Gardening help needed.

M

Melbournee

Hi all,

First time gardener so might sound silly.

Current PPOR - got down to the garden after an year or so from buying - so had to pull out lots weeds and big bushy stuff.

Now want to put some plants which don't require a lot of care, don't cover the whole ground and look good.

1) Yuccas look good - what else is out there?
Please help- as I said first time gardening so a bit clueless.

2) Need to cover a side of the house which is sort of an alleyway/sideway but never gets used. Is there a cheap solution for this - all I can think is to cover it in Mulch or stones or concrete (Weeding is back breaking!) but these are all fairly expensive options for an area that seldom gets used. Can any of the somersoft experts come up with any other alternatives?

thanks all for any help :)
 
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Before you discount the idea of mulch, call into a landscaping supplies and see what is available. cheapest $ per cubic meter is what you are after. eg: 3m x 20m = 60 m^2 x 10cm = 6 m^3. The worse thing about mulch is that it will keep the soil moist and something will want to grow, so you will have to weed. Glyphosate is excellent for this. Don't discount the idea of some sort of groundcover plants either.
 
Hi M,

Some information is needed for a better answer:

What is your garden size?
What is your garden bed size?
What is the soil condition?
What is the sun direction?
Any covering nearby?
What is your aim in introducing the plant, eg. Screening, shade, style, fruit...?
How much care / time are you prepared to maintain?
Your planned use of that gardening space?

:)

Ps. Yucca is hardy and drough resistant. Love sun. Unsafe for kids (its stiff sharp spiky leaf can poke eyes)
 
I would recommend looking at the gardens around you and seeing what grows well and often in the area. Different regions have different types of soil, and so different plants do well. You can ask at your local nursery.
We've mainly used natives that dont like to be watered, but I don't know what any of their names are!
Also gardenia.. flowers smell great and seem to be surprisingly hardy
in our area, and azaleas.. dont like them so much, but we needed to put something in that was hardy, and they fit the bill at the time.
and thick newspaper (as a "weed mat") with thick mulch to keep the weeds down. we haven't watered the garden in about 3 years.
As Graingrower said, use a landscaping supply company for the mulch. Its much better value than buying in bags.
 
pennyk said:
I would recommend looking at the gardens around you and seeing what grows well and often in the area. Different regions have different types of soil, and so different plants do well. You can ask at your local nursery.
Click to expand...

Climate would have as much influence as soil. Eg. Western suburbs of Melbourne rainfall is 500mm, Eastern suburbs rainfal is up to 1000mm and a lot cooler. Which suburb are you in?
 
Firstly big thanks for your replies.

Got lawns and flower beds on area of 300-350 sqm.

1) Marked an area where I want to put in a garden bed or two- wondering what wood is best for this and where to get it? (fixing the house over last year has made me enough of a handyman to join pieces of wood together lol)

2) With regards to Mulch I really like the look of that red mulch- what sort of prices am I looking at - per sqm of garden bed cover? Just an idea so I know what to expect.

3)
Graingrower said:
Climate would have as much influence as soil. Eg. Western suburbs of Melbourne rainfall is 500mm, Eastern suburbs rainfal is up to 1000mm and a lot cooler. Which suburb are you in?
Click to expand...

I am in Epping so north. Not sure what sort of weather would that be?

For ornamental I would really like to have a pine /arocaria kind of tree. something like this:
http://www.gdbobalcons-shop.com/Files/19849/8370115134075.jpg

4)Can these be grown in Northern Melbourne?

5) A lemon tree as well- heard its easy to maintain- lesser pests - but too many different kinds to choose from! which is the best one?

would prefer a functional garden for the backyard more than the looks- so fruit trees or any other good stuff is fine as long as its not super high maintenence.

In short I would like relatively low maintainence options (more ornamental for frontyard and fruits etc or other plants for backyard)- can put in 2-3 days a month- shade isnt important and I dislike thick bushy shruby stuff which runs everywhere (where one cannot be sure what animals/insects might be living in there! lol). So something like this is a no no:
http://www.southernlandscapes.com/Snow_Bush_Hibiscus.jpg

Hope I am making sense.

