Window shades and blinds seem to go against the grain of natural thinking. Firstly, they're usually made from non-organic materials and secondly they exhibit that the homeowner has taken little thought for their garden planning. A few well-located deciduous trees or vines and shade on your windows will be your last concern.

For instance, our main bedroom faces west where we get all the afternoon sun in the warmer months that could turn the room into a sauna. Instead, we planted a trio of silver birches that act as natural window shades during the summer yet allow warmth into the room in winter. And, the best part is that they require very little maintenance - if any at all.

There are very few situations where a deciduous tree or creeper couldn't help shade your windows. Even in an apartment an overhanging trellis could easily accomodate a creeper that offers relief during summer.

Window shades can be quite expensive, especially if the most of your windows are facing east or west. On the other hand, the alternative option - planting and growing a deciduous tree to offer shade can cost as little as $50 (maybe less) per window - that's some very cheap window shades. The ongoing maintenance off your window shades is also another concern and can be quite time-consuming. Compare that with raking a few leaves and the odds are certainly stacking up in the non-evergreen's corner.

Bamboo window shades

For those who don't have room outside their windows to plant trees or vines, the next best option is selecting blinds that come from organic sources. Many shades are constructed from aluminium or non-renewable hardwood timbers adding to the environmental woes.

However, there are some smart operators that now offer bamboo window shades constructed entirely from renewable, organic bamboo. They're tough enough to last as long as hardwood timbers and still light enough to give aluminium a run for its money.

Hunter Douglas window shades are one company that not only offers bamboo as an option but also create reed, grass and natural replaceable woods. But, they're not the only ones. Many are now moving away from materials that can't be accessed organically and along with their fabric blinds offer consumers more choice in keeping their homes environmentally friendly.

Honeycomb window shades

Honeycomb window shades are another organic blind for a very different reason. They take the natural honeycomb shape and apply it to their window shades which offers a vast reduction in energy loss from the window itself. Also known as cell window shades, these blinds offer a hexagonal core flute that reduces the loss of warmth in the home and keeps it cool in winter.

This is a novel idea as it mimics natural ideas offering incredible results.

Posted by Stuart | Permalink | Comments (3)

A german artist, Ottmar Hörl, has recently completed a project now exhibited in the Straubing town square. The display consists of 1250 garden gnomes all saluting an invisible Führer aimed at raising debate that fascist ideas still abound in the country. While Hörl isn't necessarily seeking dissension, he warmly welcomes the ensuing debate.

Most of the nazi garden gnomes, appropriately titled the "Poisoned Gnome", are made from black plastic but there are 20 that are also painted gold. Set out en masse throughout the public display it must be a formidable vision to behold and one that obviously begs controversy.

While Hörl doesn't want to inflict his own ideologies on to his viewing patrons he does make this poignant remark;

The Poisoned Gnome reminds us that people can coalesce into large and dangerous groups if rituals and gestures are used that under certain conditions are more signs of contempt rather than being socially beneficial.

Certainly one can see that he is hiding from the debate (sic).

Regardless of the political views expressed, or not expressed - whatever the case may be, these darling little nazi gnomes will be available for sale via Hörl's website once the display is finished. They will retail for 45 euros or signed by Hörl for 120 euros.

The big question is, "Will you be putting one in your garden?"

Source: Deutsche Welle

Posted by Stuart | Permalink | Comments (2)

Ok, so you've installed some synthetic grass in order to cut down on the mowing, watering, fertilising and general upkeep of the traditional lawn. Even the price difference (7 -10 times more than traditional turf) didn't deter you, knowing full well that it only came with a 6 year guarantee. Yet, compared to paving or fighting your way around the garden through loose pebbles it seemed like the best option.

While I pride myself on my puritanical views of gardening, there is a lot to be said for synthetic grass. Sure, it will never compete with the natural version for softness, cooling effect or pollution control but once it's been installed it really requires very little maintenance. And where it fails in transforming carbon emissions into oxygen it makes up for in reducing the heaviest carbon emitter - the lawn mower.

Synthetic grass competes against paving in that it's equally as porous as traditional lawn. Therefore, you will never find water pooling on top of it - unless your water table is as high as ours - and it won't cause runoff problems in torrential rains. Plus, as a surface synthetic grass is still soft enough for your toddlers to play on.

