I am a plant murderer

[Footy Chick]

yet I find myself in a position where I'll be doing up the backyard in coming months.

Now, if I had my choice, I wouldn't have plants at all - but that would make for a very dull looking backyard.

The piece of my backyard that I'm looking at sprucing up is about 9m x 1 or 1.15m, so not very big. I'll be doing the retaining wall thing and probably filling it with those nice shiny rock things but will leave a couple of paved spaces for my massive pots

The only plants I'll be putting in if I can help it will be in massive pots. I'd also like something that won't die when I neglect it.

I can't have/ don't want anything flowery - I have crappy sinuses, yet would like something that will give a bit of colour.

So if you have any ideas, on plants or otherwise - post away. Please include a pic of said plant if possible as I know what roses and carnations look like and that's about it

PS: Budget is crap - so keep it cheap

[Dogwatcher]

natives mate. put them in, water them once a month if there's been no rain.

[Dirko]

I hate gardening. Half our backyard is being filled by a pool starting tomorrow

[Hondo]

Try agapanthus for one. They grow anywhere. The only thing is they are better at ground level than in pots I reckon.



I would go to a garden centre and ask - I only know about agapanthus from Mrs Hondo who loves gardening. I think there would be better options for pots.

DW is right about natives. They have put natives in around the Gallipoli underpass and I reckon they look good.

[dedja]

Hondo's correct ... I'm a mass plant murderer and haven't been able to kill any of our agapanthus over many years.

Also, as has been pointed out, natives are you best bet ... low maintenance after they have been bedded in.

[Booney]

Some standard Ficus will suffice nicely too. In a nice big pot.

One thing with being a plant murderer FC, you only need read the tag that most plants have on them.

ie : Full sun/ full shade etc etc.

When you buy the plants, buy a fair amount of slow release fertiliser and use it when neccesary.

[Barto]

A mur-diddly-urderer!!!!

[Q.]

Cacti!!!

[gadj1976]

wont pots in the back yard make it look even smaller?

Ground cover will be ok too as long as its trimmed back (providing you don't kill it before hand!)

Agree with the comments regarding Ags, they just are unkillable. We planted them in 05 and they've gone gangbusters since.

[spell_check]

Pittosporums. You need to cover them with some shade cloth when it gets hot, though.

[dedja]

can't agree Spelly ... with me, pittosporums have never been that hardy, but it could be my sublime mass murdering skills though.

[spell_check]

can't agree Spelly ... with me, pittosporums have never been that hardy, but it could be my sublime mass murdering skills though.

I agree with your mass murder skills - you just need to protect them from heat.

[Footy Chick]

Yeah, they sound too high maintenance to me.

I will be willfully neglecting anything green that ends up in my back yard. Mother nature will be their only protector

[JAS]

Yeah, they sound too high maintenance to me.

I will be willfully neglecting anything green that ends up in my back yard. Mother nature will be their only protector

Is there any law that says you must have real plants??? Can get some pretty convincing artificial ones these days. Might not be as cheap as the real thing but no watering, no pollen etc to affect the sinuses, no maintenance apart from a little light dusting, no leaf drop in Autumn and as much colour as you want.

Regards
JAS

[Barto]

serious answer: go for some yuccas. these things are impossible to kill I reckon. Two years on and these things are thriving on my balcony. Every other attempt at growing things resulted in death within weeks.

[gadj1976]

Pittosporums. You need to cover them with some shade cloth when it gets hot, though.

Spelly, I've been told by reliable sources (ie, not safooty.net folk) that you need to put Seasol on them to protect the roots when they're initially planted, then again when it gets hot.

[spell_check]

As you can see, I'm not a gardener, but I can be if I ask for advice on here. Thanks for the tip. I thought they would be good for FC as well, the ones I got, don't flower, and they look nice.

[Q.]

Pittosporums. You need to cover them with some shade cloth when it gets hot, though.

Spelly, I've been told by reliable sources (ie, not safooty.net folk) that you need to put Seasol on them to protect the roots when they're initially planted, then again when it gets hot.

Seasol contains nutrients that encourage root growth, so using it early will promote branching of the roots and using it in summer will promote tap rooting to access water deep in the soil profile.

[Q.]

FC, before you decide on anything you should get yourself a basic understanding of your soil characteristics so you can choose plants best suited to it or make adjustments to suit your wants.

[Rik E Boy]

Do it Italian style. Concrete and Tiles. La Dolce Vita!

regard,

REBBIO