Cold Change
Sydney Morning Herald
Thursday August 5, 1999
Taking the time to re-think your garden during the colder months can work wonders, writes JOHN STOWAR.
RECENTLY, while laid low with the flu, I made some garden changes in my mind's eye. They were quite ambitious alterations, involving earth-shaping on quite a grand scale. Funny, isn't it, just when we are least able to cope with upheaval, physical activity and stress, gardeners still can't help looking at the options for improvement.
We all need to reassess our gardens periodically, and winter is an excellent time to do so. It is a time when we are freed from the relentless tasks of mowing, watering, weeding and fertilising, and ideas we hit upon can be implemented almost immediately.
But before you rush into even minor changes, it is prudent to tread carefully. The impact of a change as simple as relocating an existing shrub must be considered from all aspects. Only when absolutely convinced that it is the right move should you start. The very best of gardeners think nothing of moving plants - perhaps several times over the life span of certain specimens. Mostly it is because the plant has either outgrown its allotted space or become overshadowed by other plants.
Far better to give it the space it deserves than hack it back, destroying the natural form in the process. Or, perhaps, with growing appreciation of a plant's seasonal changes, we can place it nearer another plant - the resulting association creating pleasing effects.
Another option may be to remove nearby plants, giving elbow room to that which you especially admire. This approach should not be seen as a reflection of poor placement, however, as it is very common for some plants to perform much better than originally envisaged. For example, in using so-called "dwarf" conifers, it has always been recommended they be grouped for maximum effect, and dug and replanted at least every 10 years, because by then their individual forms would be destroyed as shapes coalesce.
These days, few gardeners would be committed to this approach simply because of the labour involved, but it is the only course of action needed to avoid the ugly, dead patches which develop when adjacent foliages meet.
Very simple garden changes can make very satisfying improvements. Removing a few lower limbs, for example, to lift the canopy of a tree, creates headroom for standing or the placement of a seat. Also, thinning the limbs and lifting the canopy of a large old shrub can create the advantage of extra ground space in small gardens.
It can also reveal wonderful tracery of limbs and interesting bark colours, textures and patterns. Or maybe a shrub of nondescript form can be shaped to give solidity and strength. Also, views can be regained by thinning a tree's canopy. Armed with just secateurs (and maybe loppers and a pruning saw), in a very short time the imaginative gardener can transform a garden.
The results may not be immediately obvious, because with some treatments a season or two of new growth may be needed to "fill out" the shape, but that first step is essential to refinement.
Another very simple procedure, and sometimes a dramatically improving one, is to widen pathways. Paths tend to define spaces, and in small gardens can become spaces themselves, so they certainly warrant the attention.
What about addressing very basic considerations of sunshine, privacy, wind shelter and traffic noise? These things can (and do) change over time, so even if they were originally very much part of your site appraisal, eventually you may have to reassess them.
A neighbour's house with a second-storey addition means a change in scale if adjacent houses are single storey. Taller shrubs or, perhaps, trees are needed. And maybe denser planting. For maintaining privacy, climbers on a frame or pergola could be desirable.
If it is noise you want to keep out, solid masonry walls or earth mounds are really the only effective acoustic barriers. If expense, or lack of space prevent their installation, the incorporation of a fountain or waterfall will help mask the cacophony.
Even when a landscape professional has been engaged to design and construct a garden, the task of reassessment, at least every 10 years, is necessary. Much better, these days when we all want quick results, it should be done every five years. This is because most of the plants which are fast in producing results also usually have limited life spans. The slower growers tend to be the better performers in the long term.
Our Australian species are mostly big on quick performance, and we have many species suited as "nurse" plants, providing shelter for others less vigorous. But unless we regularly tip-prune and fertilise, life spans are relatively short. These plants must be replaced if others were not initially planted to gradually fill the voids.
Frequently overlooked is the fact that our needs change as households change. We can blindly continue to mow a large lawn where the kids kicked a ball and the dog ran - in spite of the kids having passed that period, and the dog being satisfied with lying in the shade.
We can learn much from a dog. It can be as simple as slowing down and just enjoying being in the garden.
© 1999 Sydney Morning Herald