We visited Josh Byrne's home garden last weekend. It's amazing what you can do in a small space! The front garden is a water wise native garden and looks so lush. The retaining recycled limestone wall really gives the garden form and structure and no doubt acts as a bit of a water diversion to other parts of the garden. Clancy loved the sleepers, stepping along to different areas, one part with a sort of wishing well again made from the same material as the retaining wall - there was a sense of adventure about it all.
The rear yard is amazing: an edible garden and sensory feast using raised beds, pots, bins, a vertical herb garden, plus a sandpit and cubbyhouse for the kids, surrounded by aromatic herbs.
I'll say Josh certainly has an eye for design, using the space well to create areas of activity and relaxation - I especially loved the pergola overgrown with a passionfruit vine and the inviting lounge suite beneath!
Mostly, I wanted to see firsthand his greywater set up - very high tech (well it looked that way) - water is probably the biggest issue Perth gardeners face.
Well, happy sustainable gardening... it's going to be another long, hot Summer!
Sunday, December 4, 2011
Tuesday, October 25, 2011
Down South in Spring
Spring in the Pemberton region is simply stunning! I did a few walks to the Gloucester Tree while there and the birds are more than interested in us visitors! This twenty-eight was obviously looking for a bit of brekky.
The wild flowers and creepers are out in full colour - stunning! Check out the pics on my Flickr site for more!
The wild flowers and creepers are out in full colour - stunning! Check out the pics on my Flickr site for more!
Monday, October 17, 2011
October Update
Excuse me but where is October going??? We've had a busy month - some of it in the garden and the remainder dealing with life generally I suppose!
We scored some half wine barrels from our dear friend Phil and now have a lovely Eureka lemon and a Tahitian Lime - both doing well. A third barrel will support one of our Ficus trees and provide some much needed shade in the Summer heat.
We've planted another lot of dwarf beans after our success with the first lot (still going if getting a little woody!), and the purple king beans have lovely purple flowers heralding the impendng arrival of purple beans! The garlic are drying out and due to be pulled up very shortly.
A question mark over the carrots and beetroot at present - slowed down in their growth and seem to be affected by the little bit of heat we've had so far, especially the beetroot - will keep an eye on these and check the water is getting to them...
Tomatoes are flowering very well (see pic above) and the passionfruit vines are on a race to see which one will make it to the roofline first! The strawberries in the hanging baskets have lots of flowers and some green fruit already - will top them up with some seasol solution.
We have done a heap of pottting as well - some natives and annuals for colour and coverage. It helps in bringing some colour to the back patio which is concrete (and hot in summer!).
Finally, the grapevine is fast covering the new white frame and Simon added a swing to entice the kids to the sandpit space a little more. Hoping to get enough coverage as the weather warms up. Next big job is to put up the lattice along the boundary and get some covering vines going to futher provide some summer relief (you'll see the old lattice behind the grapevine in the photo below...)!
All ticking along nicely :o)
Happy gardening!
We scored some half wine barrels from our dear friend Phil and now have a lovely Eureka lemon and a Tahitian Lime - both doing well. A third barrel will support one of our Ficus trees and provide some much needed shade in the Summer heat.
We've planted another lot of dwarf beans after our success with the first lot (still going if getting a little woody!), and the purple king beans have lovely purple flowers heralding the impendng arrival of purple beans! The garlic are drying out and due to be pulled up very shortly.
A question mark over the carrots and beetroot at present - slowed down in their growth and seem to be affected by the little bit of heat we've had so far, especially the beetroot - will keep an eye on these and check the water is getting to them...
Tomatoes are flowering very well (see pic above) and the passionfruit vines are on a race to see which one will make it to the roofline first! The strawberries in the hanging baskets have lots of flowers and some green fruit already - will top them up with some seasol solution.
We have done a heap of pottting as well - some natives and annuals for colour and coverage. It helps in bringing some colour to the back patio which is concrete (and hot in summer!).
Finally, the grapevine is fast covering the new white frame and Simon added a swing to entice the kids to the sandpit space a little more. Hoping to get enough coverage as the weather warms up. Next big job is to put up the lattice along the boundary and get some covering vines going to futher provide some summer relief (you'll see the old lattice behind the grapevine in the photo below...)!
