Side of house planting ideas for North of Adelaide

[haitchb]

Hi all,

We moved into our new home in October last year and are now planning our landscaping. We have a long and narrow strip at the side of the house that I am hoping to get some inspiration on!

The area is ~18m long x 1m wide and is on the Eastern side of the house with the footpath + road on other side of the fence. The height up to the concrete path is 90mm. We are on clay soil. The plan is to have some screening on this side of the house due to being next to road and the narrow space available. We planned for irrigation during concrete pour so this will also be done. I should add we live North of Adelaide (on the Adelaide Plains) so it is hot with minimal shading due to it being a new estate.

We like the 'Oakville Crimson Spire' or similar in shades of purple or even a darker green. Even a Common Lilly Pilly if I can convince the wife to like them (!). This also depends on the dimensions as the space is narrow.

I am also unsure of the ratio for loam + mulch. As the concrete path height is 90mm, what would be the ideal amount of loam / mulch?

Thanks in advance!

Cheers,

Harry

[Jason]

Hi @haitchb,

Congrats on your new home. 

You might get some great ideas from our collection of Top 10 most popular side yard projects.

Let me see if experienced members such as @Noelle, @robchin and @mich1972 might be able to suggest some plants for you.

Jason

[Noelle]

Hi @haitchb 

Your selection 'Oakville Crimson Spire' is deciduous - that is, it loses its leaves in autumn and is bare right through winter, so that's not going to work terribly well as an effective noise and privacy screen for the road and footpath on the other side of the fence. I'd certainly look at an evergreen shrub that can be multi-planted as a hedge and trimmed/shaped to fit the space. There are many different lilly pillies and pittosporums for example that would fit and also provide the screening you need.

Since anything you plant there will eventually send its roots down into the natural clay soil, it is often best not to go overboard with improving the top layer of soil by adding loam but to ensure you add appropriate fertiliser and then mulch the surface regularly. Over time, the mulch will break down and work its way into the soil to improve its texture. The soil surface should be slightly lower than the adjacent garden bed to facilitate drainage away from your house wall.