Browse Forums Landscape & Garden Design 1 Jul 23, 2012 10:43 pm I am in the process of building a garden along front fence, i have several young bangalow and alexander palms in pots reday to go but need some info selecting what plants would be best suited to go inbetween the palms. Also would like to know the best way to prepare the very dull western australian soil into a very healthy nutrient rich soil for these plants. Re: palm trees along front fence. 2Jul 25, 2012 6:31 pm Hi, not sure what you want btw the palms- more tropicals? What look are you going for? The best thing about WA sandy soil is that you can grow anything provided you build in the right nutrients. Composting- get yourself some black compost bins and place in full sun. When one is full start on the other. Use cardboard and water it down on the layers. Never use citrus peel or onion though from your kitchen scraps, these sour the soil. Worm farms: use the castings to make "liquid fertilizer" for your garden and add worms to garden soil once you have enriched with compost. A mix of worm breeds is best. Mushroom mulch is fantastic, plants and vegies love it!! Add soil conditioner - Green Grub is just as good as the dearer ones. Mulch, mulch, mulch! Also don't let things dry out too much in summer. Handwater frequently, after 4pm if possible. Be prepared for excess water bills (since you have chosen tropicals it's a given). Re: palm trees along front fence. 3Jul 25, 2012 10:00 pm cheers for the tips about soil, was thinking mushroom mulch and getting worm farm. Between the palms was thinking ponytails, cordylines. any other suggestions for good looking and hardy plants that would compliment these? Re: palm trees along front fence. 4Jul 26, 2012 12:25 am Cordylines are a huge genus so you can go mad with different foliage colours and shapes. Also flaxes. They are quite hardy. But beware, palms are greedy and water guzzlers so other plants growing near them need TLC. Mulch and more mulch...! I like ornamental gingers, black bamboo, then bromeliads, bird's nest ferns, wood violets, for understory, but our palms were planted wide apart and we mulched and mulched to keep them all happy.... If you are going for a more architectural look rather than rain forest you will still need to choose some plants without strappy leaves to add depth and interest. Re: palm trees along front fence. 5Jul 29, 2012 11:40 pm Please don't use Mushroom mulch. It is a really "not cool" thing to use!!!! Its use and recomendations are costing This mulch and all soft dark mulches increase the water demands of a garden by a minimum of 96% and that flys in the face of certain products that have "bought" themselves waterwise standards. Several comprehensive studies have been conducted by 3 WA universities that I know of and all got the same results. I would very strongly suggest another choice of garden style. We in the SW are facing a monstrous water deficit and that is very worrying. The end result will be that water is just too expensive to use on the garden so plan now for what will be in 5 years. Use rough course mulches only. Mulchnet.com for the mulch or use rough pine bark. they will conserve water in the soil. Not all mulches save water Re: palm trees along front fence. 6Jul 30, 2012 1:51 am CSIRO South-West Western Australia is experiencing one of the highest rates of climate change of anywhere in the world CSIRO Use of water in this region is doubling every 12 to 15 years Yet available water is going to be half of what we have today! Unfortunately the tropical garden may not be an achievable thing in the version you think. Boring old McCordylines are an option as an alternative. Cottonwood Hibiscus Magnolia will get by on stuff all water. http://www.watercorporation.com.au/_fil ... k_2012.PDF Good mate Chris with ABC Radio personality, Sabrina Hahn http://www.watercorporation.com.au/_fil ... k_2012.PDF Waterwise tropical plants: http://www.watercorporation.com.au/w/wa ... esults.cfm Water hungry gardens will be for only the very wealthy in the near future. Firstly the ableflex that has been installed needs (manufactures specification) a sealant cap over the top, preventing water draining down between the slab and the… 3 7795 Old Home Restoration / Renovation Try your local council. They should be able to advise in regards ownership of next door dwellling and give advice as to what steps you have to take before doing any work 1 9799 I recently finished my house and after landscaping, have begun to plan a fence. To be honest its been a bit of an afterthought so I'm after some much needed advice. The… 0 2055 |