Browse Forums Landscape & Garden Design Re: Native front garden-suggestions needed 3May 24, 2008 11:39 pm Do the hard jobs first. The easy jobs will take care of themselves. - Dale Carnegie Re: Native front garden-suggestions needed 4May 24, 2008 11:55 pm mmm....donuts Homer Simpson 1956- Links: Site Costs Ready Reckoner | H1 Addiction Medical Advice | Château TDL: The Backyard Re: Native front garden-suggestions needed 5May 24, 2008 11:58 pm mmm....donuts Homer Simpson 1956- Links: Site Costs Ready Reckoner | H1 Addiction Medical Advice | Château TDL: The Backyard Re: Native front garden-suggestions needed 8May 25, 2008 9:49 am Blog http://wherethehearthis.blogspot.com/ Build https://forum.homeone.com.au/viewtopic.php?t=6634: Yard https://forum.homeone.com.au/viewtopic.php?f=19&t=27687&p=378401#p378401 Re: Native front garden-suggestions needed 13May 25, 2008 11:35 am mmm....donuts Homer Simpson 1956- Links: Site Costs Ready Reckoner | H1 Addiction Medical Advice | Château TDL: The Backyard Re: Native front garden-suggestions needed 14May 25, 2008 11:52 am Quote:
As you have said soil prep was the key, plenty of organics and gypsum to break it down. I got most things to grow in it. You gotta work with what you have.... exactly. There's a heap of clay where we currently live. Horrid sticky orange brown clay. Actually what we've got to work with on our new block is worse than just clay. it's very hard gravel and I suspect clay. I've tried to dig into it a few times and its pretty hard. The people down the road have brought in a heap of soil, and built their garden on top of it. The bonus of course is that we'll be able to leave the back yard area for a while without it becoming over grown. Smile. .Hubby bought a brushcutter yesterday. Smile We'll get the front done. ( about the size of a standard yard area anyway) Once that's done I'll start on the smaller side garden area near where the clothes line will be. I want to make it courtyard type garden. All our trees , about 5 gums are in this area But as you've said. you work with what you've got. We'll have to get something in to try and break the ground up a bit and add some soil improver and then bring in more soil etc to create our front garden. I'm really envious of the sand/soil Dolly has to work with. Dolly have you decided yet which way you want to go between the 2 directions you mentioned? To_do_list mentioned some interesting links. I found some mentions of some lawn alternatives here http://www.global-garden.com.au/gardenfeature2.htm For information on bird friendly plants try http://www.birdsinbackyards.net/ This info was from the birdsinbackyards site but its appropriate for any garden planning. Assessing your site The answers to the following list of questions will tell you a lot about your planned garden site, including what plants are likely to grow there and what sort of garden would best suit it. This important information forms the 'building blocks' of your garden plan. 1. Where does your garden fit into the geography of your area? Is it in a gully or on top of a ridge, does it slope or is it flat? 2. What is its aspect? When, where and for how long do you get sun on your garden? Does your site predominantly face east, west, north or south? Track the sun for a while and find out which parts of your garden get plenty of sun or are mainly shady. Allow for seasonal changes in the sun's position. A hot spot in the summer may be quite cold and damp in the winter. 3. What type of soil do you have or would you naturally have? Is it sandy, stony, heavy clay or alluvium? If you don't know, take a sample from several places in your garden from about 30 cm - 50 cm (about 1 ft) below the surface, and take this to your local nursery for advice. 4. What type of plants would live in this area if it wasn't urban? This doesn't mean you will only plant the local plant species (although this would be ideal), but it will help you understand what might grow successfully. Find out more using our plant lists or contact your local council. 5. Where does the dominant wind come from? This will determine where you might want to place windbreaks et.c. 6. How much space do you have? How much space do you have for your garden and what can you realistically do with it? Are there large buildings nearby that restrict sunlight? 7. What else is the garden going to be used for? Consider your own needs. This space is also for you and your family, so you need to factor in some areas that are useful for you. 8. What sort of gardens surround yours? This may not always be useful, but if your neighbours are also trying to attract birds, it is a good idea to work together and provide the same or complementary plants. This will increase your chances of success. 9. What habitat do you want to recreate? Consider what type of habitat you want to create. e.g. If you live in a gully which has some protection from wind, it might be suitable for rainforest plants or if you live at the top of a ridge which has a lot of wind and gets the full heat of the midday sun throughout the year, you would be better to develop a heath-like garden. Blog http://wherethehearthis.blogspot.com/ Build https://forum.homeone.com.au/viewtopic.php?t=6634: Yard https://forum.homeone.com.au/viewtopic.php?f=19&t=27687&p=378401#p378401 Re: Native front garden-suggestions needed 15May 25, 2008 2:41 pm Hey thanks Kexkez, you've given me lots of things to think about there, I'll check out the links when i get a chance. I'm popping in on here in between kid wrangling.