But, if you think that once it's laid it's the end of the story - think again. Synthetic grass may be less maintenance but it's not maintenance-free. While the mower can safely be put away, the artificial turf is still a surface that needs to remain clean. So, the lawn blower is going to become your new best friend.

Keeping your synthetic grass cool in summer is going to become an issue for you as well as artificial lawn left in full-sun can get hotter than concrete by 2-5°C. Some fake lawns are even prone to fading under ultraviolet so the best way to protect them is to keep shade sails over them or covered awnings hiding it from the hottest part of the day, at least.

One of the hardest things to maintain with synthetic grass is spills and scrapes. Cordial, soft drinks, animal urine and even blood can easily be washed off but try removing chewing gum or melted lollies from your fake lawn and you could be in for quite a challenge. Plus, keeping Rover from performing No. 2's on the artificial stuff is no small feat either.

The beauty of synthetic grass is that you can always rip it up and replace it if it gets beyond further cleaning. But at the price, it's probably not an exercise that's going to happen on a frequent basis.

Posted by Stuart | Permalink | Comments (1)

Camping in your own garden may not be as peculiar as it sounds - especially as hiking and tenting spots become more regulated. Pets aren't allowed in most places. Neither is alcohol. And the all important campfire is getting squashed more and more.

Your garden, on the other hand, is only legislated by the by-laws that you abide by already. Open fires may have limited seasons but in a chiminea or brazier you can easily conjure the warmth of the outdoors and sitting around an open fire.

However, if you want to combine both your love for gardening AND camping then you may want to plan to marry these two before you get started. Once the garden has been designed and landscaped with hedges, pathways and water features it may not leave enough room for a tent, let alone a campsite.

If you consider the places that you are more likely to camp when enjoying the great outdoors you will notice that most of the favourite spots are treed, privately secluded but still accessible to some of the mod cons of life - ie. toilets. So, when you're setting up your camping spot in the garden think about planting out a woodland area where you can shade your tent and the campsite.

Also, consideration for what type of trees to plant is equally as essential. Trees that tend to drop their limbs at will such as eucalypts are not a good option. While other low-growing species may just be downright annoying as their foliage scrapes against the canvas. So, trees that grow-quickly - and straight - such as birches and conifers are exceptional choices.

As you plant out your woodland, leave enough space for a clearing. While the tent can be hidden under the tree canopy you will need a clearing to position a fireplace and somewhere to sit. This area doesn't need to be large but it does need to be big enough to accomodate you and your friends or family.

If you set up your garden to allow camping at the outset then the garden can grow without inhibiting your space. If you try to create one after the garden has been established, it will become a much tougher assignment. Regardless, creating a camping site in your garden will reward you for many years to come.

Here are some resources to get you started;

• Columbia Cougar 8 Person Family Cabin Dome Tent


• Eureka Folding Table


• Coleman Oversized Quad Chair


• Well Traveled Chiminea

Posted by Stuart | Permalink | Comments (5)

Kids love sand. So do cats. And with all this love in the air one could could assume that this is a partnership made in heaven. The problem is that your kids see the sandpit as a plaground: the cat views it as a bathroom. And Mum and Dad view those agendas as diametrically opposed - as they should.

So, how do you keep your cat - or more likely, the neighbour's cat - from treating the sandpit as an over-sized kitty-litter?

I, for one, think cats have far too many freedoms in our neighbourhoods and think the best solution is to lock them all up. Yet cat-lovers don't see it the same way I do and will often permit their pet felines to wander the 'burbs like an idle adolescent. This wanton disregard for others ensures that sandpits everywhere are destined to be used as rest-breaks on the neighbourhood scout.

And while one may assume that cat faeces is the worst offender there is another substance that spells death to the sandpit even more: cat urine. Once a cat has peed in your sandpit there is very little you can do to remove the smell from the sand. The only cure is time or gallons and gallons of water to help dilute it.

Which means that cat-proofing your sandpit is the only option. So, here are some ideas to help keep your sandpit free from these dreaded pests pets.

• Install a sandpit cover.
  Whether it be made from canvas, PVC or even a hard-top, a sandpit cover should eradicate most of these problems. The issue then becomes maintaining the cover so that it continues to offer protection against cats and other pests.

