ASPLEY NURSERY

Gardens of a Nurseryman - Noel Percy

This was my second attempt at a home garden on 3/4 acre, all done with my trusty posthole shovel, masses of mulch and lots of sweat. It was a garden of rooms with an area of native gardens leading to clipped formal gardens then to a tropical walk through garden with a hidden gable roofed shed and fire pit. It was designed and was a low maintenance garden that, as you walked through the garden, you had small features revealed. I have since moved to a much smaller [read tiny] block.

A larger block

This is a very small garden that is only about 4 months old, it's a Hollywood tropical garden with lots of colour and texture. It's a work in progress and will eventually be the narrow tropical garden to a narrow formal garden to a narrow vertical herb and vegetable garden. Basically it's a long narrow garden!


	These two photos show the entry pebble pond featuring Cycas thourasii, Rhoeo spathacea variegated, Clivia gold, Viola betonicifolia, Eucharis Lilly. The tree is a Randia fitzalani which provides shade and a home for orchids.

	This is the formal gardens with clipped hedges of Murraya, Syzygium, Gardenia Florida and radicans. The trees are Magnolia Little Gem, St Mary's Tabebuia palmerii Gordonia axillaris, and White and mauve Jacaranda. The Betula nigra grove is under planted with Clivia Miniata and Nobilis with Hymenocallis and hippeastrum.

	The tropical gardens featured lots of Heliconias such as Hot Rio, Gold Torch and Rostrata. The major trees were Melicope elleryana, Deplanchia tetraphylla Brachyition discolor and acerifolius, Elaeocarpus Eumundii and reticulatus, Plumeria acutifolia and pudica. Palms were Latania lontaroides, Rhapis excelsa Betel nut and the occasional Dypsis cabadae and lutchenensis. Bamboos were Lako [since removed as it grew to big and fast] Textilus gracilis and guaxiensis. Under planting was a range of Cordyline hybrids with Codiaeum, Rhoeo, Tacca Spathiphyllum Philodendron Xanadu Congo Rojo Congo and P. cannifolium bordered by lots of Mondo grass and Reineckia.

A SMALL GARDEN

.....

The garden has progressed amazingly since first established, it is a harsh environment with sand soils that need constant mulch, slow release fertiliser and water. Westerly winds bring salt laden air that is funneled between the buildings. We were unable to keep a Plumeria pudica in the front garden but have been able to grow a more compact Plumeria Pudica Pink. The white is thriving further back where it has more protection. Each year the Caladiums and blood lilies pop up around the permanent species of Rhapis excelsa, Philodendron Xanadu, Alcanthera and spider lillies.

The white Ixora Kampons Pride and the fragrant Plumeria pudica pink are features. Now that I have protected pockets I am introducing Aglaonema, pot garden

Calathea, dwarf Agapanthus, and Carex.

I also like to have some pots that are easy care as well, this one features Dichondra Silver Falls, Euphorbia Hip Hop and Impatiens. Since this photo was taken the impatiens have been removed and been replaced by Erigeron.

2023
With a renovation of the front of the house this garden will be removed so it's an opportunity to change styles and plants, I will update the site when completed.

In 2023 Geranium garden no 2

We finally settled on a single species for the garden for ease of maintenance and a good solid colour, also, with the movement and then sale of the nursery I had little time to spend on the garden. We finally settled on a orange dwarf geranium and it is a winner, colour year round. In the humid months we do need to deal with fungus in the flowers but even then it is colourful.

A bit of Colour - Plectranthus Mona Lavender Pbr Garden

Each time we redo this garden we try and change the theme. On this occasion we planted Plectranthus Mona Lavender as the main species and seeded Alyssum between them, as you can see we have had self seeded marigolds , salvia and petunias come up through the garden from previous plantings.

The unplanned look is actually a feature of this small colorful garden.

Geranium garden

Sitting on the deck looking at our front garden which is a classic 60's raised garden bed 12m x 300mm we decided that we needed more colour. At the time we had a clipped box hedge of Gardenia radicans with Gazania for colour at each end. It can be seen in the top right photo above.

The decision was made to remove them and replace them with a much more colourful garden that included Geranium Big Red Geranium Big Pink and a mix of assorted annuals such as mini Snapdragons, Lobelia, Alyssum and Viola. It's a real step back in time. Geranium Big Red and Big Pink are plants we have in limited numbers that can be used to bring colour to the landscape. Geraniums are well known as a colourful yet very hardy plant. You can see the result below.

This has proven to be a very bright and colorful garden, it does require a bit more work than our tropical garden but the rewards of this garden are worth it. The only draw back is that whenever you are in the front yard passers by continually stop and ask for information and to comment on how cheerful the garden looks.

Festuca and Salvia garden

This garden uses three species Festuca glauca Beyond Blue pbr, Gazania Zanya Lemon Frost pbr and a mix of silver and blue Salvia. It's a harsh site in full sun salt winds in a raised narrow brick garden bed that receives full direct sun morning and afternoon. This selection of plants has thrived, I am especially impressed with the Festuca as, from experience, I didn't believe they grow in Queensland. This form however is proving to love the hot, humid weather that would normally see their demise.

Gaillardia garden

This time for something different I planted out Gaillardia as the main plant in the garden, they have proven to be a real hardy choice. I regularly dead head them and they have become a dense clumping mass of flower. They are native to North and South America and seem to love the climate here, we had some trouble keeping the moisture up to them during the hot summer but once we had mulched them heavily they have thrived. The biggest problem is explaining to all the passers by that it is not a marigold or calendula!