And like you said Neverfinished, the art of pruning is something I need to learn not to be afraid of. I am guilty of letting some plants go in my current rental and then wondering why they look so crap when i do prune them and they die. I've been buying up lots of garden mags, and my Dad has given me some old school native identification resource books with lots of info too. (he used to be a school gardener too in another life). The veg patch is going to go down the back- over the area that I can't construct anything permanent on. My previous attempts at veg have been woeful so I'm hoping to triumph this time, and put way more effort in. Kids have been showing interest too, so it'll be educational as well as a way to offset the horrendous prices of veg now. I'm sure it's more expensive to buy groceries here than in the east. I saw burpless cucumbers today for $3.45 each, and half a tiny cauli for $2. I get all excited when red capsicums come down to $5.99kg, or I can get a avo for $1.99. Re: Native front garden-suggestions needed 16May 25, 2008 5:37 pm HI Dolly I went to the Boyanup farmers market today and on the way back called into the boyanup plant nursery. the lady there was really helpful. Gave me a great bit of info on different soil types etc and what they all mean for plants etc. it came with heap of suggested plants for different soil types. They had a big range of small tube sized stock as well as bigger plants. well worth a visit. They also do orders. The lady said they had sold about 25% of their stock fairly recently. but they had a surprising range. . Much more than I expected. You could also buy a mixed bunch of veggie seedlings She said the best time of year to see the most stock is around a month or 2 ago. Just as the rains come all the bigger stock/trees tends to sell with people making the most of the free rain water. Re: Native front garden-suggestions needed 17May 25, 2008 6:33 pm Is that the one on the highway just out of town? I used to work there, about 8 years ago when I was single and energetic. It wasn't a public nursery then, just supplied seedlings for plantations. I'd forgotten about it, I'll have to check it out Re: Native front garden-suggestions needed 18May 25, 2008 6:55 pm that's the one. It's now open to the public as well as being a wholesale nursery.
I also met a man a couple of months back who lives in Boyanup who said he was considering setting up a mostly wholesale nursery there too. he'd recently moved from stratham where he ran a wholesale nursery. Re: Native front garden-suggestions needed 19May 25, 2008 7:18 pm Dolly22…..while I used to work in a nursery, and have a very green thumb, my DD was never interested in gardening.
That is until she got her own home! I bought her a great gardening guide book and given her advice along the way, she now can grow anything!!! If she can do it, so can you….the main thing is to get your soil right, once you have done that you are away! http://www.abc.net.au/gardening/stories/s2207992.htm My votes for the Japanese Garden…..they are so calming. Get yourself a Cherry Blossom as your main tree. Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ Internal and External Building and Colour Consultant Online - Worldwide http://www.denovoconcepts.com Fig Landscapes has produced an e-book and native plant index, available for purchase from their website. It's a great resource, full of inspiration and tips. Another… 1 12611 Hi, Looking to add an ensuite to one of the bedrooms and make it a Master BR. Please see the attached current floorplan. Need suggestions on what's the best way to do… 0 7455 Suggestions please for acrylic rendering Color to match austral brick urban one pepper. Pic for reference. Thanks 0 5222 |