  If you're thinking about installing a sandpit cover then consider one that forces rainfall to dissipate without pooling and one that children can't get through.

• Plant some Plectranthus ornatus.
  This plant, Coleus Canina "Scaredy Cat", has a pungent smell that repels cats quicker than an angry dog off its leash. It's fine for humans so your children won't be affected but if planted around the perimeter of your sandpit will certainly deter those felines. The beauty of this plant is that the pungency is in the foliage rather than the blooms so it continues to be effective all year round.
• Dribble Vinegar through the sand.
  Cats hate vinegar but the downside is that your child's clothing will come out smelling like vinegar as well.
• Position the dog kennel next to it.
  Dogs don't tend to use sandpits as their bathroom quite as much as cats do but they are a great deterrent for neighbour's cats entering your yard. So, by positioning your kennel next to the sandpit you can almost guarantee that the feline trespassers will be kept at bay.
• Use citrus peels.
  Now this is an effective means to discourage cats but the problem is using it well. As citrus peels dry they become less repellant so in order for it to be effective they need to be replaced every few days. Therefore, it becomes a high maintenance deterrent that could easily be overcome by using one the ideas mentioned above.

Hopefully one of these ideas will work for you and you can manage to sustainably repel cats from doing their business in your child's sandpit. If you have other ideas that have worked for you feel free to share with our readers in the comments below.

Posted by Stuart | Permalink | Comments (2)

Apart from heading for the algaecide rack at your local pool shop there are other ways to control pond algae quickly. More importantly you want a remedy that will hasten solving the problem but also provide a long-term solution so that quick-fixes aren't an ongoing necessity.

Algae in ponds only grows for three reasons; too much light, not enough filtration and too much nutrients. When a pond is given all three, algal bloom will blossom so quick that you'll struggle to recognise that your pond even exists.

When setting up your pond it pays to make a few decisions early on. However, when you inherit one - or you didn't make wise choices at the start - getting rid of algae growth can seem like a monumental task. Fortunately it's not a chore that will require copious amounts of effort, time or money. You could have it solved as quickly as this weekend.

Here's how to control pond algae;

• Removing Light - at the outset of your pond construction you should determine a location that is in the shade or receives very little sunshine. It's the ultarviolet rays that help photosynthesise the chlorophyll in algae allowing them to grow. Take the sunshine away and this will greatly reduce the growth rate.

  To remove the sunlight in a hurry, you can instantly cover the pond with a high-UV resistant shade cloth suspended over the pond. Building a pergola and covering it with shade cloth or UV-resistant polymers may be a better long-term fix.

  If the pond is small enough, you could transform the area by providing some large foliage plants that will provide dappled shade for the pond's surface and make an almost instant fix.

• Increase the Filtration - this is another easy fix that can be solved within a weekend. Obviously it depends on how large your pond is but it can usually be overcome simply by adding a pump and fountain to the mix. This will help oxygenate the water halting the stagnation process which algae require to grow.

  Running water is another option recycling the pond's water through a filter system but this will take a little longer to set up. However, it will provide much better long-term solutions.

  Another option is to increase your aquatic plants. Reeds on the banks of your pond will help take away some of the residual nutrients and adequately control your pond algae plus they will help filter the water and oxygenate your pond.

• Reduce the Nutrients - the main source of nutrients comes from over-feeding pond fish. Left over debris from fish feed is high in nitrogen and phosphorous, nutrients that pond algae needs to grow. Therefore, only feed your fish as much as they need and don't become tempted to oversupply.

  Introducing frogs and other aquatic life to your pond will also help reduce nutrient debris - this can come from rotting leaves as well. Increasing your plant life around the edge of your pond will give them some better places to reside and they will help control pond algae naturally.

Controlling algal growth in your pond is not a hard problem to solve and can be fixed quite easily and quickly. While preparing your pond from the outset is the easiest solution to algae problems take heart that even inherited ponds can be remedied without too much fuss.

Posted by Stuart | Permalink | Comments (3)

Yesterday, I surveyed the damage. Weeds have grown up in every bare patch of soil, plants are withering and fruit is ripening well before they should. The lawn has seen better days having not been mowed for the same amount of time and weeds have even started popping up through the thatch.