Thanks again for helping an amateur like me! :eek:
 
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Melbournee said:
1) Marked an area where I want to put in a garden bed or two- wondering what wood is best for this and where to get it? (fixing the house over last year has made me enough of a handyman to join pieces of wood together lol)
Click to expand...
Treated pine is the most popular. Redgum or other native hardwood sleepers are also popular, although more expensive.
Melbournee said:
2) With regards to Mulch I really like the look of that red mulch- what sort of prices am I looking at - per sqm of garden bed cover? Just an idea so I know what to expect.
Click to expand...
1 Cubic meter will cover 10 sqm at 100mm (4") thick or 20 sqm at 50mm (2") thick.
Melbournee said:
3)
I am in Epping so north. Not sure what sort of weather would that be?
Click to expand...
600mm rainfall, wet spring, drier summer, autumn winter. Mild temps. USDA Hardiness zone 9. http://www.eldersweather.com.au/climate.jsp?lt=site&lc=86351 for specific info for Bundoora
Melbournee said:
5) A lemon tree as well- heard its easy to maintain- lesser pests - but too many different kinds to choose from! which is the best one?

would prefer a functional garden for the backyard more than the looks- so fruit trees or any other good stuff is fine as long as its not super high maintenence.
Click to expand...

'Lisbon' and 'Eureka' lemons are the old standby for plenty of large fruit. Some of the moden recomendations are dwarf type trees for smaller gardens. Most citrus fruits should do well. Just make sure they don't have a dwarf rootstock if you don't want small trees. Peaches should grow well too. Apples would be ok but I think they really prefer colder winters withs lots and lots of frosts. They also don't seem to be as drought tolerant either, but thats my opinion
 
As a black thumb I can tell you Agapanthus are indestructible. They don't need watering, you can run over them with the lawn mower and the next year they'll spring back again. They spread very slowly, or you can just split bits off and plant them elsewhere. A great decorative plant to run along your borders while you experiment with more risky things in the garden beds.
 
Garden

:DCheck with the council before you plant Agapanthus , they are considered a 'bad' weed in Eltham.
The Council might also have a list of indigenous plants for your area that grow naturally and require little assistance.
Edendale farm (Eltham) has cheap 'indigenous' plants for sale, but you'd have to check if they suit your area.
Tip. wet the ground and lay thick wet newspaper under the mulch to stop weeds popping up.
have fun gardening!!
Donna
 
>.Check with the council before you plant Agapanthus , they are considered a 'bad' weed in Eltham.

These were already here when I came in. Three of them covering a lot of area.

Dug one out - absolute pain but left the other two (trimmed them) since they are on the far sides.

Thinking trees are not bad if pruned well?

Are there some bright colored leaf trees that some one knows off. Those red maples etc look good too. Any issues I should be aware of with planting trees?
 
I'd recommend Canna Tropicanna for a splash of red (and other colours). You'll probably pay $15 for your first pot, but you can propagate the life out of them - I've now got many hundreds. :) They spread via the underground tubers sending up new shoots, but they're not invasive and easy enough to trim; they don't grow super-quickly and they don't spread out above ground.

They look good year-round in Brissie, though I suspect in Melbourne's winter the leaves probably yellow a bit. No problem, cut off all the stems down low - you can mow over it if you really want - and come spring, you'll have a new "crop". :cool:
 
All good suggestions. I suggest that you draw a sketch of the garden and then make a list of plants categorized on basis of their height and then fit them in the sketch. Canna is good if you want a plant of height between 1m to 2m. Another good plant may be Salvia which have an height of about 60cm. If you want screening lily pily or buxus may be a good idea. Bamboo (clumping) may also be a good choice if you want height of 3m and more. For groundcovers (instead of mulch), try "Baby sun rose" or Ice Plant. It is a succulent which spreads fast but non-invasive. There are many "lawn substitutes" that you can plant on the sideways. Search "lawn substitute" on Google or ask your garden centre about them. For other areas, you can also try some natives like bottlebrush and grevillia but again it depends what purpose you want to serve and what height you want. Like Yucca, there are many varieties of Cordyline which look spectacular and need no care.
 
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