Author: blomdesign

Garden Design

Planting Trends

Planting trends come and go in landscaping, just as they do in architecture, interior and clothing design. A few years ago, it was passé to include both exotic and native plants mixed together in the same garden. But today, particularly with the desire for a productive garden, many gardeners and designers are including a combination of exotic and natives and recognising the benefits of both. Another influence on planting trends is the overuse of particular plants. A plant can go out of style if it is used too much. In the early 00’s I worked in a retail plant nursery…
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General Gardening

Great soil makes for a plentiful garden

Soil preparation is like baking a cake. If you don’t prepare it correctly you’ll end up with a mess and a disappointing end result. It’s really important to prepare the soil well before planting to ensure your plants grow well. For those who are lucky enough to inherit an established garden with great soil, or are starting a new garden in an area with great topsoil, you may not need to do much at all. But for those who have a garden in an area with pretty average soil, you’ll need to modify the soil to ensure the end result…
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Plants

Juicy Succulents

Most succulents have their origins in dry climates and in order to tolerate these arid conditions their structures have adapted to store water in various parts, including in their roots, stems or leaves. Succulent is derived from the Latin word ‘sucus’ which means juice, moisture or sap. While succulents are often mentioned alongside cacti, all cacti are actually succulents. Cacti commonly have thick, fleshy stems where the water is stored and modified leaves in the form of spines, which have a very small surface area so they transpire less water. There are so many benefits to having some succulents in…
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Plants

Where have all the trees gone?

Trees are important features in residential areas but less and less people seem to be planting them in their front and backyards. The downward trend in house block size has had a large impact on trees in suburban areas because very few house blocks have enough space now for the large trees of yesteryear, including Oaks, Angophoras and Elms. The benefits of larger trees is that they soften the impact of residential development and create lovely shaded streets. New developments often feel exposed because there is no shade in the streets.  Small-sized backyards often contain beds with low growing perennials…
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