As summer heats up, it focuses gardeners on the challenges of exposed garden situations. One of the hottest parts of the garden is the area that gets full afternoon sun. It may be a garden, a balcony or part of your road frontage. The area may also be exposed to reflected heat from hard surfaces and to hot, dry westerly winds.

With the right preparation, care and plant choices, this hot and unfriendly west-facing zone can be lush and colourful. Once planted, it will also reduce the heat around the area, helping to cool the local environment.

 

Preparation and care

The western aspect is tricky for plants as it is very hot; especially in summer, when it is exposed to the full force of the sun. Plants are often shaded in the morning, then hit by full sun from early afternoon onwards - meaning only the toughest plants grow well.

To help plants survive, make sure the soil is able to absorb moisture and is kept cool with a layer of mulch. Do this by digging in organic matter and covering bare soil with mulch that suits the plant selection. Succulents and silver-leaf plants are often selected for hot spaces and these benefit from a mulch of gravel, while other shrubs and perennials prefer organic mulch (such as sugar cane or composted bark).

Groundcover plants also act as living mulch to cool the area and the soil. Trained vertically, they can also form green walls to reduce reflected heat.

If the hot space is a west-facing balcony, select large containers and group them together to help create shade and impact. Avoid using pots that get very hot such as black plastic pots. Instead, place plastic pots into larger ceramic containers to keep plant roots cool. Use a good-quality potting mix with an added wetting agent - Flower Power recommends Supersoil Professional Water Smart Potting & Planting Mix.

If the soil or potting mix in containers becomes hard to wet, apply a soil wetting agent. Water the area regularly, especially when plants are establishing, and use seaweed products to aid plant establishment. If the area is windy, stake taller plants until they get well established. Smaller plants may benefit from extra shading at planting.

As the planting develops and large plants give shade it will be possible to introduce shade-loving plants to these hot zones but they will require regular water.

 

Plant selection

Select plants that tolerate full sun as well as hot winds. During prolonged heatwaves, even the most heat-tolerant plants will benefit from extra water and care. Not all plants will thrive, but many will. Plant more of those that are successful.

 

The silvery foliage of Lavender 'Avonview' and Dichondra 'Silver Falls' works well in hot, west-facing gardens.

 

Lavender and other silver-leafed plants

These plants come from climate zones with long, hot, dry summers and tolerate full sun. They need well-drained soil, good air circulation and an inorganic mulch of fine gravel. As well as lavenders, good silver-leafed plants for western aspects include curry leaf plant (Helichrysum italicum), coastal cushion bush (Leucophyta brownii), licorice plant (Helichrysum petiolare) and silverbush (Convolvulus cneorum). Dichondra ‘Silver Falls’ is a great option to cascade over a wall or the side of a tall pot.

 

Orange pig face and blue chalk sticks stand up well to the heat alongside a range of other succulents.

 

Succulents

Succulents are very much at home in exposed locations and can be grown in containers or in the ground. They need well-drained soil, good air circulation and an inorganic mulch of fine gravel. Grow a mix of succulents for colour and interest, and mix groundcover forms such as ice plant and pigface (Mesembryanthemum), blue chalk sticks (Senecio mandraliscae) and kalanchoe with shrubbier selections such as crassula. For long-lasting flowers, grow euphorbias such as the white-flowered ‘Hip Hop’, which also grows well in a feature pot. For a large tree, plant a frangipani.

 

A west-facing garden can still be full of flowers - try bougainvillea and African daisies.

 

Colourful blooms

The western aspect isn’t all about foliage colour and succulents. Geraniums (ivy and zonal) and pelargoniums along with bougainvillea and osteospermum or African daisies add lots of long-lasting flower colour. Water well to ensure plants establish. Once established they become more resilient and able to tolerate longer, drier periods. Trim and liquid feed after flowering to encourage more blooms. With regular water it is also possible to grow a range of colourful annuals, including zinnia, portulaca, cosmos, sunflower and petunia. Water and shade seedlings as they establish to ensure success.

 

Small trees including bottlebrush and crepe myrtle can be great for west-facing aspects.

 

Small trees

Native trees such as callistemon or bottlebrush, dwarf eucalypts and native frangipani (Hymenosporum flavum) along with exotic trees such as crepe myrtle can be grown in west-facing gardens. As they grow, they’ll cast shade to help modify the exposed area.

 

Olives and lemons are among the best edibles to grow in west-facing gardens.

 

Edibles

There are even edible plants that tolerate hot spots. Olive trees, citrus and feijoas can be planted in west-facing gardens.

 

Looking for tough shrubs for your west-facing garden? Rhaphiolepis and salvia are our picks.

 

Tough evergreen shrubs

Indian hawthorn (Rhaphiolepis indica) is one of the toughest and prettiest of shrubs for a west-facing garden. Look for named varieties such as ‘Snow Maiden’.  You can also grow it in a container or train it as a hedge or shelter planting. Also tough are the many salvias now available for gardens.