7 weeks ago I ruptured my Achilles tendon in two places: one along the tendon itself and the other as it pulled away from the bone. Damn the aging process!

Needless to say I've been bound to a set of crutches and relegated to the couch with my notebook on my lap. I can see some of the garden from this vantage spot but I certainly can't see it all. From here it looks fine but yesterday as I tried to maneouvre around the yard the reality of the situation set in. The garden hadn't faired as well as I'd hoped.

The photo above isn't of my garden - it's just how I feel about it at the moment.

I've come to realise that my garden was never created with a view to allowing those with disabilities into it. I just assumed that I would always have my health, and thank God, this isn't a permanent situation. I took for granted the fact that I could easily move around - up and down steps, traversing crazy-paving with ease and in and out of soft garden beds with a youthful deftness. I never imagined that I wouldn't be able to do that.

Fortunately, we've had some rain over the past few days - prior to that it had been 51 days without rain - and the plants seem to have picked up a little. Deb took me down to the local nursery where I treated myself to a few new plants that would replace the ones that didn't make it and the kids took great joy in helping me get them into the soil.

The plaster comes off this week and I'll get fitted with a walking boot that allows some movement. I'm not sure how long this stays on for but I'm told the treatment (pre-physiotherapy) takes about 10-12 weeks in total.

Hopefully this will permit me some more access into the garden and I can start pulling those darned weeds. I can already sense their quivering!!!

Posted by Stuart | Permalink | Comments (6)

I've seen this happen before, and may have even done it once or twice myself, when people enter a nursery or garden center and suddenly lose all sense of rational thought. Amongst the myriad of choices, sale signs and enthusiastic nursery staff it's quite easy to lose your direction and start buying plants willy-nilly.

Gardeners walk out with a trolley full of plants that they rue later on because they didn't do their homework first. Without a plan of attack they become magnets for every possible bad decision that could be made without any forethought - and they end up paying for it later on.

Usually it's just a few annuals and some trendy perennials. But in a few extreme cases it may be a tree or a perennial shrub that will reak havoc with your garden in years to come.

Entering a nursery without a plan for your garden is like grocery shopping on an empty stomach. Everything suddenly becomes an option and the trolley fills with all possible foodstuffs to sate your appetite. Then when you get home and you're stomach's been appeased you wonder why on earth you bought those sugary bakery items and how that's going to effect your regimented weight-loss program.

If you find yourself at the nursery without a plan - turn around and go home.

Before heading off to the nursery you're much wiser to have spent some time in your garden assessing your needs. Do you need a new tree? How big and wide can it grow? Does it need to be deciduous to let in some winter sun or will an evergreen suffice? Will it drop annoying fruit or blooms in your yard? These are just a few questions that you may want to start asking yourself.

You'll need to know;

• Hardiness Zone


• Light/Shade conditions


• Soil Type


• Existing plants


• How is your garden used? Pets? Children?


• Most importantly - your budget

Now that you're armed with a few facts the nursery will become less intimidating and you can access it on your terms. Buy what you need, steer clear of the sales that won't fit in your garden and look for inspiration for your next trip.

Posted by Stuart | Permalink | Comments (6)

The humble gourd is quite possibly the most versatile plant that a gardener could raise in their vegetbale patch. Their obvious use as a food source is unquestionable but most gardeners prefer to grow these for other purposes instead.

The many shapes and sizes of gourds lend them to being used for more practical and decorative uses. Here are ten of the best gourd offerings:

1. 
   Gourd Candle

   
   The most obvious use of a gourd is when Halloween rolls around each year. The traditional Jack-o-lantern is a carved pumpkin with holes shaped into the shell to allow the light out. A fairy candle placed inside illuminates the gourd and while it may be most expected of a pumpkin, candles are quite a decorative use of gourds and their different shapes and sizes lend very well to this.
   



2. 
   Gourd Birdhouse

   
   A birdhouse, or bird-feeder, constructed from a single gourd is a also another creative use of this vegetable. The gourd lends itself well to this use because of its bulbuous base and strong neck that allows it to be hung outdoors. A hole is drilled into the side of the gourd and your local birdlife can enter/exit at their discretion.
   



