Hi garden experts, we are looking for ideas and input for our new front garden please!
We are still learning so please be kind.
Front of the house faces South; location southern Victoria.
Summer sun but winter is mostly shade.
We think the garden beds closest to the house and fence will also be fully in shade in summer but unsure yet.
Narrow garden bed in front of house will be 700mm
Wide garden bed alongside sidewalk will be 1800
Side garden bed next to neighbour’s driveway will be 1500
Back corner garden bed in front of fence will be 1800
Some ideas we have had-
– maybe dwarf hydrangeas in front of the house in the narrow garden bed?
– lily pilly hedge in front of the fence, with something else in front of it but unsure what?
– larger growing flowering natives like wax flower or coastal rosemary in the side garden ? Or would they get too big?
– any other flowering natives to consider?
– cushion bush?
– kangaroo paw?
– lavender?
– wind flowers?
– violets? Daisies? Marigolds?
– camellia ?
– a small crabapple tree in the front garden bed next to the sidewalk for an ornamental tree?
We also need something to plant along each side of our own driveway, which will have a narrow garden bed on each side.
Please give us any more ideas or even advice on what you would plant where!
Thank you!
by Aromatic-Mountain892
7 Comments
I’d suggest a row of standard roses where that soil already is with Coastal Rosemary planted in between the roses.
Can get smaller Westringia types, would suit (I’ve got them growing well in half-sun in Ballarat)
I’d recommend some dwarf Callistemon and some correas, pretty* leaves and pretty flowers too
I don’t have advice except to say maybe have a look at Tim pilgrim’s books and instagram (tpgardens) and he does a lot of beautiful native planting that might fit the vibe you’re after?
Is that your neighbours meter and tap on your property?
Totally depends what you’re after in terms of maintenance, vibe, flowers, water requirements etc. but you can’t really go wrong with any mix of the following:
– Lomandra lime tufts. Great colour and bullet proof.
– Poa lab. Nice contrast with the lomandra.
– Veronica perfoliata. Great shrub, nice flowers, can handle sun or part shade.
– eucalyptus latens ‘moon lagoon’. Cool feature plant.
– acacia gold dust. Great colour, gets about 2m tall.
– chrysocephalum apiculatum. More colour!
– xerochrysum bracteatum. Maybe in pink for something different?
– either westringia or leucophyta brownii for some silver foliage. You can clip these into balls to contrast with the wilder elements of the garden.
That’s a pretty low maintenance garden right there, and the mix of foliage types and colour should look good. Hope this helps! If in doubt, pick whatever you think looks coolest (and can handle lots of sun). You’re the ones who’ll be looking at it everyday!
I’d put in a parcel box set back slightly from the footpath as a visual anchor and for convenience.
https://www.deliver-eze.com.au/products/
In front of the path I’d plant mini cog for some height in front of those windows.
Im not well versed on your area (north qld here) i would say im 7 years into living in our new build. The soil quality will be awful. I would recommend before planting anything getting a load of manure and turning in through the garden beds with some sand and soil go a decent depth down. I am battling clay and backfill, and so much has struggled to grow because of the compaction and quality of my soil. Id also recommended buying some worms from bunnings and adding them to the garden too they’ll eat the manure and put the nutrients back into the soil. You can also get worm pods which is a great way if conditioning the soil and giving you castings for your garden.