From VIRTUAL to REALITY (BLOG)

[Kristen]

Just voicing a thought (if you want to enhance / increase the height of the concrete wall)

Pleached trees of some sort?

Funnily enough, I was thinking about doing this with the Pyracantha on the lower parts of the garden. I've got hundreds of them I started from seed last year. Thought about training a single stem straight up to about 6ft and them weave them together above the bamboo fence I've been putting up over the last couple of weeks.

I prefer that to the bog-standard pleaching that I had in mind

They grow pretty strongly, so shouldn't be too long to make 6' on a single stem. Don't fancy having to "train" them though - leather gauntlets required I reckon!

[Kyle]

One of today's deliveries. . .

[GoggleboxUK]

Polycarpa I believe?

[Yorkshire Kris]

Yay! Which ones mine?

[Kyle]

Yay! Which ones mine?

The green one!

[Yorkshire Kris]

Yay! Which ones mine?

The green one!

[Kyle]

Polycarpa I believe?

Spot on, Gogs.

Fatsia polycarpa 'Deeply Cut'
Fatsia polycarpa 'Deeply Cut' (For KRIS)
Schefflera Taiwaniana
Gunnera killipiana
Blechnum chilense

Also got another plant delivery today:

Fatsia japonica 'Annelise'
Fatsia japonica 'Annelise'
Arisarum proboscideum
Phormium 'Black Velvet'
Acanthus hungaricus
Clematis armandii

Very happy as there's a double dose of Fatsia's I've been after for a while.

[Yorkshire Kris]

That's a great haul Kyle, some really choice plants there. Cant wait to see them growing in the garden. Should look fantastic.

[Yorkshire Kris]

BTW seen an 8 foot Schefflera Taiwaniana this week. Looked the bees knees and I'm sure your new one will look equally magnificant in a few short years.

[Kyle]

BTW seen an 8 foot Schefflera Taiwaniana this week. Looked the bees knees and I'm sure your new one will look equally magnificant in a few short years.

That's a good size. I'm not sure how tall they're likely to grow in Yorkshire. I'd like to see it if you managed to get a picture.

[Yorkshire Kris]

BTW seen an 8 foot Schefflera Taiwaniana this week. Looked the bees knees and I'm sure your new one will look equally magnificant in a few short years.

That's a good size. I'm not sure how tall they're likely to grow in Yorkshire. I'd like to see it if you managed to get a picture.

I never leave home without a camera.

[GoggleboxUK]

I'd love to have a Sch.... you know what in my garden but I am famously bad at keeping them as houseplants. I have killed dozens in my time and can't find a way to keep them alive.

One even started dropping leaves the night I brought it home despite being perfectly heathy for weeks beforehand.

[Kyle]

FRONT GARDEN - DESIGN CONCEPT

How do you tackle a problem area with exotic plants?

Having the rear garden on a south facing slope is great, but the counter-effect is a front yard that spends almost all year round in the shade.

We've very little space available to play with here, having an average of 3m from the house to the front boundary. Of this space, there needs to be access around the house, so that puts huge limitations on what I can potentially grow here. Gone, are the deep jungle planting schemes and the feeling of isolation that I want to characterise the back.

As a solution, I've decided to go for something very different and want to achieve a contemporary tropical effect through planting in horizontal bands. The plants themselves are still to be decided, but I've a few idea's.

A - Small rectangular border, approx 90x120cm. Low groundcover only.
Suggestions - Asarum caudatum, Asarum splendens, Asarum europaeum, Hedera helix 'Fluffy Ruffles', Arisarum proboscideum.

B -Rectangular border, approximately 60x500cm. 3m high or trimmed to.
Suggestions - Fatsia japonica, Pseudosasa japonica, Phormium tenax.

C - Rectangular border, approximately 60x500cm. 1.5m high or trimmed to.
Suggestions - Woodwardia fimbriata, Polystichum setiferum 'Plumosomultilobum', Serenoa repens.

D - Rectangular strip, approximately 30x200cm. 0.5m high or trimmed to.
Suggestions - Farfugium japonicum Argentea Variegata, Pleioblastus pygmaeus 'Distichus', Arum italicum.

E - Rectangular border, approximately 75x500cm. 1m high or trimmed to.
Suggestions - Sasa veitchii, Blechnum chilense, Farfugium japonicum 'Giganteum'

F - Rectangular border, approximately 100x500cm. 1.5m high or trimmed to.
Suggestions - Fatsia japonica, Indocalamus tessellatus, Serenoa repens, Sabal minor 'Louisiana'.

G - Rectangular strip, approx 14x120cm. Low groundcover only.
Suggestions - Asarum caudatum, Asarum splendens, Asarum europaeum, Hedera helix 'Fluffy Ruffles', Arisarum proboscideum.

H - Rectangular strip, approximately 30x500cm. Climbing on trellis. 2m high or trimmed to.
Suggestions - Fatshedera lizei 'Variegate'

I - Rectangular strip, approx 14x120cm. Low groundcover only.
Suggestions - Asarum caudatum, Asarum splendens, Asarum europaeum, Hedera helix 'Fluffy Ruffles', Arisarum proboscideum.

J - Rectangular strip, approx 75x500cm. 4.0m high or trimmed to.
Suggestions - Yushania maculata.

K - 5 x square areas (contained white gravel to blend with staggered white flagstone paths. 1.5m high or trimmed to.
Suggestions - Fatsia japonica 'Variegata'.

and finally

3 x Palm Trees (evenly spaced). 6m or higher.
Suggestions - Trachycarpus takil, Trachycarpus wagnerianus.

There's lots of repeat plants in these early ideas, but whatever the final choice, there will only be one area using the same plant. Any other suggestions will be gratefully appreciated. The only criteria, is that they are dominantly green, or off-green and must be evergreen/semi evergreen.

[Mr List]

i can't make out what is what in your technical drawings

some photots of what it looks like now would help visualise things better

[Trudytropics]

Wow, another project, where do you find the time?

Quite hard to get a handle on your proposed design. If you are going for the contemporary look, symmetry and balance are essential, also less is more if that makes sense Fewer plants that are architectural in form would imo be better than to much blousy planting. You have lots of interesting choices in your selection, I wholly approve of all green planting (no colour other than green and shades of green in mine) this in itself gives a modern look.

If it were my space I'd make sure the hard landscaping was top notch, yours probably is already , contemporary gardens are as much about this as the planting. I would go for less plants, buy bigger specimens and keep to a uniform and regimented planting scheme. Rows of 3, 5 etc of identical plants. Some contemporary planters in fibreglass, metal or even painted wood, would look great too, again planted simply and with restraint.

Good luck Kyle, with your keen eye, I'm sure it will be lovely, just a thought, didn't notice hostas in your choice, obviously not evergreen, but lovely for your situation, north facing and look good in a modern garden.