 |
 | Home | Contact Us | FAQ | Search & Site Map | Link to Us |
 | Sign In | Join | Other 45 Sites in Network |
| HomeDiscussion GroupsGeneralRural LivingHome AutomationSecurity AlarmsConstructionRepairPlumbingCleaningPest ControlLawn and Garden |
Homeowner Forum / Lawn and Garden / February 2007overall garden design
it occurred to me the other day that i have no "grand plan" for my garden, and i should perhaps therefore stop doing new things until i've thought of one. but having said that, i'm not good at thinking of things which don't exist yet, so i'm not quite sure what to do!! i don't object to the basic layout, but then, maybe that's only because i can't think of anything better! is your garden all carefully planned? or would you rather just work with what is already there? is it perhaps easier and better to think up small changes as you go, in order to develop a bigger picture of how you would like it to be? my original idea (cough) was to have "garden rooms" & all of this, but now i can do that, i can't imagine where to begin! i think though at this point, after 5 months residence, it's probably a good idea to stop & take stock over winter. i spent the spring/summer getting the veggies etc going, putting in as many annual flowers, flowering ground-covers, & other cheering things in small patches as i could, chopping down inappropriately-located trees & planting appropriate trees, etc, & thinking about where i am going with this. but as i said, i can't think up things which aren't there, so i've reached a standstill. maybe best for now to work on the beds which are there while i think about things. any ideas or advice? how do you do things at your place? thanks! kylie G'day Kylie While my yard had the basic landscaping done when I bought the house, I did pull lots of stuff out.......eg, LARGE quantities of Dietes which took over during the second year (back when it used to rain heaps)!! I keep a clump of these in a pot these days in order to keep them under control. What I could see though, was that the landscapers had a basic colour scheme so I decided to go with this...it also matches the house colours and is quite a feat at times to find plants in a particular colour, being burgundy, pink and cream/white. I quite like the challenge of finding plants in these colours, it's something I haven't done in previous gardens. I don't have a 'grand plan' as such and just make changes as I think of new ideas or see something in a magazine or on TV that I think might suit, but having said that I did put a lot of thought into a couple of trees that could be planted, in my now, small back yard. Previous gardens have been several acres so I used to plant what I liked, found at a special price or were given by other gardeners whose trees/shrubs became too large for their space and needed to be moved to a new location. One of these was a 'very' large cactus collection, with some being 2 metres tall and with several trunks. An extremely dry area, where nothing else would grow, was just perfect and they looked right at home. Bronwyn ;-) > it occurred to me the other day that i have no "grand plan" for my garden, > and i should perhaps therefore stop doing new things until i've thought of [quoted text clipped - 21 lines] > thanks! > kylie > G'day Kylie > > While my yard had the basic landscaping done when I bought the house, I > did pull lots of stuff out.......eg, LARGE quantities of Dietes which took > over during the second year (back when it used to rain heaps)!! I keep a > clump of these in a pot these days in order to keep them under control. i just read clive blazey's "the australian flower garden" and boy, does the "suburban garden" come in for a serve!! he's an old cross-patch sometimes :-) chez-moi, i think i am trying to do more or less what you are - unless there's something particularly loathesome or wrong about soemthing, i'd truly rather keep it & work around it. but that seems to be the limit of my original design ideas <g>. i do think though that more ideas will come with time. > What I could see though, was that the landscapers had a basic colour > scheme so I decided to go with this...it also matches the house colours > and is quite a feat at times to find plants in a particular colour, being > burgundy, pink and cream/white. i just got a "burgundy lace" ajuga!! (i love ajuga. i don't really know why). I quite like the challenge of > finding plants in these colours, it's something I haven't done in previous > gardens. as my place is a peeling cream-painted shed, i can do anything with colours... and there are so many beds each could have a theme. this is what i would like to do. i had a really nifty colour idea (a black garden bed) but then couldn't fathom where to put it. nor, beyond two things i could think of, what to put in it :-) sadly, i messed up my theme beds (even though there's only 3 tiny ones) already because when we first got here in spring i put nasturtiums everywhere as it