"Stage" my Garden Bed

Mulva · 31-05-2021, 11:57 AM

Impulse decision to put house on the market - photographer coming tomorrow arvo and first Opens this weekend.

Running alongside uncovered entertaining area is a raised garden-bed running north/south that is 1m deep and 11m wide. Paved entertaining area to it's west, colourbond fence behind it to it's east.

Currently it is bare, I plan to throw around $300-$400 of bang-for-buck plants into it tomorrow. Looking for suggestions of reasonably priced plants that go well together.

It's just a token gesture to have something better than just bare dirt, so not fussed about longevity or whether they have similar needs in terms of light and watering, just want to "stage" it cheaply. It does not adjoin any other garden beds so does not need to blend with existing.

Shill me some plants.

Citroënbender · 31-05-2021, 12:02 PM

Pictures would help. What ethnicity is the target market?

**Rallye Sport** · 31-05-2021, 12:06 PM

Fill it with herbs and advanced vege plants, tomatoes, chilli's etc.
Most people seem to aspire to owning a vege patch.

Work Horse · 31-05-2021, 12:32 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Rallye Sport

Fill it with herbs and advanced vege plants, tomatoes, chilli's etc.
Most people seem to aspire to owning a vege patch.

I agree it's like free food with the house purchase.

And colour, a bit hard to get this time of year but anything in flower looks good.
Salvias, Daisy, cineraria, pansy, snapdragon, lobelia, poppies etc, just make sure the plants you buy have buds left on them and are not at the very end of flowering.

Mulva · 31-05-2021, 12:33 PM

lol @ Rallye, it is usually our veg patch and we recently harvested. We'd planned to put a pergola over the entertaining area so never planted the bed permanently, as what would grow there pre-pergola likely would not have lived post-pergola, so it's been kids veg patch

jaydee · 31-05-2021, 12:47 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Rallye Sport

Fill it with herbs and advanced vege plants, tomatoes, chilli's etc.
Most people seem to aspire to owning a vege patch.

I agree, when ever people see this they go
"Oh look, a vegie patch, fresh herbs"

**Rallye Sport** · 31-05-2021, 12:55 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mulva

lol @ Rallye, it is usually our veg patch and we recently harvested. We'd planned to put a pergola over the entertaining area so never planted the bed permanently, as what would grow there pre-pergola likely would not have lived post-pergola, so it's been kids veg patch

You should be able to use the kids as labourers then. Win win

.:4:. · 31-05-2021, 01:02 PM

When i bought my house, the prior owner did the garden beds to sell the place. It was previously an investment property so tge gardens were probably not maintained. They loaded the gardens with yuccas and did wood chips around them. Yuccas are green, low maintenance, good coverage. They also take well quickly. Ive given away a heap of larger cuttings because they grow like weeds and quickly outgrew my garden beds. Last time i thinned them out, what didnt fit in the garden bin i put in buckets of water. They were in buckets of just water for a few weeks before my mums boyfriend took them to put in the communal garden where he lives and they never wilted and took to his soil quickly.

Citroënbender · 31-05-2021, 01:04 PM

32/20/80. Back ‘er up!

raised by monkeys · 31-05-2021, 01:34 PM

Pfft! @paying for plants. Take clippings from natives. Don't bother sinking money into something you're selling. I built this garden bed, and bought plants most of which died. I took clippings then from local council gardens and friends' yards. These grew and needed to be trimmed back within months. Goody sand loam and pea straw on top. Pea staw also looks good against the contrast of greens.

lumen8 · 31-05-2021, 01:35 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mulva

Shill me some plants.

Put some ficus trees as close to the house as possible, preferably near water pipes and drains.

Yellow_Festiva · 31-05-2021, 05:35 PM

Just go to the local garden shops / Bunnings and get the biggest greenest plants you can find for the lowest price.

I did something similar for my place I just sold. I had access to tons of sandstone so I spread the plants out even more and put a big hunk of stone between each plant.

Also, I grabbed some native plants from Bunnings that were made up of a bunch of leaves sprouting from the base (can't recall the name - they are a native that grows to several feet tall and puts out a huge red flower looking thing from the centre.)

$40 down to $10 because some of the leaves were brown.

Bought the lot.

Planted them, trimmed off brown leaves, gave them water, good as new.

Also, see if your local council gives away natives to residents? Check local FB pages / Gumtree for plants.

oldel · 31-05-2021, 06:50 PM

lavender
mint
various basils (regular, sweet, greek, purple, viet/thai, lemon)
thyme and rosemary

lots of straw covering/mulch

petunias or whatever the cheap plants bunnings sell every spring as "potted colour" or similar plants used as ground covers or nitrogen fixers.

Because it's winter nothing is going to be flowering, so plants that smell (mint, lavender. basil, thyme, rosemary etc) would be better options IMO

Trendseeker · 31-05-2021, 08:36 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Yellow_Festiva

Also, I grabbed some native plants from Bunnings that were made up of a bunch of leaves sprouting from the base (can't recall the name - they are a native that grows to several feet tall and puts out a huge red flower looking thing from the centre.

Gymea lily?

**DFB FGXR6** · 31-05-2021, 09:53 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by lumen8

Put some ficus trees as close to the house as possible, preferably near water pipes and drains.

You're evil!

Citroënbender · 31-05-2021, 09:56 PM

Cannabis sativa. It’s self-pruning and self-thinning. Great low maintenance herb.

Yellow_Festiva · 31-05-2021, 10:34 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Trendseeker

Gymea lily?

That be the one

Mulva · 01-06-2021, 08:03 AM

Thanks guys - turns out wife rocked up yesterday with a bunch of plants about 10 mins before I was about to leave for Virginia Nursery. Garden bed now planted out with heap of Evergreen Giants and Nandias and other plants/shrubs.

CoupeKing · 01-06-2021, 09:50 AM

If you haven't got at least one Boronia in your garden, or near a window or door, you don't know what you're missing. The scent they release generally twice a day dominates just about anything. It will go through your house in the right conditions.

Negatives are that their highly susceptible to the elements and only live 2-5 years.