3. 
   Decorative Gourd (Gourd Pyrography)

   
   Gourd pyrography is the art of creating burned designs on the outside of a gourd. Provided the gourd is dry the shell can be scarred with burning or painted with food dyes or ochre paints. These can be turned into objet d'arts to adorn the house or utilised in more specific ways such as salt and pepper shakers, candle holders etc.
   



4. 
   Banjo Gourd

   
   One very interesting use of the gourd is creating a banjo from one. While this may not be something that the average DIYer can achieve it is still a very creative use of this vegetable. The banjo gourd originated in the 18th century and still inspires instrument craftsmen. If you want some plans for building your own here is a very useful site with step-by-step illustrated plans.
   



5. 

   
   Gourd Instruments

   
   And, of course, banjoes aren't the only musical instruments that can be made out of gourds. Rattles, drums, thumb pianos and even mouth organs can be fashioned from a gourd. The primitive foundation of these instruments is a testament to how versatile a gourd can be. Here's a link to check out some great gourd musical instruments.
   



6. 
   Gourd Vase

   
   Another great use of the humble gourd is fashioning them into vases. Due to their bulbuous shape they are able to support themselves in an upright position, with a little flattening of their bottom, and hold anything from water to flowers to anything else that can be held in a normal vase.
   



7. 
   Gourd Doll

   
   A gourd doll is another creative use of these vegetables. Children's craft activities can explore the many shapes and diverse sizes of these fruits but they are also becoming a crafters delight in recent years. Even Amish settlers were known for their highly crafted gourd dolls.
   



8. 
   Mate Gourd

   
   Mate is a drink that originated in many South American countries and is traditionally drunk out of a hollowed out calabash gourd and drunk through a metal straw. The drink is infused using leaves of the yerba-mate (a sub-tropical type of holly). The mate gourd shouldn't be any bigger than something you can hold in your hands but western interpretations can often be much larger. More info here.
   



9. 
   iPod Speakers

   
   Probably the funkiest use of gourds is by creating them into speakers. Here they are used as speakers for an iPod but there's no reason that they couldn't be crafted into more substantial accessories for your home stereo. Stay tuned for the headphone version....
   



10. 
    Eat them

    
    Finally, the gourd is a vegetable so its best use is as a food source. While we often create masterpieces with pumpkins, gourds can be overlooked. Here are some recipes to help you do more than just create ornaments with a gourd.
    

Posted by Stuart | Permalink | Comments (2)

Making your garden frog-friendly may not seem like the wisest choice, especially if the thought of frogs makes your spine crawl. Yet these amphibious creatures are one of the best critters that you could encourage into your garden.

A garden without frogs is like a safari park without lions. These seemingly innocuous creatures may look cute and friendly but they are the terror of the waterways, menacing their pray with an almost pacifying stealth.

What you may not know about the garden frog is that they can cope with climate diversity like no other animal. It's not uncommon to find them in the snowfields or even surviving in desert wastelands. Yet each species has their own territory and preferred conditions and removing them from these habitats is quickly causing their demise.

It's best not to introduce frogs into your garden because if the conditions are not perfect they may die, leave your garden or wreck habitats of other frogs that live in the area. Instead seek to encourage them into your garden and they will come.

What are the benefits of frogs in the garden?

Creating a place for garden frogs in your yard is very beneficial. Frogs are bug and critter devourers and will feast on many of the your problematic garden pests. Mosquito larvae, sowbugs and caterpillars are all common delicacies for the garden frog.

Plus, they will often forage on the outer foliage of some plants - especially vegetables. These leaves are most accepted by them when they are in some state of decay which means they are often unfit for human consumption.

If you have children living with you an added benefit is allowing them to interact with your frogs. Children will always find these amphibians delightful, even if they aren't prepared to pick them up or hold them. BTW - if you do try to pick up a garden frog makre sure your hands are moist so that you don't hamr their protective skin.

The downside of encouraging frogs is that they are common food for snakes which may, in turn, bring these undesirables into your garden as well.

How to encourage frogs into your garden

While most gardeners tend to opt for a specific frog pond it's not essential to do this. Provided that frogs can have access to pools of water, whether it be in a bucket or an unused bird bath, they will find your garden hospitable. In fact, the more moist your garden is the more chance frogs will start to inhabit your yard.

