Landscaping help!

[Aussiepalm]

Hi all,

I've recently moved into my new build home. First home!

This is perhaps an expression of interest, if anyone is keen on suggesting Landscaping ideas and specific plants/palms.

I don't have any landscaping experience and still weighing up whether I need to approach a professional for landscaping.

My biggest challenge is that my property sits rather high up from the street, do I need a retaining wall or could I perhaps create layers using boulders and rocks.

I have attached some pictures of my blank canvas, of course I'm aiming for a tropical feel, within the climatic boundaries of course.

I am located in Truganina, 22 KM west of Melbourne (Australia) CBD.  Climate Statistics from a nearby weather station, http://www.truganinaweather.com/climate-analysis/climate-summary.htm.

Climate Statistics for nearest official station:

http://www.bom.gov.au/climate/averages/tables/cw_087031.shtml 

Any help would be appreciated guys!

Thanks in advance. See pictures below:

 

 

Edited July 13, 2020 by Aussiepalm

[tim_brissy_13]

I’m in Mentone to the south east of Melbourne, but I’ve worked out near Truganina so I know it can get a little colder out that way. 
 

A couple of key questions when choosing the right palms:

What orientation is the yard? If north or west facing, you’ll need palms capable of taking full sun. 
 

Will you be irrigating the yard or do you hope to have palms that will deal will the rain that Melbourne has to offer (they’ll need extra to get established regardless). 
 

I don’t think you need a retaining wall, as you say some rocks can help to add layers and interest. Looks like the space is quite small, so I’d be looking at some hardy small species like Sabal minor, Brahea decumbens, dulcis, Chamaerops, maybe Linospadix monostachya along the driveway if it is south or east facing. Archontophoenix are pretty safe bets for some canopy although in Truganina they might need some protection from sun and frost while young. Ravenea glauca is another good one along with some of the hardier smaller Dypsis (baronii, onilahensis, ambositrae). 

[tim_brissy_13]

For reference, this is at my uncle’s place and his front yard has a similar gradient but a bit bigger. It’s north facing and gets full sun.  I helped choose the palms for this area: Sabal minor, Dypsis baronii and onilahensis, Archontophoenix purpurea, Howea forsteriana, Beccariophoenix alfredii and Caryota obtusa. The last 2 would be too large for you though I think. 

[Aussiepalm]

1 hour ago, tim_brissy_13 said:

I’m in Mentone to the south east of Melbourne, but I’ve worked out near Truganina so I know it can get a little colder out that way. 
 

A couple of key questions when choosing the right palms:

What orientation is the yard? If north or west facing, you’ll need palms capable of taking full sun. 
 

Will you be irrigating the yard or do you hope to have palms that will deal will the rain that Melbourne has to offer (they’ll need extra to get established regardless). 
 

I don’t think you need a retaining wall, as you say some rocks can help to add layers and interest. Looks like the space is quite small, so I’d be looking at some hardy small species like Sabal minor, Brahea decumbens, dulcis, Chamaerops, maybe Linospadix monostachya along the driveway if it is south or east facing. Archontophoenix are pretty safe bets for some canopy although in Truganina they might need some protection from sun and frost while young. Ravenea glauca is another good one along with some of the hardier smaller Dypsis (baronii, onilahensis, ambositrae). 

Tim, thank you very much for your input.

At this point in time I was not thinking of any irrigation, of course I would be watering that bit extra myself to get them established.

The crucial bit of information I forgot to mention was the blocks orientation, the front yard is south facing. 

Interestingly from my observations the front yard is in complete shade all day, I'm not sure if that leaves me disadvantaged? However there is so sun hitting that direct area all day long. Thoughts on what might survive under those conditions?

Your uncle's place looks amazing, were you involved in the entire landscaping design, decking, rocks etc...?

[tim_brissy_13]

2 hours ago, Aussiepalm said:

Tim, thank you very much for your input.

At this point in time I was not thinking of any irrigation, of course I would be watering that bit extra myself to get them established.

The crucial bit of information I forgot to mention was the blocks orientation, the front yard is south facing. 

Interestingly from my observations the front yard is in complete shade all day, I'm not sure if that leaves me disadvantaged? However there is so sun hitting that direct area all day long. Thoughts on what might survive under those conditions?

Your uncle's place looks amazing, were you involved in the entire landscaping design, decking, rocks etc...?

