter and play with it. All of the best gardens evolve and are constantly fiddled with, and even if you are not a gardening person, the sense of achievement you will get when it starts to fill out will be worth it. I hope you don't feel too overwhelmed - it's nothing that you can't 'tweak' to make it look original, lovely and green. I saw this mans work at the Melbourne International Flower and Garden Show in 2008, and I was transfixed, google Koji Ninomiya MIFGS 2008, and take some inspiration - it may help you with what you would like to achieve. PS - you haven't failed - it just needs your personal touch added - and unless you have megabucks to spend - it always takes time, the overall structure is fine. Re: advice please! 20Jul 06, 2011 6:13 pm craftytess If I get those conifers, where can I put them? Along the right side (referring to picture), maybe? I use them to soften hard corners The Harder You Try - the Luckier You Get ! 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