The benefit of having a frog pond is that you have more control over what takes place in them. Allowing pools of water to occur in your garden may not be a good form of mosquito control so if mosquitoes are a common pest in your yard then a pond may be the best option.

A pond that encourages garden frogs is one that is not too deep, offers some plant life for protection and food, rocks for sunning on and still places to breed. These ponds can accomodate some fish but choose varieties that aren't likely to find frog larvae or tadpoles a desirable food source.

And, if these reasons for starting a frog garden weren't persuasive enough for you, then consider that tomorrow is the 1st Annual 'Save The Frogs Day'.

Posted by Stuart | Permalink | Comments (5)

Of the many furniture pieces that could adorn your outdoor area, a loveseat is probably one of those options that you've dreamt about but never seriously contemplated. And for quite good reasons too. Often these outdoor pieces just sit around and collect dust or are covered in plastic to preserve their materials - hardly an impressive way to display them.

Since the advent of the wicker loveseat, or rattan as they are also commonly known, these outdoor chairs have become less expensive and far more weather-resistant. Their colour range and style has been expanded considerably and they offer one of the most attractive seats for the garden.

The loveseat originated as a couch for two people that was cosy enough to offer seating for couples but didn't provide much distance between them. If personal space was an issue then this sofa was most likely avoided but for couples it afforded them the excuse of snuggling close together.

The real history of the loveseat began in period France where the S-Shaped loveseat was the furniture piece of the era. It allowed courters to sit next to each other for a little "Tête-à-tête" with a distinctive boundary set between them.

These days we've modernised the approach and our loveseats are best referrred to as sofas, couches or settees.

But, if you take these outdoors then the materials need to be robust enough to handle the elements which is why the wicker loveseat makes sense. While wicker is generally translated as a woven material made from organic resources (twigs, grasses reeds etc.) the terminology is often accepted as the "style" more than the material. Therefore, a wicker loveseat can be constructed of rattan as much as it can also represent a plastic material.

Often wicker loveseats are created from organic materials which offer some longevity but can also fade or snap with constant use. So, manufacturers are now opting to use durable hard-wearing plastics as an alternative for cheaper products but they offer a much longer life on your patio.

The benefit of a true wicker loveseat, one made from organic materials, is that the resources are renewable and eco-friendly both in the manufacturing process but also when it's time to dispose of them. Plus, they are often made in countries where it's a large source of their industry and income providing developing nations with much needed labour.

Another consideration when choosing a wicker loveseat is the type of cushions that come with it. Vinyl covered upholstery is certainly more practical but hardly offers the snug feeling one woudl expect from a loveseat. The vinyl option may afford you the option to keep these outdoors all the time however if regularly bringing the cushions indoors is no issue then opting for a fabric alternative is definitely the way to go.

Whatever you choose, if you're considering an outdoor lounge for your patio then a wicker loveseat is a very inexpensive solution that offers grace and practicality to your outdoor area.

Posted by Stuart | Permalink | Comments (1)

As our weather begins to cool down the opportunity to encourage birds into our gardens increases. Food becomes scarce, predators become hungrier and, in some parts, water becomes too cold and freezes over. Fortunately, that's not a problem here in our temperate climate but during the middle of winter any outdoor water will become bitterly cold.

So, you've gone and built your garden bird feeder to attract the wild birds scavenging for seed but have you contemplated their water source?

You probably already have a garden bird bath strategically located need the feeder enticing them to wash and play but open closer inspection the water is so cold your testing finger becomes numb the moment it hits the surface. Not only will it not tempt the birds in for a splash, chances are they won't even try and avail themselves of the facilities for a drink either.

The only option is to create a heated bird bath - yes, it is possible. And the concept is very similar to installing outdoor garden lighting, yet less involved and can be completed in less than an hour.

How to Install a Heated Bird Bath

The beauty of a heated bird bath is that you don't need to buy a purpose built model. The bird bath that currently adorns your yard is very suitable and won't require any modifications at all.

To start with you need to purchase a bird bath heater which are becoming quite common and much cheaper. They're very low wattage which makes them safe for you and the birds that will come in contact with them - hopefully not electrocuting them as they come in for a drink.

Most bird bath heaters come with a hard-wired cord that can easily be connected into an extension cord running from an external power point. The extension cord will obviously run through your garden beds so you can either leave it above the soil and remove once the weather improves or bury it out of the way.