I was only involved with the palms choices and planting positions but I agree the decking does look great. The rocks have only been added at a later stage more recently and do suit the overall look too. 
 

To be honest I think a south facing yard actually opens up your possibilities and will make it easier to care for your palms. However you’ll need to be careful with full shade loving palms as a south facing spot will still see a lot of sun from November to February when it can get hot and dry. A couple of well positioned canopy palms (Archontophoenix should work well) will help with shade during the summer and then you could work with some nice understory palms having the advantage that it won’t dry out too much for most of the year. Some of the hardier Chamaedorea might work well if you can get your hands on them and like that kind of look (C microspadix, radicalis, glaucifolia) as well as Rhapis, Trachycarpus, Linospadix, Laccospadix...plenty of options. 

[tim_brissy_13]

And Rhopalostylis sapida should be good, one of my favourites for our climate. 

[Aussiepalm]

11 hours ago, tim_brissy_13 said:

And Rhopalostylis sapida should be good, one of my favourites for our climate. 

Brilliant thanks mate, now to tackle this on my own or not... If you happen to know any decent landscapers any recommendations would be great.

[Steve Mac]

16 hours ago, Aussiepalm said:

"from my observations the front yard is in complete shade all day,"

Is that the case in the middle of summer too, except really close to the house?

[tim_brissy_13]

2 hours ago, Aussiepalm said:

Brilliant thanks mate, now to tackle this on my own or not... If you happen to know any decent landscapers any recommendations would be great.

Not sure you’d get bang for your buck by hiring someone. I’d certainly be doing it myself if it were me unless you need any specialist skills for what you had in mind. Just one idea out of endless possibilities, but I’ve used 150mm river rocks to create small raised areas of my new garden. They are available at most garden supply centres and could be used to create a staggered/layered effect to accommodate the slope. They are heaps of options and even larger rocks might work even better. 

[Aussiepalm]

9 hours ago, tim_brissy_13 said:

Not sure you’d get bang for your buck by hiring someone. I’d certainly be doing it myself if it were me unless you need any specialist skills for what you had in mind. Just one idea out of endless possibilities, but I’ve used 150mm river rocks to create small raised areas of my new garden. They are available at most garden supply centres and could be used to create a staggered/layered effect to accommodate the slope. They are heaps of options and even larger rocks might work even better. 

Great idea Tim regarding the river rocks. I wonder if it would look too over done if used river rocks all over the front yard and just simply planting out palms at different levels around the rocks? The only specialist skills I would need is placing some decking up to my porch.

Is your uncles place simply rocks and palms? Really liking the look of it and may use that as a starting point idea.

[tim_brissy_13]

6 hours ago, Aussiepalm said:

Great idea Tim regarding the river rocks. I wonder if it would look too over done if used river rocks all over the front yard and just simply planting out palms at different levels around the rocks? The only specialist skills I would need is placing some decking up to my porch.

Is your uncles place simply rocks and palms? Really liking the look of it and may use that as a starting point idea.

Yeah his is all rocks and you can certainly do that as a complete mulch and plant throughout as you suggested. The only downside I’ve seen with this is that is can look messy over time if there are nearby trees and leaf litter covers the rocks and can be hard to clean. I think natural coloured rocks look best because of this; it doesn’t appear to messy even if other debris gets blown in there.

[Aussiepalm]

On 7/15/2020 at 7:55 AM, tim_brissy_13 said:

Yeah his is all rocks and you can certainly do that as a complete mulch and plant throughout as you suggested. The only downside I’ve seen with this is that is can look messy over time if there are nearby trees and leaf litter covers the rocks and can be hard to clean. I think natural coloured rocks look best because of this; it doesn’t appear to messy even if other debris gets blown in there.

Thanks Tim, what do the natural colour rocks looks like, similar to river rocks?

[tim_brissy_13]

7 hours ago, Aussiepalm said:

Thanks Tim, what do the natural colour rocks looks like, similar to river rocks?

Sorry, when I said natural coloured I meant something like the river rocks, rather than black rocks for example which are popular in some of the landscaping of modern developments around here. The black rocks just tend to look a bit messy over time because leaf litter and other natural debris contrasts and stands out against it unless you keep up constant maintenance. 

