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We are just establishing a garden in the hills above Perth. The key word is 'clay' ... 'nuff said. We've terraced the hillside slope and brought in broken-down sheep manure,loamy soil, sand and lots of mulch. The grassed areas have been established by rotary hoeing in gypsum, chicken manure (old) and sand into the clay.

Have just planted a lovely Chinese Elm in a round bed in the grassed area overlooking the valley. Lovely trees!

At the moment Perth is having a water shortage but luckily we've found a good supply of very sweet water from a bore.
So we're forging ahead and enjoying the process of making a garden out of what was bare paddock.

Update: four years later we've established the garden, the Seduction rose bed is smothered with blooms and they're so healthy it's one of life's pleasures just to look out in the early morning and seeing them. The lawns are looking green, some of the natives have already died unfortunately (a wax plant for instance - very surprising) and the variegated Pandorea is covering the front entrance. The limestone walls have worked well, the vege garden needs a revamp but generally it's looking like an established garden.

I love the Flinders Range wattle in the corner with the Solana growing up through it, and the convolvulus that trail over the walls. The white and purple lantanas do the same (they're not considered a weed here, by the way) and the Mr, Lincoln bed is tall but underplanted with nemesias which go well here.

The gaura hangs over the steps leading up to the top circular drive and they are wonderful. Always thick with blossom and providing a foil between the lower Seduction bed and the four Gertrude Jekylls that line the entrance path. The GJ's took a couple of years to bear flowers but last Spring they were covered wiwh blooms and you could smell the perfume from the other end of the garden.
Barb

I live in: Australia

My zone is: West Australia

First registered on January 02,2002.