Picking the right trees/ plants for my garden

[gpenkar]

Hi there,

I'm in the process of designing my garden and need some guidance on what the best trees/ plants would be. I have some ideas, but would like some advise around them. 

First off, the space. 

I've got a large front yard (approx. ). Here's a picture of the front yard. 

Garden design

The aim: I'd like to design the garden with warm colours, with flowering trees/ plants and changing colours in spring and autumn

- a row of 10 Pencil Pines on the right of the driveway

- a row of 6(?) crabapple trees

- a weeping cherry on the left of the driveway for a focus point (behind that letter box)

- 'Little Ruby' lining the driveway

I was wondering about the following:

- What other flowering trees could I consider for the space? Conscious that I don't want it all to look over the top. 

- What would be the ideal groundcover under the trees lining the driveway? Looking for hardy, flowering options

- Which ground cover plant options eliminates the worry of weeds?

I'll have a seperate post for the backyard, 'cause that's a whole other discussion.

[MitchellMc]

Welcome to the Bunnings Workshop community @gpenkar . It's fantastic to have you join us and many thanks for your questions.

Congratulations on starting the design of your garden, I trust it must be a very exciting time.

You might be interested in reading through these articles:

• How to plan a garden makeover by @Adam_W 

• How to give your garden a makeover by @Adam_W 

• How to plant a tree, shrub or a rose by @Noelle 

• How to build a retaining wall by @Adam_W 

I've included the last article as retaining walls are not only great at holding back soil but they create tiering and interest to a garden.

You should find these step-by-step tutorials helpful:

• How to give your front garden a D.I.Y makeover

• How to grow a deciduous magnolia tree

• How to plant grow and prune bougainvillea

• How to grow gardenias

• 11 ground covers for your garden

• 10 fast growing plants for privacy

• Great ideas for outdoor privacy

You might like to try out the Gardena garden planner which can really assist in visualising the layout of your yard. 

You'll find many ground covers will compete with weeds if planted close to each other but to truly eliminate the worry of weeds I would recommend installing weed matting.

I'll mention some gardening enthusiasts @Adam_W, @Noelle and @Grub80   to see if they had any suggestions for you.

Make sure to take plenty of images of the process and keep us updated along the way.

Mitchell

[Grub80 · Accepted solution]

Hi @MitchellMc @gpenkar , I have some beautiful trees growing in my back yard, mainly ornamental pears, both the upright and spreading form. They are deciduous and have glorious colour in autum, and create wonderful shade in the harsh summer. I also have crepe myrtles, both pink and white. They too are deciduous but the flowers in summer are heaven to the bees, and the smell is divine. I do prune the trees to maintain shape and ensure they do not grow too big. I prune using a pole shear. 

Do do your research look around your neighbourhood to see what trees grow well, and my advice it’s never to late to plant trees.