h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

As I’ve been rambling on about my garden, and gardening, and reconstructing the garden after a sudden flood, and so on, I thought I might as well write a journal piece about it. (Besides, Hati wanted to know about it.)

For a start, I’d better explain that this is a very small 1930s house on what was a very large block. Sometime in the 90s, real estate greed set in and two new houses were built in what was originally the rear garden and orchard. As a result, the garden that comes with this house is now only the front garden, a small courtyard-type area on the southern side, and a strip about four feet wide behind the house. Not much, but enough to go on with. The block slopes down from the street – hence the flooding possibilities. There’s a 70-year-old oak tree between the street and the footpath, which means that the garden gets buried in leaves once a year.

The front garden, when I moved in here, had several mangy-looking rose bushes, far too many clumps of lavender, and some deciduous shrubs which might be cotoneasters. (These are actually classed as an environmental weed here, as are oleander, broom, bracken, blackberry, willow… oh, lots of things. I’ve no idea why they were planted in the first place.) There was also a standardised wisteria looking incongruous in a formal rondel in the middle of a spleen-shaped patch of straggly lawn. The driveway was lined with cotoneasters interspersed with rosemary. The ground was covered in coarse woodchip mulch, which was supposed to suppress weeds but didn’t. The general effect, in winter, was of a dead grey garden. The side area had an ancient japonica, and some more wisteria, as well as lots of terracotta and concrete planters and urns, with dead plants in them. The clothesline is tucked into a back corner, where it’s of no use at all. The only tree in the front garden is a solitary sad-looking casuarina. These don’t do well in isolation – but the landlord put it there, so I think I’m stuck with it.

The strip at the back of the house is covered in coarse gravel, presumably to suppress weeds. It doesn’t work. There’s mint growing through it as well, which I don’t mind so much. There’s a Manchurian pear tree out there too. It’s far too big for the space it’s in.

I’ve tried to liven up the front area by planting several types of grevillea and various native ground-covers, as well as convolvulus, alyssum and native (white) violets. There’s also some hebe and other small flowering things, and a few pittosporums, and a clump of dianella. The main reasons for picking these things is that they’re drought-tolerant, frost-tolerant, and evergreen.

Some of the terracotta horrors are now hidden by scented geraniums and scaevola. The more formal urns have been filled with dwarf bamboo – the sort that has red foliage at odd times.

The japonica has been hacked back mercilessly, and the liberated space filled with catmint and other ornamental herbs, some more scented geraniums, and a callistemon. There is still scope for work in the side garden, but with it being south-facing it gets no light in winter. I need to find plants that cope with frost, drought, *and* shade… Any ideas?

The back area is still a gravel-infested nuisance. It might turn into a rock-garden of sorts, filled with plants that don’t mind neglect. I’m still thinking about that one.

I still need to hack some more bits of japonica away, and get rid of some more lavender…

Anyway. That’s what I’ve been doing, when I’ve been saying things about gardening. You can wake up now.

http://www.anbg.gov.au/callistemon/

http://www.huntergardens.org.au/3grevillea.htm

http://www.gardenguru.com.au/html/pittosporum.html

http://www.anbg.gov.au/aborig.s.e.aust/casuarina-sp.html

http://web.apolloparkps.vic.edu.au/Content/grade_area/pegasus/pegasus_2002/Science_Pegasus/Plant_Database/Viola_hederacea.html

That's really impressive!
And all those plants!

I love the spleen-shaped lawn. It sounds bloody awful.

I think cyclamens are quite hardy for shade and frost and whatnot. Do you get them at your end of the world?

oooooh! thanks ivan!
i was wondering what your garden looked like!


wiht the lavender. perhaps it could meet with a sudden accidental and perhaps slightly suspicious nasty ending..............

How lovely! Thanks for the links too - I had no idea what most of the names were.
Do see if you might put cyclamens there (what an uninspired name, I like the Hebrew much better: Rakeffet) - and they're beautiful. They grow in the wild here, so they should be pretty sturdy. But they only flower around late winter-early spring. Like now.

I've got some lovely cyclamens ready to plant in my garden. I prefer the little wild-looking ones to the big brash showy ones.

Of course, there is one flower that'll withstand pretty much any conditions... lavender.

It's true - lavender can survive *anything* - except a well-aimed shovel.

Cyclamen - h'mmm. They're never really thought of here as anything but a pot plant, for some reason, and then there's all sorts of rigmarole associated with them. Various little old ladies have assured me that once the plant has finished for the year, the pot should be turned on its side and kept dry until Spring. Does this strike anyone except me as being deeply , and bizarre-and-a-half? I mean, in the wild, plants don't lie down in dry places for half the year... I've also discussed irises with these same strange old people, and they assure me that the bulbs need to be dug up and kept in the fridge at odd times. Once again, I doubt that happens in the wild.

Maybe I'll get a couple of cyclamens, plant them out, and hope for the best.

I'd also need something to look alive during those parts of the year when cyclamen isn't doing much.

