Congrats on finishing your landscaping project! Did you want to include water in your feature?

Here are a few ideas if you did:

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scupper fountain wall · More Info

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Or if you didn't:

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Landscape - Port Melbourne · More Info

Good luck with the rest of your garden!

thanks. Yes we are hoping to have some plants with a water feature. It really is shallow so we will probably go for some small plants that don't need much room for root growth.

How about a rockery with integrated water feature. You can get some alpine plants, moss, ferns, succulents. All do well with little or poor soil.

You could build raised beds in a large curve that repeats the curve of your fence but runs across 3 panels. Incorporate a tall waterfall feature in the centre and wall climbing plants like clematis, jasmine and roses for colour through most of the year.

If you like a more modern approach and have the climate for it, use bamboo and banana plants with a waterfall and pool feature.

I would completely concur with the plan to build a raised bed. You can use railway sleepers which are cheap and easy to construct into a bed. If you buy topsoil in bulk (which you will need to do) then it is much cheaper than you might expect compared with potting compost from a garden centre. Make sure you add in a good organic supplement too - something like spent mushroom compost or well rotted horse manure. I would definitely also dig out a depth of the poor soil that you have by the fence at the moment - the greater the depth of soil the better and most medium size shrubs will be happy in 450mm of good soil. Just make sure it does not dry out, especially when the plants are establishing in their first year or two.

What you plant is entirely up to your taste and desires, but I would personally be cautious of bamboo. Even the clump forming varieties are generally pretty agressive and spread with strong roots that will take over a raised bed. I would suggest going for a mixture of evergreen shrubs to give you a base structure even in the winter and supplement with some perennials that will give colour and change through the summer. Climbers on the fence will help soften it too - Evergreen Jasmine (Trachelospermum jasminiodes) is a great plant giving nice shiny leaves all year with heavily scented little star flowers in mid-summer.

Hi - you might want to put that it doesn't dry out not that it does! I agree re the bamboo and the planting - great ideas.

Penelope McCormick - Design and Dreams

To follow with your desires:- it would be lovely to add a curve in the lawn to allow for a large spherical polished stainless steel water feature - I recommend a curved line of charcoal bricks/pavers - (easy edge for mowing - keeps pebbles in) adds another colour interest and compliments the fence curve. Large pebbles at the base of the Sphere and curve then spanish white pebbles, then smaller beach pebbles.. On the back fence I suggest a gate mirror or two behind the water feature this will carry your eye through and create an interesting feature. There is more you could add in the way of pots and plants if you wish to know more.

Hi Jane (Harries Garden Design). Well spotted - indeed - meant to say 'make sure it does not dry out'. I have edited it now so it reads correctly. Thanks.

A large 'rock' water feature set on a mixture of slate and pebbles ,leave enough room to walk around the 'rock'. Lights could be added to illuminate the feature at night. (a couple of smaller 'rocks' could be added for more impact) safer for children than a pool .