[Aussiepalm]

On 7/18/2020 at 7:15 AM, tim_brissy_13 said:

Sorry, when I said natural coloured I meant something like the river rocks, rather than black rocks for example which are popular in some of the landscaping of modern developments around here. The black rocks just tend to look a bit messy over time because leaf litter and other natural debris contrasts and stands out against it unless you keep up constant maintenance. 

Thanks Tim,

I'm trying to work out how many palms I will need for the front space now...  I was also thinking of putting walking stick palms up the side near the neighbours wall (where my driveway is) do you think they would be well suited for that space?

Any suggestions on smaller plants/shrubs that will go nicely along side the palms. I was thinking some Corylines may look nice work colour?

[tim_brissy_13]

Walking sticks (L monostachya) was my first thought for that space, should be perfect. They can actually take a bit of frost and some part day sun too so no problem without canopy if it’s south facing. 
 

I’ve used Cordyline fruticosa for some colour in my new garden, but I’ve heard they can be touchy of you get frost. I find Cordyline australis (the most commonly bc available) to look a bit ratty looking as it grows but that’s just my opinion. 
 

One of my favourite companion plants for palms are bromeliads. In particular some of the Vriesea varieties have great colour. 

Edited July 20, 2020 by tim_brissy_13
Typo

[Palmfarmer]

can you plant where the pole is also? 

[Aussiepalm]

4 hours ago, tim_brissy_13 said:

Walking sticks (L monostachya) was my first thought for that space, should be perfect. They can actually take a bit of frost and some part day sun too so no problem without canopy if it’s south facing. 
 

I’ve used Cordyline fruticosa for some colour in my new garden, but I’ve heard they can be touchy of you get frost. I find Cordyline australis (the most commonly bc available) to look a bit ratty looking as it grows but that’s just my opinion. 
 

One of my favourite companion plants for palms are bromeliads. In particular some of the Vriesea varieties have great colour. 

Brilliant thanks Tim. I wonder if would look too over done having a row of 4 walking stick palms  right along that side to the end of the driveway, or if I should mix it with some other plant/palm to break it up? 

[Patrick]

Hi Aussiepalm,

 

I had to rearrange my brain, I'm in the northern hemisphere! My back yard faces to the north so it's the part up here that's in shade. Once the crown of the trees get out of the shade they take off a bit. They'll be slow to start, but that will just give you more time to enjoy things while they're still on the small side.

 

I just wanted to add that natural rocks built up and backfilled would give the yard a more natural look vs. a formal retaining wall. I did that in my front yard. There used to be grass flush with the sidewalk that all the neighbor's dogs would releive themselves on. Not so any more! I used, what we call here in the states, "moss rock" and built it up into a wall of sorts. Google search it you'll see what it is. I didn't do the best job, but it's all overgrown with succulents now so you can't really see the imperfections. Here's a picture:

 

I just stacked it up and back filled it with topsoil.

 

As far as plants go, I'm a 9A and it looks like you're a 10 so I think you could do better than my "safe bet" yard. We're due for a freeze any year now... (knock on wood)

Edited July 20, 2020 by Patrick

[Aussiepalm]

23 hours ago, Palmfarmer said:

can you plant where the pole is also? 

That's the Nature Strip, council land however it's mine to maintain. I'm not sure if I'm allowed to plant anything there...

[Aussiepalm]

14 hours ago, Patrick said:

Hi Aussiepalm,

 

I had to rearrange my brain, I'm in the northern hemisphere! My back yard faces to the north so it's the part up here that's in shade. Once the crown of the trees get out of the shade they take off a bit. They'll be slow to start, but that will just give you more time to enjoy things while they're still on the small side.

 

I just wanted to add that natural rocks built up and backfilled would give the yard a more natural look vs. a formal retaining wall. I did that in my front yard. There used to be grass flush with the sidewalk that all the neighbor's dogs would releive themselves on. Not so any more! I used, what we call here in the states, "moss rock" and built it up into a wall of sorts. Google search it you'll see what it is. I didn't do the best job, but it's all overgrown with succulents now so you can't really see the imperfections. Here's a picture:

 

I just stacked it up and back filled it with topsoil.

 

As far as plants go, I'm a 9A and it looks like you're a 10 so I think you could do better than my "safe bet" yard. We're due for a freeze any year now... (knock on wood)

Thanks Patrick,

 

The use of moss rocks look great, your yard in general is beautiful. Thanks for the tips and ideas.

[Patrick]

Thank you Aussiepalm. I know yours will turn out great!