was just so bare, & now i'm hoping some self-seed but hope others don't, as they are now the "wrong" colour now i've thought about it more. argh! > I don't have a 'grand plan' as such and just make changes as I think of > new ideas or see something in a magazine or on TV that I think might suit, > but having said that I did put a lot of thought into a couple of trees > that could be planted, in my now, small back yard. Previous gardens have > been several acres so I used to plant what I liked mine is the several-acres variety, and yet we've already managed to make a couple of mistakes with tree location. i shall have to relocate them before they get too much bigger. i need to put more thought into this!!! , found > at a special price or were given by other gardeners whose trees/shrubs > became too large for their space and needed to be moved to a new location. > One of these was a 'very' large cactus collection, with some being 2 > metres tall and with several trunks. An extremely dry area, where nothing > else would grow, was just perfect and they looked right at home. lovely! this is what i meant. i need to be able to "see" where different types of things will be good but i can't seem to do it. hence even though i want big "garden rooms" one day, i am alarmed at the thought of just making a humungous mess by doing things thoughtlessly. perhaps i need to read more. thanks for your thoughts, bronwyn! kylie > any ideas or advice? how do you do things at your place? > thanks! > kylie I suggest that you should do some minimum plan even if you are not a very plan person. Here are some ideas: 1) Spend several sessions just observing your garden, preferably over several seasons. Note the characteristics of each area, eg aspect, view, sunny/shady, damp/dry, good soil/poor soil etc etc 2) List all the things that you want to do in your garden and their requirements. For example: - Install clothesline (needs to be easy access to the house, in the sun and wind if possible) - Allow kids to play (need grass, otherwise get rid of it!) - Meditate (quiet) - Grow veges (good sun and soil, access to water) - Entertain (shade in summer, flat) - Sunbake (privacy) etc etc 3) Work out where all the activities go and their priority 4) Work out if any earthworks or construction is required, these generally must happen first, especially earthworks. You may get only one chance (for example) to bring in trucks and equipment. 5) Start work on priority items and proceed as time and cash permit. David >> any ideas or advice? how do you do things at your place? >> thanks! [quoted text clipped - 6 lines] > several seasons. Note the characteristics of each area, eg aspect, > view, sunny/shady, damp/dry, good soil/poor soil etc etc this must be a code for "stop rushing around doing things, & just observe for a while" ;-) > 2) List all the things that you want to do in your garden and their > requirements. For example: [quoted text clipped - 17 lines] > > David thanks david. i've got the veggies in a good spot (although other veggies are all about the place, too - not sure if this is convenient or actually inconvenient - it seems to be both). we did some minor earthworks which have turned out to be really nice, so that's encouraging - yet at some point, we need to either expand our house or build a new one, yet there isn't any "natural" place one would do this. similarly, my clothesline is in a really weird spot, yet i can't think of anywhere that would be better, despite much thought. (perhaps i just need a brain transplant). the kids can play anywhere, so that's cool. i'm trying to involve dh a bit more, as he has good (if somewhat impractical & rather high-flown) ideas & we can meet in the middle. mainly i am going to take on board your advice to settle down & observe more, & only do things i am sure about. frankly, i need a break anyway - i think i have exhausted myself with this. :-) ta! kylie > mainly i am going to take on board your advice to settle down & observe > more, & only do things i am sure about. frankly, i need a break anyway - i > think i have exhausted myself with this. :-) ta! > kylie- Hide quoted text - One other thing just sprung to mind. One reason to observe over several seasons is to see where and when the sun shines as the seasons change. There are a number of freeware utilities and web-based calculators (one called 'ephemeris' by Sachs) that will calculate the position of the sun for you at any time. Here is one reference, there are many: http://www.bythom.com/calculate.htm >From the angles provided using some a compass, stakes, string etc you can map out where shadows will fall (say in Winter) without waiting for the seasons to change. This will help you determine the effect of trellises, verandahs, deciduous trees etc as far as trying to get shade in summer and sun in winter, or make sure that the location of the vege garden has sun all year around. David >> mainly i am going to take on board your