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What plants against a northern fence (South side) in Vic

Itai
Becoming a Leader

What plants against a northern fence (South side) in Vic

Hi All.

 

I need some advice for what to plant in my garden beds along the southern part of my Northern fence. The catch-22 I have is in in Summer, the suns angle means the plants will pretty much get full sun. But in Winter, when the sun's angle means it will be obstructed by our 2m boundary fence and the plants will effectively get no Sun light.

 

Itai_2-1635118459543.png

 

I have built a raised garden bed and also have a garden bed just below the deck line.

 

Itai_3-1635118554213.png   Itai_4-1635118593420.png

 

We're currently in October (so mid spring), and I've done some measurements from the top of the bed to the height at with there is contact with sun light. You can see from the photos below for the raised garden bed, this is around 50cm and for the lower part, this would be around 1.5m in height. Of course in winter, this will be much higher.

 

Itai_5-1635118728901.png  Itai_6-1635118746198.png

 

In terms of width of space available for planting, the thinner part of the raised garden bed is around 35cm, and the wider part around 42cm (it starts of thinner and gets wider as you go along as the fence line is at a slight angle to the deck. The lower part is around 36cm. 

 

Itai_7-1635118936845.png Itai_8-1635118967797.png

 

On the lower part, I was hoping to put something taller, that would grow to around 2m to cover the height of the fence and look good against the grey. I was initially thinking Lilly Pilly, I love the mix of colour of the green and reddish leaves. But am worried it will die in winter (I was also told the space is too thin for Lilly Pilly - though I'm happy for it to grow over the deck a little). And then I was also thinking of something shorter, perhaps some tall grasses or something, to plant in between the taller plants to create some layering.

 

I'm also very open to the idea of everygreen fruit trees, such as citrus, etc (if they can tolerate the position)

 

On the raised garden bed, I'm really unsure of what to plant there. I was considering something with a bit of utility, such as blueberry or maybe some other veges ... but not sure how good these will tolerate no sun in winter. Primary goal though is aesthetics, so nothing disidous, as it needs to look good in winter too. I'm hoping also for something that will grow up to 1m tall to again create that backdrop against the grey fence. I'm also not averse to attaching a wire frame of sorts to the fence posts for the plants to grow up against. 

 

I believe the soil type for the lower deck is a sandy loam (based on my non-expert analysis of sand in a glass bottle with water!). I haven't yet checked the pH. The raised bed I've actually layered the bottom with hard matter, branches, etc.  Someone told me about hugelkultur, so I looked into it and thought I'd recycle the plants and trees I cut down before. On top of this, I will add some of the sandy loam soil I dig out from elsewhere, and then I'll top the last 1/3rd with organic matter soil (and add organic matter soil to the top 15cm of the lower bed).

 

Would love some assistance here.

 

Thanks

 

Itai

Re: What plants against a northern fence (South side) in Vic

It should @EricL my concerns would be height (it gets to 10m+), although you can easily keep chopping the top off it, and that it would outgrow that bed too quickly.

Itai
Becoming a Leader

Re: What plants against a northern fence (South side) in Vic

Thanks for your responses everyone. I think I'll likely go for the Lilly Pilly in the lower bed.

Still need to figure out the upper bed ... while moving pots around is a clever idea, it's likely to not get done by us :cheeky: 

I did notice yesterday at 5pm the sun was directly on the bed, so I'm going to see what time that changeover happens ... it might just be that it gets some late afternoon sun which is good. Just wish I had measured it in peak of winter.

Itai
Becoming a Leader

Re: What plants against a northern fence (South side) in Vic

By the way, check this tool out ... helps me ascertain the shadow and where the sun will be

https://www.suncalc.org/

 

According to this, the plants will get around 3-4 hours of afternoon sun in peak summer, and 0 sun in winter. 

Itai
Becoming a Leader

Re: What plants against a northern fence (South side) in Vic

So as it turns out, my garden beds are getting around 4-6 hours of light over summer. A bit in the morning until about 10am and then a whole bunch of afternoon sun from 4pm to sunset. Though winter, will still be nothing. But I think that's ok, what I'm doing is planting the plants now so they have time to embed with plenty of sun. And then winter, just need them to stay dormant alive.


For the upper beds, I've gone for a mix of Dwarf New Zealand Xmas Bush (Metrosideros Tahiti) and Mona Lavender, and for the lower beds, "Backyard Bliss" Lilly Pilly and a couple of Camelia's near the cubby house.


I've also bought some bark screening to install along the fence to stop the heat from the fence getting to the plants.

 

I'll post a pic once they're all in.

EricL
Bunnings Team Member
Bunnings Team Member

Re: What plants against a northern fence (South side) in Vic

Hi @Itai

 

Thank you for the update. I'm glad you've settled on your plant lineup. They should get well established throughout the summer. Once they've matured, even ambient sunlight from reflecting sources should be enough to keep them going over winter, until they get direct sun the following season. Any updates would be highly appreciated. We look forward to seeing the photos once you have the plants in place.

 

Eric

 

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Itai
Becoming a Leader

Re: What plants against a northern fence (South side) in Vic

Here's a final photo of the area with the new plants in.

Lucky I got that bark, it looks great, and is now really difficult to find. My neighbour wanted to do it, but he was only able to get 1 from Bunnings, he couldn't find more at the Bunning's around the areas.

 

20211215_092106.jpg

EricL
Bunnings Team Member
Bunnings Team Member

Re: What plants against a northern fence (South side) in Vic

Hello @Itai

 

Thank you so much for the photo updates. It looks very nice and the bark cover just makes the area look so inviting. What material did you use to cover the top of your pergola? Have you already used the area for parties and get-togethers? 

 

Please keep us updated with your progress, we look forward to seeing your next project.

 

Again, thank you so much for the updates.

 

Eric

 

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Itai
Becoming a Leader

Re: What plants against a northern fence (South side) in Vic

Hey @EricL 

 

I used something called EZ-Glaze made by Suntuf. It's a clear acrylic with a corrugation every 600mm, so that it sits nicely on the rafters.

Yes, we've had some small get togethers.

 

Regards

 

Itai

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