Landscape Design Brisbane Part Two

In the last article on Landscape Design in Brisbane we took a brief look at the history of Brisbane and Landscape design. In this article we will look at iconic garden features in Brisbane and the kinds of plants that soak up Brisbane’s varied weather.

The Great Aussie Retaining Wall

Iconic Brisbane landscape Feature?

If the Queenslander house is the quintessential Brisbane abode, then the retaining wall must be the iconic Brisbane garden feature. I assert that most of Brisbane’s suburban housing will have some form of retaining wall structure in the garden. Whether the property has rendered block retaining walls delineating a driveway, or gabion style retaining walls defining an outdoor dining area, or hardwood sleepers supporting a sandpit most houses in Brisbane will have altered the landscape for some of the very reasons the early Brisbane housing designers chose to elevate the living areas above it. Often the local landscape is made up of hilly, rough and uneven land, as there is little truly flat land outside of the floodplains. Queenslanders tend to be outdoor types who love to be in the sunshine, soaking up the beautiful Brisbane weather. Which is exactly why many Queenslanders will have their yards re-sculpted to create great outside entertainment areas, play areas for their kids and almost as common as a retaining wall, the great Aussie back yard pool.

Planting For Every Possibility.

Once the soil has been prepared, the garden beds dug and retaining walls embedded in place, then the work of picking plants to cope with the wide fluctuations in Queensland weather is the final task of any Landscape designer.

Here the Landscape designer must take into consideration natural watercourses through the property, how well the soil drains, how the property is aspected and where the sun is at its most glaring in the garden.

Luckily enough, Brisbane native plants tend to be the best bet in Brisbane gardens. They have adapted to the tumultuous Queensland conditions over generations of evolution. Although, there are many other lovely varietals that will blossom just as beautifully as any Brisbane bloom.

There is such an extensive range of native flora to decorate our gardens with such as the Brisbane Wattle Acacia Fimbriata, which will thrive in almost any soil conditions, to the Brisbane River Lily Crinum Pendunculatum which not only thrives in very wet conditions but also acts as a home and haven for native lizards intent on eating insects the plant attracts.

Yucca Elephantipes

An expert Landscape designer will be able to plant out your garden for year round colour with such plants as the Aloe Sirius (For more info on this attractive plant please click here). For long lasting durability, resistance to the extremes of seasons we ‘enjoy’ here in Brisbane, and for the level of maintenance that will best suit our lifestyles, many modern gardeners are turning to the Giant Yucca Yucca Elephantipes or Yucca Guatamalensis. This hardy succulent originates from Central America but has been widely spread throughout the world due to its incredibly hardy disposition. Giant Yucca’s thrive in hot dry conditions, but can just as easily weather wet and rainy conditions as long as they have good drainage, perfect for a majority of Brisbane’s gravel soil composition. Giant Yuccas live up to their name and can grow up to 10 metres in height in ideal conditions, so make sure you have enough room for this impressive garden feature.
 
To see a superb specimen of the Giant Yucca, treat the family to a day out in the Spectacle Garden at the Roma Street Parklands and take one of the guided walks around one of Australia’s greatest gardens.

For excellent Landscape Design Brisbane visit the Website or Click Here or http://www.mylandscapedesign.com.au/