Waterwise Courtyard
Presenter: Sue McDougall
With houses getting larger and blocks getting smaller landscape designers are facing the same dilemma everywhere of how they are going to fit all the elements of an outstanding landscape design into a small confined area.
A good landscape design cleverly incorporates the hard design elements such as paths, paving and decking as well as the soft elements such as plants.
Hard landscaping is the foundations of a garden and can be likened to the walls or foundations of a house and the plants can be the curtains or the paintings. You can’t hang the curtains unless the walls are up.
Decking areas are functional and in large outdoor living entertainment areas they give a sense of space in a garden and are ideal for some large containers and planters. The use of retainer walls and garden beds on different levels add depth to small areas.
Plants really soften the strong angles and the architectural features of a garden. Designers more than ever before are recognizing the need to have a waterwise garden so they really need to incorporate minimal varieties and zoning to get the quality finish we all want.
Zoning is grouping those plants with similar watering needs together, reducing the chance of over watering some varieties and it is one of the best tips to remember when establishing a garden.
Xanadu Philodendron (Philodendron Hybrid Cultivar ‘Xanadu’) is the perfect plant for those hard to landscape areas that are in full sun in the middle of the day and shade for the rest.
Little Gem (Magnolia grandiflora ‘Little Gem’) is a small tree perfect for compact gardens. Its dark green foliage contrasts beautifully with its ivory tulip shaped flowers in summer and autumn.
In confined areas a water feature or pond gives a relaxing cooling feeling and doesn’t use very much extra water to maintain, in fact it uses less water than an existing garden bed.
In this day and age when we are all so busy a garden needs to be our own sanctuary so ensuring it has the backbones of a waterwise design will make your job in the garden much easier in the long term.
With houses getting larger and blocks getting smaller landscape designers are facing the same dilemma everywhere of how they are going to fit all the elements of an outstanding landscape design into a small confined area.
A good landscape design cleverly incorporates the hard design elements such as paths, paving and decking as well as the soft elements such as plants.
Hard landscaping is the foundations of a garden and can be likened to the walls or foundations of a house and the plants can be the curtains or the paintings. You can’t hang the curtains unless the walls are up.
Decking areas are functional and in large outdoor living entertainment areas they give a sense of space in a garden and are ideal for some large containers and planters. The use of retainer walls and garden beds on different levels add depth to small areas.
Plants really soften the strong angles and the architectural features of a garden. Designers more than ever before are recognizing the need to have a waterwise garden so they really need to incorporate minimal varieties and zoning to get the quality finish we all want.
Zoning is grouping those plants with similar watering needs together, reducing the chance of over watering some varieties and it is one of the best tips to remember when establishing a garden.
Xanadu Philodendron (Philodendron Hybrid Cultivar ‘Xanadu’) is the perfect plant for those hard to landscape areas that are in full sun in the middle of the day and shade for the rest.
Little Gem (Magnolia grandiflora ‘Little Gem’) is a small tree perfect for compact gardens. Its dark green foliage contrasts beautifully with its ivory tulip shaped flowers in summer and autumn.
In confined areas a water feature or pond gives a relaxing cooling feeling and doesn’t use very much extra water to maintain, in fact it uses less water than an existing garden bed.
In this day and age when we are all so busy a garden needs to be our own sanctuary so ensuring it has the backbones of a waterwise design will make your job in the garden much easier in the long term.
AS SEEN ON 
