Your Garden Questions Answered
Episode: # 27 1/12/07
Presenter: Nigel Ruck
Nigel visits a garden that he built a few years ago. He always likes to go back to a garden that he built to see it is growing over time and to see that it is all working out properly. It is also a great opportunity for Nigel to see whether the owners have been maintaining it properly.
A major focal point to the garden is the three Yuccas’ (Yucca elephantipes) the inspiration for which came from cricket stumps, because the father of the house loves his sport. As well as their visual delights they are very hardy and easy to look after and help screen the back wall.
Also they help create some intimacy for the barbeque area. The other plants add to the sub tropical theme and offer plenty of foliage, Kentia Palm (Howea forsteriana) under planted with Murraya, Cycads and Liriope, and then there are the Gardenias’, Bangalow Palms and Lily Pily’s. All of these are very easy to maintain, requiring occasional pruning and of course fertilising during the growing season to keep them nice and healthy.
The garden walls are rendered core filled blocks which help maintain the clean lines, building raised beds has a few benefits, it helps to improve the drainage which is especially good for heavy clay soils. The extra height also helps with screening, and for courtyard and small gardens the walls can double up as seating, which is a clever use of space and avoids the potential clutter that can be had with too much furniture.
One of the main features of the garden is the paving, it is laid over two levels which adds to the whole interest of the garden because it covers a fairly large area it is perfect for entertaining. When you are paving you always need to be mindful of what is going to happen when it rains, the way Nigel laid the pavers in this garden was to have all the water falling towards the drain which is perfect, with a little bit of a kick back from the house so there are no dramas and the water ends up in the drain not in the house.
Another nice little touch on the garden is the outdoor shower, because the house is close to the beach it is perfect for washing off the sand before you go into the house and a nice little waterwise touch is that the water then runs off into the garden bed and waters the plants.
Presenter: Nigel Ruck
Nigel visits a garden that he built a few years ago. He always likes to go back to a garden that he built to see it is growing over time and to see that it is all working out properly. It is also a great opportunity for Nigel to see whether the owners have been maintaining it properly.
A major focal point to the garden is the three Yuccas’ (Yucca elephantipes) the inspiration for which came from cricket stumps, because the father of the house loves his sport. As well as their visual delights they are very hardy and easy to look after and help screen the back wall.
Also they help create some intimacy for the barbeque area. The other plants add to the sub tropical theme and offer plenty of foliage, Kentia Palm (Howea forsteriana) under planted with Murraya, Cycads and Liriope, and then there are the Gardenias’, Bangalow Palms and Lily Pily’s. All of these are very easy to maintain, requiring occasional pruning and of course fertilising during the growing season to keep them nice and healthy.
The garden walls are rendered core filled blocks which help maintain the clean lines, building raised beds has a few benefits, it helps to improve the drainage which is especially good for heavy clay soils. The extra height also helps with screening, and for courtyard and small gardens the walls can double up as seating, which is a clever use of space and avoids the potential clutter that can be had with too much furniture.
One of the main features of the garden is the paving, it is laid over two levels which adds to the whole interest of the garden because it covers a fairly large area it is perfect for entertaining. When you are paving you always need to be mindful of what is going to happen when it rains, the way Nigel laid the pavers in this garden was to have all the water falling towards the drain which is perfect, with a little bit of a kick back from the house so there are no dramas and the water ends up in the drain not in the house.
Another nice little touch on the garden is the outdoor shower, because the house is close to the beach it is perfect for washing off the sand before you go into the house and a nice little waterwise touch is that the water then runs off into the garden bed and waters the plants.
AS SEEN ON 
