Planting in tricky areas

Every garden has one – the bit that doesn’t quite work. Maybe it’s too damp, too dry, too hot … It’s the spot where plants wilt and hope fades. Don’t give up. There’s always a solution.

New homes and old semis often have narrow walkways beside the house, sometimes barely a metre wide. These are usually the only access to the back garden without going through the house.

Before making any grand planting plans, make sure there’s enough room to walk freely carrying items or wheeling bikes or bins. Use pavers or crushed granite for an easy-care surface and add groundcovers around the edges to provide greenery and suppress weeds. Half-circle hanging baskets on the fence add colour and texture, and are easily moved when needed. For wider passages, take advantage of narrow trees and shrubs and espalier them along a wall.

What to plant

Creeping thyme and golden oregano are brilliantly fragrant in sun, while succulents and Dichondra ‘Silver Falls’ shine. Dianella ‘Tiny Titan’ will grow from sun to shade, and bugle (Ajuga), ferns and ivy suit deeper shade.

For height, camellias are perfect in shade, or Magnolia ‘Little Gem’ in more sun. Ballerina apples and nandina also fit the bill, or string a climber along wires.

You will find these problem spots around tree roots or under the eaves of a house – shaded areas with little rain that are often marked by patchy lawn or bare earth. But nature provides a range of understorey plants that thrive in these tough conditions.

What to plant

Silver shield (Plectranthus argentatus), with silvery leaves and white flowers, enjoys dappled shade and copes with sun, while Plectranthus ecklonii prefers deeper shade and flowers in white, pink or purple-blue. Both spread swiftly, but are easily controlled. Liriopes and clivias form a good strappy contrast, or epimedium works as a lower groundcover with spikes of ethereal flowers. Several bromeliads, including Bilbergia nutans, Vriesea and Aechmea, are ideal in frost-free climates, and for Brisbane and north, succulents are perfect. If you want height, look at euphorbia cultivars or Fatsia japonica.

Whether it’s a west-facing metal fence that heats up to scalding temperatures, or a black-rendered wall that resembles Vesuvius by three o’clock on a sunny afternoon, some structures raise temperatures too high for many plants. Climbing roses may be ideal for a sunny wall in England, but they can cook in our climate in the wrong spot.

What to plant

Look for tough, strappy leaves that can stand the scalding sun. Oleander, photinia, pomegranate, olives and figs all revel in the heat and can protect smaller nearby plants. Bearded irises, low-growing grevilleas, cordylines, ornamental grasses and Mediterranean plants such as rosemary and thyme will fill out a bed, while petunias and daisies bring colour.

TIP Cool a wall by attaching a reed screen, or smother it by planting creeping fig or bougainvillea to bring the temperature back to bearable. In colder areas, walls provide a protective microclimate that can keep marginal plants growing well throughout the year. They also protect against frost.

The number one rule of garden beds beside a house? Never let the soil level reach above the damp-proof course – usually visible as a line extending around the base of your walls. Breaching this level is a major cause of damp inside a home.

Traditional advice says to leave the first 30cm beside the house free for air circulation, but many Australian homes are built with garden beds in that exact space. In this case, look for plants with strappy leaves or long stems that allow air to move freely around. Keep soil moisture levels consistent to stop your foundations shifting, especially if you’re on reactive clay soils. Drip irrigation is best for watering this type of area.

What to plant

Australian natives such as kangaroo paw in sun or dianella in shade look terrific mass planted in a strip garden, or use Agave attenuata for something more sculptural. In rich, well-drained soil, traditional bush roses add fragrance that can blow through windows. Underplant them with easy-care catmint or stachys.

TIP Use an inorganic mulch to lower surface moisture and make the bed less hospitable to pests, including ants, rodents and termites. Make sure you can cut back plantings if necessary for maintenance access. If you’re designing a new garden, make these areas paths or patios to avoid the problem.

Southern aspects are plunged into constant shade over winter, but can bake with the higher angle of the sun in summer. Most tender shade-loving plants fry in the hot months, while sun-lovers decline in the dark.

What to plant

Many native plants have evolved for these conditions. Westringia and mint bush (Prostanthera) cultivars can be hedged or grown as specimens with their fragrant leaves and sweet flowers, while showier correas work brilliantly and flower through winter months. For exotics, camellia cultivars do a champion job, with Chinese lanterns (Abutilon), azalea, brunfelsia, gardenia and Magnolia figo close behind.

TIP It may solve your problem to create cover with a pergola or add another tree to make this area shady year-round.

Many gardens have a soggy corner. You can fight it with drainage and groundworks, or accept it and build a woodland grove or wetland, depending on the severity of the damp. Forest understorey plants are made for this corner, and you may even be able to create a bog garden and attract frogs.

What to plant

Talk to your council about native wetland plants to construct a habitat. Damp and shady spots are perennial heaven for the English garden lover. Astilbe, hosta, meadowsweet, pratia, primula, viola and lungwort all deliver attractive leaf shapes and long-lasting flowers. NZ flax and tree ferns add height and a touch of the secret garden to the corner. Iris thrives in boggy areas, with architectural foliage and the bonus of delicate flowers.

While commonplace in many Australian cities, sloping sites can be hard work. Worse, when it rains, water can sheet across an uninterrupted slope, eroding soil and causing flooding.

For significant slopes, invest in a design from a qualified landscaper. These can make a site more accessible with steps or paths, or break up a slope into useful terraces and drain water away safely.

Much of this work can be DIYed, but don’t skimp on drainage and permeable surfaces to stop water sheeting or building up behind retaining walls. You can take advantage of natural water courses to create an irregular ‘creek’ running down the slope that leads to tank storage.

For already eroded soils, look for plants that naturally occur on rough hillsides, especially natives or exotics from the Mediterranean or South Africa.

What to plant

Trees are perfect, but obviously take time to grow. Fast-growing natives such as callistemon, leptospermum and melaleuca provide structure and stability while slower-growing trees establish themselves.

Grasses and grass-like plants including poa, carex, festuca and agapanthus spread quickly, as do classic ground covers including prostate grevillea and star jasmine. Use tube stock for economical mass planting.

If it’s all too hard? Cheat. A trellis or screen with or without climbers can cover a multitude of sins, while benches or gabions can transform failed lawn into a retreat zone. Pots can be rotated in and out of your problem zones to introduce some colour before they are moved back to a position better for growth.

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