Gardening...

I know, I know, I haven't blogged in forever. I am officially a bad blogger. But if I still have any readers left out there I would love some assistance with my garden.

Gardening... where do I start?

I hate gardening. I hate my garden. I shouldn't really say things like this, but it's how I'm feeling about the damn thing at the moment.

But for some minor tweaks, my house is all but finished internally. I have furniture which sits perfectly in each room, I have pictures on the walls, I have a coffee table complete with coffee table books... what more can a girl ask for? I'll tell you what - a nice garden!

I know these things don't happen overnight, but why does gardening have to be so dirty? I know I'm sounding like a big wuss of a girl here... but come on... You literally get dirt underneath your finger nails!

My "garden" is currently non-existent but comprises of 3 separate courtyard spaces which are all essentially empty garden beds. I previously had a bougainvillea which was spiralling out of control and some natives which weren't doing too well - so I've gotten as far as ripping them out. But now I face the unfortunately dilemma of trying to establish a whole new garden from scratch. I'll be sure to post some pictures later of what I'm dealing with.

Does anyone out there have some links/ sites/ blogs I can go for garden inspiration?

I know what types of plants I like, but picking out what goes together is a whole other story. The whole outside of my house is a (gross) creamy coloured brick, there is brick paving throughout the courtyards in the same colour. I can't do much about the walls (being a strata property) and I can't really afford to change the pavers at this stage. So for the time being, it's all about the plants.

I was chatting to a friend and according to him I like "architectural plants which serve no purpose other than looking good". I'm not sure I'll argue with him there... I like strappy grasses, whether they be red or green, variegated or not:

I like mondo grass, especially as a border plant:

Image source.

I love yuccas, agave, succulents and other architectural looking plants:

As far as trees go, I don't mind the odd "old-fashioned" plant like little gem magnolias, flowering plums/pears and camellias.

So how does a girl bring all these ideas together?