Landscaping projects follow the same rules as any other project ...
you can have them good, fast or cheap, pick two.
Good looking, cheap gardens, take a year or two to grow
Good looking, fast gardens, cost lots of money.
I'm all for keeping costs low. That means a program of steady change with volunteer labour and smaller plants that will grow in time. We start at the front entrance and work our way through high-traffic public areas ... one garden at a time.
Some owners may want rapid, good looking results. That will cost everyone lots of money.
That's a decision for the owners and the Body Corporate.
Resort gardens are an OCD sufferers delight - it's structured randomness that comes together beautifully in shapes, layers, textures and colours.
Resort gardens use tropical, broad leaf plants, with splashes of bold colour.
Resort gardens are generally three layered
Three depth layers - low border, middle mass, higher broad leaf palms/calatheas, heliconias
Three height layers - low, middle broad leaf, high shade
Resort gardens have a repetitive feature colour scheme.
historically FNQ gardens have gone overboard on purple cordyline
there are much richer copper and bronze colours.
Resort gardens come to life with ...
floral fragrance
interesting plants
large pottery items
resonant water features
under-canopy lighting
Agree ...
the primary theme and dominant colour
the budget
the timeline
the basic design guidelines ...
three layers - vertical and horizontal
broad leaf tropicals, not southern Murraya and Buxus
one highlight theme colour throughout eg. copper/bronze
Remove all ...
Murraya - no one comes to the tropics to see plants over-used across Australia - its boring.
Draecena - to reduce dumpage / leaf litter
Purple cordylines
Lady Palms - Rhapis Excelsa
Prune all ...
Ixora
dead palms fronds
First impressions ...
carry the theme from the Davidson St. frontage into the main entrance gardens
develop shades trees with low dumpage rates
replace peace-lilly pots with Golden Cane palms
make a feature of each undercroft courtyard
Work on one garden at a time ... and agree the design for EACH one.
Plant like-plants in layered rows.
Create a centre point for undercroft courtyards and corner gardens.
Upgrade the reticulation ...
map existing pipes and zones
replace sprays with drippers where possible
upgrade courtyard sprays to encourage growth
Introduce a water feature in each entrance courtyard to deliver resonant sound
Create a potting area, out of public site, to develop cuttings.
Create a time and cost budget for:
enhancements
preventative maintenance
corrective maintenance
In narrow gardens
Begonia
Coleus
Calathea - Prayer plants
Rhoeo
In wider gardens
Agapanthus
Dwarf agapanthus
Hippeastrums
Liriope
Spider lillies
In wide gardens
Alcantrea - Bromeliads
Doryanthes palmeri - Spear Lilies
Matapouri Bay
Philodendron Xanadu
Crotons
Cordylines
Elephant Ears - eg. Black Magic
Heliconia
Hibiscus
Strelitzia
Variegated ginger
Brunfelsia = Yesterday-Today-Tomorrow
Hibiscus
Hibiscus - variegated
Small leaf Ixora - NOT large leaf Ixora
Syzygium - Lillipilly - bronze colours
Vibernum - copper head
Calatheas
Frangipanis / Plumeria
Heliconia
Maniltoa - silk handkerchief tree
Illawarra Flame Tree
Ivory Curl Tree
Jacaranda - purple
Lipstick palms
Poinciana - red, orange or white
Tuckeroo
Queensland Tulipwood
1 water feature in each courtyard undercroft.
Swap out Peace Lillies for Golden Cane Palms
Cascading plants from 2nd floor south-facing balconies eg.
Dichondra
Casuarina Glauca – Cousin It
Rosmarinus Prostrate Rosemary – Trailing Rosemary
One shade tree at the rear of each car park. eg. poinciana
Some feature/specimen silk handkerchief trees
The Grounds-man will need ...
A job description
A budget
A plan
Priorities - corrective maintenance, preventative maintenance AND enhancements.
Safety wear - gloves, shirt, hat, eye wear
Secure storage for tools, chemicals, paint and fertilizers
Wheel barrow, shovel, hoe, mattock, broom
Electric hedger, pruners, leaf vacuum
Bush saw
Paint brushes
Sanding tools
Watering can
Spray bottles
Hoses, hose fittings and hose real
Irrigation parts - pipes, joiners, sprays, drippers
Workshop?