All ticking along nicely :o)
Happy gardening!
Saturday, September 24, 2011
Visual plants and ancient trees
We recently had a verge-side "bring out your dead" day whereby residents drop all and sundry on the footpath to be collected by the council for recycling or dumping (imagine old fridges, tree cuttings, items from yesteryear - that sort of thing). Leading up to the pick-up day itself, neighbours (and visitors) can be watched crawling along the street looking intently at the piles for that little (or big) treasure! It confirms the old adage "one person's trash is another person's treasure!"
I'll admit to some kerb crawling (said tongue-in-cheek!) myself and picked up some big pots and the top of a wheelbarrow to use as a succulent garden. I like the effect!
I've always been a fan of the succulent family for their ability to survive on very little attention only to grace you with a lovely show of delicate flowers! Here I've planted some Aloe (has a flower stem that grows from the centre of the plant up to about 50cm with a red poker-like flower); a red jade tree (at least I think it is); and Aeoniums, together with some yellow African Daisies (also hardy). I had some small zygocactus pieces that had struck out roots so popped them in as well (see in foreground of photos).
With Summer just around the corner, this little garden should be settled in enough to cope with the heat... ...but we will see!
A side note: Simon's aunty gave us a Ginkgo tree - these are simply lovely trees and from what I've read (as I know little about them) they are quite ancient and grow quite large to about 50 metres. Long thought of as a sought-after medicinal plant in Chinese and Japanese cultures, it has many healing properties. We'll be keeping ours in a pot and will admire its delicate fan-like foliage which turns bright yellow in Autumn.
Happy gardening!
I'll admit to some kerb crawling (said tongue-in-cheek!) myself and picked up some big pots and the top of a wheelbarrow to use as a succulent garden. I like the effect!
I've always been a fan of the succulent family for their ability to survive on very little attention only to grace you with a lovely show of delicate flowers! Here I've planted some Aloe (has a flower stem that grows from the centre of the plant up to about 50cm with a red poker-like flower); a red jade tree (at least I think it is); and Aeoniums, together with some yellow African Daisies (also hardy). I had some small zygocactus pieces that had struck out roots so popped them in as well (see in foreground of photos).
With Summer just around the corner, this little garden should be settled in enough to cope with the heat... ...but we will see!
A side note: Simon's aunty gave us a Ginkgo tree - these are simply lovely trees and from what I've read (as I know little about them) they are quite ancient and grow quite large to about 50 metres. Long thought of as a sought-after medicinal plant in Chinese and Japanese cultures, it has many healing properties. We'll be keeping ours in a pot and will admire its delicate fan-like foliage which turns bright yellow in Autumn.
Happy gardening!
Spring gardening: some extras
A lovely day today to tidy up the garden and get some more vegies in - love the cycle of growing!
Popped in some more dwarf snappy beans - they are so productive for such little plants, I'm totally sold on them!
Also sowed some coriander, parsley, bok choy and chives, all to minimise the growth of (and turned in) the seedlings coming up from the compost (that one wasn't a fully 'hot composted' load then was it?).
Dosed up the potted plants and seedlings of beetroot, carrot and swiss chard with a weak seasol solution. Pulled a couple of garlic too as they are beginning to go dry and yellow - not as big as I'd hoped but had planted team around the brocolli and caulies so perhaps didn't get the feed they needed.
Spring is the best time of the year! Happy gardening!
Popped in some more dwarf snappy beans - they are so productive for such little plants, I'm totally sold on them!
Also sowed some coriander, parsley, bok choy and chives, all to minimise the growth of (and turned in) the seedlings coming up from the compost (that one wasn't a fully 'hot composted' load then was it?).
Dosed up the potted plants and seedlings of beetroot, carrot and swiss chard with a weak seasol solution. Pulled a couple of garlic too as they are beginning to go dry and yellow - not as big as I'd hoped but had planted team around the brocolli and caulies so perhaps didn't get the feed they needed.
Spring is the best time of the year! Happy gardening!
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