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To Blog

Choosing plants for your garden

May 3, 2020
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Biophilia, Gardens for Life, Landscape Design, Landscaping, Maintenance, Plants, Seasonal tips
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Posted by Parveen

Creating a Planting Plan

So you’ve landed upon a theme for your dream garden and it’s got you so excited that you’ve already decided on the hard materials, accessories, and layout for this oasis.

The next step is – many would say – the most fun part. Choosing your plants! But how do you work out what plants to put in and where they should go?

You’ve come to the right person!

Here are my best-kept secrets.

Do your research

Before making a trip to the nearest nursery and grabbing the most beautiful plant you see, it’s important to take certain things into consideration. Most notably, these include:

  1. Your needs
  2. Your family’s and pet’s needs
  3. Your site conditions
  4. The plant’s requirements – what it needs to thrive
  5. Any potential allergies affecting your family or pets
  6. The effect you want to create!

Balcony garden

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Burwood

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Burwood

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Vermont South A

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Hawthorn East Rear Courtyard

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Chinese Star Jasmine - Vermont South

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All of these considerations may seem daunting to go through but I assure you that all the time and effort that goes into it will pay off dividends!

Now, what do I mean by your needs?  Think aesthetically and functionally.  Consider whether you’re able to maintain the plant and whether you’ll like the look of the plant when it is mature.

Do you have pets that dig or children that still put things into their mouths?  If so, then consider how toxic the plants are to them if ingested or if the sap gets onto their skin or eyes.  There are resources available on this topic from various pet welfare websites and also from some local government agencies.  If you are unsure, give me a call and I can pop over and discuss!

Site conditions.  Refer to the next section too for some tips.

Plant’s requirements.  This is probably the trickiest bit if you’re not comfortable or familiar with many plants.  Spend more time on this aspect and thoroughly research the plant and its needs to thrive!

Allergies are a tricky one.  I get asked a lot whether a particular plant will cause hayfever/asthma or dermatitis.  There is little guidance out there but it is good to have a go and read up on this.  An example would be to research the grass you are buying, if you are intending to roll around in it with your kids or your pet dogs!  From experience, I’ve had a few clients to to suppliers I have suggested to them and have confirmed that they are sensitive to many of the grasses in the market!

Effect.  Well, think garden style.  Do you want a tropical garden?  Or something whimsical?  Better still, you need all your favourite plants in your garden so think about how you place them next to each other and how they are going to look like all grown up!

Vermont South A

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Doncaster East

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Ashburton B

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Kew

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Kew

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Kew

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Survey the site conditions

What do I mean by this? You need to look at your garden areas and perform what we in the industry call a site analysis.

Indoors or outdoors.  Even if indoors, you need to consider how much sun that aspect in your home has.  I’ve had my own plants burnt only because I totally forgot that particular window sill gets too much sun for the plant type I’ve bought.  And yup, you know what happened to that poor plant in the end!

Outdoors.  Work out the shady spots and where the sun impacts the garden beds the most.  Do you have a large tree that impacts the amount of sun that your understorey plants get? (That will also impact how the understorey plants get their nutrition and whether they are tough enough to withstand the root competition from the tree!)

Also, look at the composition of your soil. That may involve doing some digging and getting dirty – but that’s half the joy of being outdoors! Check whether your soil is clay. Test the pH levels – learn how by visiting the Soil Testing case study on my website.

The list goes on but this will be a good starting point. My Create the Garden of Your Dreams  workbook will help you collect this information and put it into a plan.

Conduct plant profiling

You’re nearly there. You’ve already chosen a theme or style for your garden (if you haven’t, consult my website, magazines, books, Houzz, or Pinterest for inspiration).

This is not where you start looking at specific plants. This is where you profile the best plants for your garden by thinking about characteristics like height and growth patterns.

Have some fun and sketch it all out to visualise what you want to create.  Get dreamy with colours and textures, shapes and forms, and evaluate how comfortable you are putting them all together.

Camberwell

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Camberwell

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Vermont South B

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Doncaster East

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Doncaster

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Vermont South A

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Head to the nursery

Combining all the above information, you can finally head to that nursery! You’re equipped with the perfect plant profile so you can go about choosing plant species that match your needs.

Don’t just rely on the plant tags but ask the nursery staff about their experiences with the plant and whether there’s anything else you need to know. Be particularly mindful of any allergies within the family. It’s even a good idea to consult Google to make sure the plant suits your needs.

If you’re overwhelmed by options, listen to your heart – the garden is your baby so make it about what you’d like to see in it!

Give me a call if all the above seems daunting. I’ll be happy to book in a garden consult to chat about your specific plant choices or even make a trip to the nursery with you to discuss your options!

If you’re after a professionally-designed planting plan, we can whip one up to suit your budget, area size, and needs!

Remember, spending the time and money now to think through the steps above properly will lead to a better outcome for you and your family. Plus it will keep your garden looking great when the plants mature and will save you money and time in the long term!

Other resources

Hungry for more information on choosing plants that are right for your space and just learning about them in general?

