Driveway plants?
We live on a 'battle axe' block and would like to plant some plants along side our driveway to soften the entrance to our home. We live in sunny Central Queensland and the rest of our garden is tropical plants.
Any suggestions would be most welcome, thanks :-)
Comments (15)
- 10 years ago
PRO10 years agoRelated Discussions
You are entering driveway heaven...
Comments (2)As a sustainable advocate, I would always prefer to use an aggregate as these allow for natural penetration of any rain that falls on site. Complex drainage systems aren't required to take runoff from the paved driveway and so the end result to me is not only totally sustainable but is cheaper. And if you plant trees down the side of paved driveways, the paving or cobbles too often lift and become walking hazards. Burglars also don't like aggregates!...See More"Cell" driveways - good or bad
Comments (4)Probably not a bad choice actually. We'll be seeing a lot more of these permeable driveways in the not to distant future as they reduce rainwater run off from our sites into our gutters. Use a combination of both concrete and permeable perhaps. Such as where you park the bike on its stand or do bike maintenance use concrete. There are other permeable pavers available as well as these ones, council's use them a lot around parklands, trees in footpaths....See MoreDriveway conversion?
Comments (3)You've got a good space and good ideas. My suggestion would be to decide on all the structural changes first. It is tempting to go for small wins first. But you'll never regret doing a master plan. Set out everything you want to do. It's OK to have lots of stages and even a few dream things....See MorePlanting for my long driveway
Comments (33)It always makes my heart sink when a client asks for a "no-maintenance" garden. It tells me they really don't care. In truth, any planting needs a certain amount of care. Plants, like animals, need care. It's true that they're slower than animals to respond to deprivation, but respond they do. And it's not a good look. You might not have a lot of time, or you may not be physically up to a lot of gardening. That's fine - you can choose plants that require a minimum of care and grooming, and if need be hire somebody to do that minimum. But it does require planning. A gardener actively engaged with their garden can (and will!) experiment, try new things, move plants around, notice when things are going right and wrong, and for them a garden is never finished. Contrast that with somebody who wants a garden they don't want to work in or at. They want a garden that is more or less "finished" the day it is installed, rolled out like a stretch of lawn and meant to "behave", to stay static. I can't do a garden like that! Plants grow! They change, the environment around them can change, and what might have succeeded one year is not going to do it the next. It is entirely usual for a planting that just nicely fits a situation to need complete re-planting a few years on because the individual plants have outgrown the site. That's work! It is entirely usual for plants to flower, and for those flowers to set seed and die off. It is entirely usual for some plants to shed leaves as part of their yearly cycle. This "mess" is treated by non-gardeners as a crisis, as a nasty surprise, as something the plants "shouldn't" do. Because it makes work. Well, sorry, but no garden consultant can change the laws of nature. If you want a garden, you've bought work, and if you don't want to do it, you're going to need to pay somebody else. That's fine. Just don't ask for what you can't have....See More- 10 years ago
- PRO10 years ago
- 10 years ago
10 years agolast modified: 10 years agoFor tropical plants try crab claw or gingers for the height to screen the fence and little flashes of brilliant colour. They tend to grow upright rather than outwards. They can be easily cut back without looking scrappy. I'm also thinking of perhaps mother in laws tongues and/or moses cradle. These two are very hardy and pretty cheap plants that can take the odd running over with the car... one thing I've noticed about driveway plants is occasionally someone runs them over! You could space the larger gingers a few metres apart and then fill in the rest of the spaces with the smaller plants. They also reproduce and you can fill in any gaps from accidents with babies from other plants. They also can all handle the hot hot sun and don't bush out. The gingers can come in variegated foliage and I think would have a better coverage and shape than cordylines.
- 10 years agolast modified: 10 years ago
If you don't need the height or screening another popular landscaping plant I have seen in queensland is sweet potato... I have seen it used in roundabouts and kerbside as a ground cover. It has a brilliant purple leaf or a vibrant light green. I have seen it used as a patchwork effect and it is very vibrant and easy to look after. Canna could also look quite vibrant in that spot.A combination or pattern of tropical foliage plants could look really nice there.
- PRO10 years ago
- PRO10 years ago
10 years ago- PRO10 years ago
10 years agoWhat about a flowering vine? You will be able to cover the fence top but keep the pebble base if you like.
Collection · More InfoThe Rangoon creeper 'quisqualis indica' has beautiful crimson flowers. Subtropical and tropical climbers
- 10 years ago
mandylou33