advice to settle down & observe >> more, & only do things i am sure about. frankly, i need a break anyway - [quoted text clipped - 17 lines] > shade in summer and sun in winter, or make sure that the location of > the vege garden has sun all year around. good heavens!! the things they have these days. thank you! (naturally the situation is complicated by living 1/2 way down a valley and with many other large trees, but i'll get dh onto that when he is deciding where he wants his hop trellis to go.) might be handy for our new verandah (one day - snort) too. we had to cut down a huge tree (it's now resprouting) because it cast shadow on the solar panels most of the day in winter, i.e. when we got here. as an aside, it's kind of amazing the things the 7th day adventists have info on. as another aside, you would think the solar installer (i know who he is) would not have made such a ridiculous mistake. i think that is enough asides now. thanks for that. kylie Kylie, We were lucky to start with over half an acre of blank sheet - apart from a two year old "native" garden along one fence where the recycled water went. We started with a nice square corner for the veggie patch - square to maximise use of the space and make it easy to fence of our dogs decided digging veggies was good sport (they didn't). We put a row of fruit trees as a border to the garden and partial screen from the house - also as a wind break. Next we looked at screening neighbours views into our yard (we have 10 neighbours !!) That involved fast growing hedge type plants and some creepers on wires extending the height of the fences. We wanted the yard to have an open feel about it but completely block the pool from neighbours views - saves buying new bathers each year as the chlorine kills them :-) So we did strategically placed rows of lillypillys diagonally across the yard that left the view from the house open, but hindered views across the yard. Then we went for plant types so that each garden needed the same sort of conditions. The recycle garden is raised sand and as there are only two of us here the recycled water does not go far on a garden this size so it has become drought resistant eucalyptus, and acacia, edged with some tough 1m high reedy stuff. There is another garden that provides the close in screen for the pool, it is raised clay (the soil that came out where the pool went in) it is grevilleas. Along one other fence is a thick planting of callistemon and another is primarily melaleucas. Under big trees out the front we planted cordylines and bromilleads the other side exposed to sun and no water is grey and purple lambs ears, buddleias and gaura. If you have Google Earth, go to 32 41 45.16 S and 115 38 54.55 E that is our house, you can see the shape of the yard - the image is a couple of years old and the lillypillys and callistemon have gone in since then there has been lots of growth since then but you can get the idea. Cheers, Geoff >>> mainly i am going to take on board your advice to settle down & observe >>> more, & only do things i am sure about. frankly, i need a break anyway - [quoted text clipped - 36 lines] > i think that is enough asides now. thanks for that. > kylie > Kylie, > We were lucky to start with over half an acre of blank sheet - apart from [quoted text clipped - 22 lines] > the front we planted cordylines and bromilleads the other side exposed to > sun and no water is grey and purple lambs ears, buddleias and gaura. i love gaura (as an aside ;-). i see that you are planting according to conditions, rather than trying to alter conditions a little...? because i am entirely mad, i am trying to alter conditions a bit & then design for aesthetic purposes. :-) (coming up shortly, a frenzy of stone paving & dry-stone walling for warmer microclimate!!) > If you have Google Earth, go to 32 41 45.16 S and 115 38 54.55 E that is > our house, you can see the shape of the yard - the image is a couple of > years old and the lillypillys and callistemon have gone in since then > there has been lots of growth since then but you can get the idea. i wouldn't mind a peep! but my slow-dial-up makes it nightmarish so it was uninstalled posthaste, which is unfortunate, but there you are. i like to see what people have done, it's always informative. (sometimes horrible gardens can be even more informative than nice ones which work). i see that you are using david's method of divining your purpose while planning. i've been thinking about this a great deal, which is almost as exhausting as actually doing it. :-) but clearly it needs to be done. thank you for your input! kylie |
Reply to this Message |
 Sign In
 Join
 My Latest Posts My Monitored Threads My Blog My Photo Gallery My Profile My Homepage Start New Thread Enable EMail Alerts Rate this Thread
|
©2009 Advenet LLC Privacy Policy - Terms of Use
This website includes both content owned or controlled by Advenet as well as content owned or controlled by third parties.