Then check out the following write-ups which could assist!

Guide to picking landscaping plants

How to chose plants for your garden

How to choose plants for a garden

In the meantime, visit my past projects below which also squeezed in some beautiful succulents!

Vermont South A

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Blackburn

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Glen Waverley

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Kew

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Vermont South B

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If you need further suggestions or design or plantscaping both indoors and outdoors, please contact us for an onsite 90 minute consultation. 

Refer to our packages for further detail on how we can help you in the consults and subsequently throughout your garden implementation process.

Our passion your garden! xx

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Garden Statues and Ornaments.⁠⠀ ⁠⠀ Do you Garden Statues and Ornaments.⁠⠀
⁠⠀
Do you have any in your garden?⁠⠀
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I love seeing these in my client's gardens as they are heaps of fun and add so much personality into a design!⁠⠀
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This lovely creation was by a client's parent who loves creating 3D mosaic pieces and came all the way from NZ!⁠⠀
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Do try styling your outdoors with some wonderful pieces like these and it really doesn't have to be something new - upcyle and use your imagination to create something wonderful and unique!⁠⠀
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Have a go and let me know what you come up with! 💚
Grasses.⁠⠀ ⁠⠀ One element to design I real Grasses.⁠⠀
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One element to design I really love using is to incorporate different types of "grasses" into my designs⁠⠀
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I find them easy going maintenance wise and if used properly, quite visually and physically textural.⁠⠀
⁠⠀
Here is an example where I've used about 5 types - from broader leaved versions to thin and wispy flowering types! A couple of my favourite's have a quirky "Mr It" type effect! ⁠⠀
⁠⠀
Which grass types appeal to you? And what do you love about them? 💚⁠⠀
Do not wait until the conditions are perfect to be Do not wait until the conditions are perfect to begin. ⁠⠀
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Beginning makes the condition perfect ... and anytime is a perfect to play in your garden! 💚
Do you have a favourite nook in your garden that y Do you have a favourite nook in your garden that you can relax in?⁠⠀
⁠⠀
Perhaps somewhere to read a book or a magazine or to just laze about?⁠⠀
⁠⠀
These things are important when designing your garden as it's not only about creating something special to look at but also creating a space to be part of and to immerse yourself in. ⁠⠀
⁠⠀
What is your favourite gardening spot and how do you spend time in it? 💚 ⁠⠀
A snippet from a favourite design from 2020! ⁠⠀
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Completed last Sept and about to arrange for some professional shots of it soon!⁠⠀
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Probably the best part of the design for me was to see my client's fervour around building the nautilus feature and actually making that happen!  You'll have to see it in real life to believe it as it not only looks amazing but gives her a sense of pride whenever she drives home!⁠⠀
⁠⠀
No more a boring front garden with a square grassed area but something unique to come home to, surrounded by plants that make her happy and a garden she loved designing for herself! 💚
This is one thing that continues to fascinate me!⁠⠀
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I LOVE it when ferns unfurl.  It's almost magical and done with such grace of movement!⁠⠀
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From the alternating leaf pattern, the prominent lateral veins to the spores that finally appear underneath their leaves, it's so well planned and amazing!⁠⠀
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Isn't nature simply beautiful!!? 💚⁠⠀
⁠⠀
What's your favourite fern?
Feature pots for smaller spaces or courtyards. ⁠ Feature pots for smaller spaces or courtyards. ⁠⠀
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The decision is a little trickier than you would initially think but here are some tips that can help!⁠⠀
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🌿Colours - lighter to make the area larger⁠⠀
🌿Size & number - would also depend on what you intend to plant and the aesthetic you'd want to create but if space is really limited I'd perhaps chose a single reasonably sized pot (to facilitate good root growth) that would allow for some layering of plants⁠⠀
🌿Opening - what  I mean by this is the "mouth" of the pot.  This has practical implication for on-going repotting and maintenance.  The wider the opening the easier to repot down the track!⁠⠀
🌿Texture - i love the earthy ones as they feel natural and similarly anything with laid stone or are handcrafted just adds that something extra but these tend to be expensive!⁠⠀
🌿Type - chose the look that compliments the overall style and aesthetic for your space.  For example, you'd not want to chose an ultra modern geometric pot for a farmhouse style cottagey space!  The pot here was chosen to compliment the earthy paving colour and was in line with the shapes of other structures in the courtyard!⁠⠀
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What are your key styling tips!  Do share! 💚⁠⠀
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⁠Slow and steady gets there eventually!⁠⠀
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Finally my dwarf senecio has got to a reasonable size and is looking very adorable at the moment!⁠⠀
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What especially I love about it is that it has a rounded growth and almost 'shines' at night against the moonlight which is why I've planted it next to the path!⁠⠀
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What's your favourite succulent? 💚⁠⠀
Need I say more? Well I'm pretty much plant and g Need I say more?  Well I'm pretty much plant and garden obsessed anyway LOL!⁠⠀
⁠⠀
Hope that you’re making your garden your priority in 2021. It's good for the mind, body and soul! 💚
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