Growing Gardens

with Julia Hancock

Star plants for small gardens

With the price of real estate so high, many of us must live in smaller properties than we would like. In these circumstances it's important to make each plant count.

Stacking, i.e. building layers of plants from tall trees to ground covers, is a good solution to most space problems. Start with trees, and consider columnar types or those without spreading canopies. Maples, Chinese tallowwood and some of the smaller lilypillies are ideal. Palms are also good because they don't take up too much room at the base.

Shrubs provide the backbone of most gardens and there are certainly plenty of suitable species to choose from here. Unless you desire an all-green garden, aim to plant shrubs with different flowering times. In the cooler months you can't beat camellias as they are compact and reliable and can be clipped or trained to suit. Azaleas and dwarf bottle brushes can also be kept trim and have a long flowering period. In summer and autumn gardenias, hibiscus, hydrangeas and ixoras are versatile enough to cope with both sun and shade. Just make sure the hydrangeas are blue or white to avoid clashing with the hot-hued hibiscus and ixoras. Shrubs don't have to flower to be interesting - team palms with cordylines and crotons for their fabulous foliage. Indulge in something really special like a mussaenda or a vireya rhododendron for a touch of the exotic.

At ground level it's best to provide spot colour in small gardens, either by the use of annuals or perhaps using bulbs at the front of beds and borders. Colour co-ordination is the foundation stone success and is a matter of personal preference. Experimentation will soon demonstrate what works and what doesn't.

Small gardens demand ruthlessness - everything has to earn its keep and if a plant doesn't work replace it with something more suitable.

Lismore Garden Club News

Now is not a good time to put in seed, seedlings or even shrubs if you intend going away for the holidays. All new plants need intensive care. Before heading off, be sure to deep water and mulch the garden and ideally get a neighbour to water the garden & pot plants, feed the pets collect the mail and newspapers and put out the garbage bins. When it comes to Christmas Trees, it's hard to beat the living tree. Who says we have to have a European or American style conical shaped tree? Why not purchase an Australian Native Tree, such as a Bottle Brush? It can be planted in the garden as a native bird attraction tree after it out-grows the pot.

Christmas Bush is a popular garden shrub for coastal gardeners in NSW. It grows well in well-drained soils and has white flowers in October/November and pink & red sepals in December/January. Christmas bush is one of the top plants for cut flowers. On behalf of the Lismore Garden Club I wish all of our readers a safe and Happy Christmas. Remember the reason for Christmas is really about that child born in a manager 2000 years ago.

Happy Gardening
Ron Burns