Learning curves

There's nothing like returning to your property after an absence of two years to show you all the mistakes that were made when it was first planted.
Your own decisions are, of course, beyond reproach, but those made by your ex have come home to roost in a manner that requires a vast amount of work, much swearing and comments like "I told him that would never work" muttered with grumpy repetition.
As I write, my present partner (who hasn't made any gardening mistakes yet) is clearing up the three metres of foliage he's just cut off the two magnolias that have bolted underneath the bangalow palms in front of the terrace.
And who, you might ask, would plant magnolias and palms right next to each other? And on the northwestern side of the terrace, effectively masking any afternoon sun? Who indeed.
I, on the other hand, made a clever call in marrying an albizia and a camellia at the northeastern corner of the same terrace; the albizia shading the camellia to exactly the right extent in summer and helpfully losing its leaves in winter, allowing filtered sunlight to encourage the blooms and to brighten the bedroom in the morning.
If I'm honest, though, that was probably the only smart thing I did - and it was good luck, not good management.
TOP TIPS
Successful long-term planting is all about forward planning, followed by restraint, neither of which have been my strong points in the past. But now, having seen the results of planting anything I could afford in bulk just to get the ground covered up, I've learned some lessons.
If you have a large space to fill, make a drawing of the area and divide it into several small spaces. After all, a huge garden is really just a lot of small gardens linked together.
Although it may sound sensible to complete one area at a time, it isn't. Instead, make researched and considered decisions about where you want your larger trees. If you're certain you want your driveway lined with magnolias, think carefully about the effect they will have on sun, wind, drainage and access, and on the other plants that'll eventually be planted nearby. If it all stacks up, plant them and go on to the next area that'll need larger trees.
Leave plenty of space. It's ever so tempting to pack plant when there's not much else going on, but it's a great deal easier (and far more fun) to fill in the gaps a couple of years down the track than to hack and slash trees you really don't want to let go.
Limit yourself to a restricted palette of plants at the beginning and try to choose varieties that will work well together when they're mature. I'm full of shame over a small grove of olives with a Queensland umbrella tree at its centre. What was I thinking?
Leave space for views, even if you don't have one. A gap in the trees can direct the eye to a water feature, a seat or a winding path - much more interesting than wall-to-wall foliage. If at a later time it seems the wrong spot for a focal point, then you can fill it with a new plant.
Don't be seduced by anything in the garden centre than promises "fast growing".
Believe me, it's a double edged sword. You could end up with something that fills a gap quickly and beautifully, or - like me - a 9m paulonia beside the driveway that drops leaves so big you can't find the car.
We felled the paulonia before we left two years ago and a friend poisoned the trunk and buried it deep beneath a bank. On our return, we discovered that we now have 11 paulonias which have literally risen from the dead and are almost as high as the original tree. The moral of he story is: be careful what you wish for.