TROUBLESHOOTING

PROBLEM Your garden is set on an incredibly steep slope. SOLUTION Terraces and gently rising paths allow you to walk through the garden. Ground-hugging plants such as the creeping boobialla (Myoporum parvifolium) are renowned for erosion control.

PROBLEM Wildlife is being a nuisance, from rabbits eating plants and disturbing roots with their burrows to possums eating foliage and bandicoots scratching up the soil. SOLUTION Ask your local authority or state how you can trap and remove rabbits – every jurisdiction is different. Deter possums with a repellent spray on the plants you both love – or provide alternative food for them. Bandicoots avoid strong light, so spotlight the places they love. Add chicken manure too, as they don’t like its ammonia smell. Edge beds with a fine galvanized wire mesh. Bury it to 150mm, and have it rise 500mm.

7 Late winter flowering hellebores are set-and-forget plants for shady spots, but their beauty means you’ll want to visit every day. 8 With their velvety brown leaf undersides, a magnolia helps the visual transition between the earthy colours of the deck and stone wall and the greenery rising up the slope towards The Nut. 9 Another benefit of a steep slope is it can expose you to stunning views. Provide seating so you – and any guests – can take a pew and a moment to really appreciate them. EVERGREEN MAGNOLIAS COPE WELL WITH COLD WEATHER, WIND AND SEA SPRAY. 7 8 9

10 cause a cascade Create soothing sounds with water trickling down a stone wall. Add spotlights to highlight the wonderful texture, colours and different sizes of the stones. CREATE AN ISLAND OF SEDUM AND CUSHION BUSH IN THE MIDDLE OF YOUR PAVING.