Planting a garden bed to suit rain and flood conditions | DIY Garden Projects | Gardening Australia

Clarence has been putting together a sitting circle around a fireplace in his backyard - a great place to relax with family and friends. He’s finishing off the job with some final plantings. Subscribe 🔔 http://ab.co/GA-subscribe

This part of the garden can flood in heavy rains so, working with nature, he’s created a rain garden with water-loving plants such as river mint, swamp lily and tea tree, which are all thriving.

The paths are all in and there’s just one garden bed to go. To increase the drainage in the bed for plants that aren’t adapted to having wet roots, Clarence has gently mounded up the bed and edged it with a strip of corten steel. He’s also added sand to the soil to help any heavy rain drain away quickly and freely.

Having a raised bed also helps to create a feeling of seclusion for the seating circle within the beds - even shrubs just 1-2m tall help make a space feel enclosed.

Clarence has chosen plants to echo the look and feel of the other beds; plants such as grasstree have done well so he’s planting another in a similar position. Others, such as billy buttons, did not like the moisture in the rain garden so he’s trying them in the better-drained bed. He spends some time sorting out the best position for them before planting.

A taller grevillea takes pride of place at the top of the mound, with smaller plants arranged around it. He includes grasses for seed-eating birds.

Clarence waters the planting holes before placing the plants to ensure the soil underneath them is already moist.

Featured plants:
River mint - Mentha australis
Swamp lily - Crinum asiaticum var. pedunculatum
Tea tree - Leptospermum cv.
Grass tree - Xanthorrhoea johnsonii
Grevillea - Grevillea ‘Pink Profusion’
Billy Buttons - Pycnosorus globosus

Filmed on Dharawal Country in Wollongong, NSW
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