Hiya
Sorry to butt into your journal, but i saw the word 'garden'

I think the cyclamen your thinking of is those nasty lurid coloured things grown as a house plant. There is a hardy type that does'nt have to be turned on its side after flowering.
Have you though about a Vinca (periwinkle) There is a variagated form that grows anywhere and looks nice. How about a Euphorbia, interesting leaves, evergreen varieties will tolerate shade and frost. Helebores also will tolerate shade and have lovely flowers.
Once again sorry for the intrusion.

I don't see it as an intrusion. Welcome!

The only cyclamens I've ever seen here are the allegedly reclining ones. Hellebores have never lived in my care. Euphorbia I like a lot, but I've not seen any at the nurseries here - apart from one massive specimen which had a price tag on it which made me flinch. $140. I think that's about 60 quid.

I might look for euphorbia in Spring. They might have some small cheap plants then, with any luck. I grew euphorbia when I lived in Adelaide, and it needed no maintenance at all. I like that in a plant.

Vinca - to be honest, I just don't like it. No reason at all, just a gut reaction.Incidentally, a thirsty vinca in a drought is a very sad sight. It looks more dead than any dead plant could.

I'll see what else i can find that might be suitable. Its difficult with the needs you reguire. I know plants with leathery leaves seem to fair better in those conditions. You could always just gravel that area and plant some ornamental grasses.

Ornamental grasses are my last resort. There's been a bit of a plague of mondo grass lately, along with dwarf box hedges and Tuscan-style stuccowork. Strange, the way these trends start.

The main problem is that I need plants that can cope with a temperature range of 50 degrees, from -10C to 40C, as well as frost and drought and so forth. I'd better look into Mediterranean plants, and South African ones, if I want something that isn't native. Either that or some of the Andean hallucinogenic plants, like datura.

>>I mean, in the wild, plants don't lie down in dry places for half the year...<<

Um, actually, they do. Like I said, they grow in the wild here - so that means that well over half the year they are lying in the dry ground.
I think it's the same idea with putting bulbs in the fridge... my mum does that with tulips, because their natural Dutch habitat is much colder than here, and if she just planted them they'd flower too early.

It is so cool to read that you grow outdoors the plants we try to grow indoors with ultimate care.

Lady P - we could get the same effect here by leaving the dormant plant in the ground. This particularly applies in my home town, where it doesn't rain for half the year... Nevertheless, there's all these daft old people lying pots on their side in the shed. They appear to hav forgotten *why* they're doing that; it's now just a meaningless ritual.

In Adelaide, I could see why a bulb might need to be chilled, but here in Canberra we get heavy frost almost every day for six months... Once again, it's become a ritual rather than a thing with a reason behind it.

I think my point, if there is one, is the point I'm usually trying to make: people are a bit dopey. No wonder I spend so much time with plants.

Hati, I know what you mean - it's the same feeling I get when I think of the tropical plants I used to grow in Mum's living-room, which I then saw growing as roadside weeds in Queensland.

I grew up in Werribee (Ivan should know where that is ) and Mum had Hydrangea on the south side of the house. Total shade but that part of the garden did stay moist most of the time - even in summer. She had some tricks to make sure the blue flowers stayed blue and the pink ones pink but I can't remember what they were. Something to do with tea leaves I think.

Maz

Hi Maz.

Yes, I know Werribee... It's about as dry as Canberra, I expect, but not as cold in winter. A good comparison.

The problem with hydrangeas is that I don't like them. Admirable plants, I'm sure, but they're not much to my taste.

So far, for the south-facing side of the house, I'm looking at getting acanthus, euphorbia, and a couple of alpine natives of some sort. Any other thoughts, anyone?

I'm now thinking of adding some agapanthus as well...

Incidentally, I have some plants from the correa family in the front garden; there might be some suitable for the side area too.

http://www.anbg.gov.au/gnp/gnp7/correa-reflexa.html

Well, I've made a decent start on the difficult side garden. In terms of exotics, I've planted dwarf agapanthus (white and blue varieties), acanthus, and evergreen daphne. Thanks are due to Venus for suggesting these..

I've used a few natives as well.

Eriostemon - http://www.anbg.gov.au/images/photo_cd/632030813548/076.html

Mat Rushes - http://www.anbg.gov.au/images/photo_cd/OE29M209986/017.html

Prostanthera rotundifolia - http://www.webeffects.com.au/sgap_aw/prostant.htm

Leptospermum nanum rubrum - http://www.anbg.gov.au/images/photo_cd/519816120331/080.html

I'm having fun with this lot... I've also found out where the builders' rubble was dumped in 1937.

Correa 'Federation Belle' - http://www.abc.net.au/newengland/stories/s935916.htm

Correa 'Dusky Bells' - http://www.anbg.gov.au/images/photo_cd/813340821470/061.html

I'm glad you've made a start
I've never heard of Correa, i'll have to look that one up.
I love lepstospurnum, i have 3 different varieties in my garden.
Good luck with your project, i hope it is a great success.....and when you've finished maybe you can come and dig out a pond and another flower bed for me.

Digging really big holes? No, that's not really my idea of fun. But then again, it is better than being stuck in an office all day.