Learning curve
A steep site is a challenge – and an opportunity
In Melbourne’s Toorak, a property that runs down to the banks of the Yarra River is a rare thing. But when the garden drops 19m from top to bottom, the task of making it beautiful is a big technical challenge.
“It was very steep and rocky, with a few established trees,” says Sarah Laidlaw, who bought the place in 2013 with her husband and raised three teenage sons there. “We renovated when we moved in and had Paul Bangay do the front garden, which was level, but the back garden was very different. We sat on it for four years before tackling it.”
It was Guilfoyle’s Volcano garden at the Royal Botanic Gardens in Melbourne, a space full of interesting and quirky plants, that sparked her inspiration for what it could be. “I just love that garden,” Laidlaw says.
She tasked Eckersley Garden Architecture with the 700sqm project. “I gave them a list of my dislikes but then they had free rein,” she says.
“It’s a stunning site and the bones were in place, including paths, gazebo, boathouse and jetty,” says Eckersley director Myles Broad. Working around existing trees that had wrangled a foothold, they terraced the steep slope using the TerraLock system of soil-filled geotextile bags. “You can plant into them and they also create pockets behind the bags into which you can tuck plants,” Broad explains. “We also left seams of the rock exposed.”
Staff wore safety harnesses and were anchored securely to the rock while carrying out the work. Broad and co-designer Josh Cocks also created a long, curving seat, which is built into the slope as part of a flat firepit area under a huge Moreton Bay fig.
Broad says he had fun doing the planting plan. “We developed a list of 20 or 30 suitable plants and then it was like a painter’s palette, applying them in drifts and sprays.” There are grasses for movement and seasonal interest, including Miscanthus and New Zealand wind grass (Anemanthele lessoniana).
Adding sculptural elements are quirky trees such as Queensland bottle trees (Brachychiton rupestris) with their swollen trunks; silk floss trees (Ceiba speciosa) that have thorn-studded green trunks and spectacular pink flowers; and mountain cabbage tree (Cussonia paniculata) with corky trunks topped by a flurry of segmented leaves. Agaves, yuccas, aloes and sedums are in the mix, along with purple-flowering Echium. Baby sun rose (Aptenia cordifolia) forms a flowing groundcover down the slope.
“We’re just 5km from the city, but when you’re down there you lose the traffic noise and you could be anywhere in the country,” Laidlaw says. “All through the year there are different plants that shine – it’s just beautiful.”
The garden will be open to delegates of the Australian Landscape Conference in Melbourne, March 27-30; landscapeconference.com
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Q&A
My 20-year-old, seed-grown avocado tree has done something strange these past two years: it drops every leaf in a week, then two months later puts out new shoots and returns to normal. Why? It had its first few fruit two years ago. Althea Dimmick, NW Tasmania
Tasmania is the most southern extent for warm-loving avocados. Some varieties are briefly deciduous, especially in cooler climates, losing their leaves at flowering time in spring. Even evergreen ones can shed many leaves in spring. Seed-grown trees can take 15 or more years to mature and fruit, so perhaps yours has finally grown up. Cold temperatures and lack of cross-pollination will affect fruiting.
I grew my five-year-old fig from a cutting. It hasn’t produced any fruit and I’ve been told it may be a male tree. How do I tell? Digby McKenna, Koroit, Vic
Figs don’t have separate male and female trees, but cuttings are clones – genetic copies – of the parent. Figs should begin to bear from 3-5 years of age and they set fruits without pollination; the flowers are actually inside the fig. Water stress and lack of direct sun can affect fruiting.
My pot plants are tired-looking despite care. Should I remove all soil from the roots and re-pot with potting mix? How often should I re-pot? Can I re-use the discarded soil? Greg Horne, Perth
If they’re in garden soil, that’s unsuitable in pots as it compacts too much. Wash most off and re-pot into top quality potting mix – usually the most expensive. Cheap mixes can stunt all growth. Re-pot every couple of years or if roots are growing out the drainage holes. Old soil or mix can go on the garden or in the compost unless the plants were diseased.
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Send your questions to: helenyoungtwig@gmail.com or Helen Young, PO Box 3098, Willoughby North, NSW 2068. Website: helenyoung.com.au. The best question for February wins a Composta, the Australian made and designed worm farm and garden in one, worth $119 from composta.com.au
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