WARNING: Burying your power cords is a dangerous practice so it pays to get an electrician to install your power cord correctly. This will require some heavy digging and long trenches so to make it cheaper on your wallet try locating the bird bath as close as you can to a power source.

Opting for the removable extension cord is possibly the best method as you won't require your bird bath heated all year round. The coldest months from late autumn to early spring are the only times that these will be needed so save your money and live with the temporary cord - you won't be able to do much digging in the garden anyway.

Solar Bird Bath

Another option that some gardeners are utilising is the use of solar panels as an energy source. While these are more costly than a cord and certainly more time-consuming to install, they offer gardeners many benefits. Firstly, while it may need to be installed by a qualified electrician there is no need for any back-breaking trenches. Plus, the energy source is free - once you've paid for the equipment.

So, now that you've gone to all the trouble to entice your wild birds into your garden go the extra mile and make sure their water source is available all year round as well.

Posted by Stuart | Permalink | Comments (0)

Ok...it's actually the third day of Autumn as I missed the first - water-skiing around the estuary in Mandurah. And, in true autumnal moodiness the weather has already begun bouncing around like a highly-tensioned rubber ball. Sunday, the first day of autumn, was a balmy mid 30°C's yet yesterday was in the low 20°'s, blowing a gale and threatening to rain at any opportunity.

That's the stark reality of this irrational season. While we often expect that autumn brings milder weather somewhere between the extremes of summer and winter, the truth is this is only experienced by statisticians who plot the season's averages over the long run. For the rest of us, autumn is that time period that fights between summer and winter trying desperately to hold onto the warmer months yet finally succumbing to the inevitable and producing weather that reflects the season ahead.

As a child I always assumed that once autumn turned up, changes were immediate: leaves would instantly discolour and fall from the trees, blue skies would start to host fluffy white clouds and sun-showers would be a frequent part of the season. In reality the season doesn't alter that quickly. Changes are far less instant than one might expect, or even hope for.

In fact, the first day of autumn can really be a complete let-down if you're expecting such sudden changes. The effects of this time period are, indeed, incredibly gradual. One day you notice a leaf has changed colour, then another, and yet another. A few weeks later there's no green left and a few more weeks after that, there's no leaves left. And then it's winter.

This sublimely cruel season tricks you into thinking that summer hasn't yet departed but reminds you that winter is already knocking on the door.

For gardeners, the first day of autumn is a welcome retreat. The physical changes may not have started but the gardener's headspace is already being consumed with tasks that need to be crammed into the next three months. Spring-flowering bulbs need to be ordered and planted, outdoor containers may need to be prepared for being winterized and vegetable crops will change tact over the ensuing months.

The blessings of autumn are that mowing and watering will slowly decrease. Even the plants that you thought were finally winning the war and taking over your garden will slow down their growth rate making summer pruning a redundant activity.

On the flip-side, the first day of autumn heralds the re-introduction of the leaf rake. Leaves, leaves and more leaves start accumulating on that lawn that you spent all summer manicuring reminding us that some of our activities are completely banal. Our climate and seasonal changes have a way of reducing our efforts to a mere passing of the time.

But, for me, the first day of any season clearly defines a marker in my garden's progress. Did I achieve everything that I set out to over our spring and summer months? Has the garden improved on this first day of autumn than it did at the same time last year? Did it survive summer better?

While I understand that the northern hemisphere doesn't recognise autumn until the Autumnal Equinox, here in Australia we mark it off from the first of March. Technically, we're probably wrong but seeing as we've adopted the current calendar that doesn't use equinoxes and solstices as it's gauge we're happy to continue our current practice.

So while we are celebrating the start of a new season, northern hemisphereans are still entrenched in their winter. Spring is still another 19 days away...

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Last weekend we enjoyed a rather hot spell with the mercury soaring past the old 100°F mark and beyond. And while it meant more time looking for shade to relieve some of our discomfort it seemed that our local pigeons were feeling the same way.

These two chicks were tucked away under the Ceanothus bush with their ever-vigilant mother on guard. In fact, if it wasn't for their mother I wouldn't have seen them but she decided that walking past was far too close for her comfort levels. She flew out of the bush madly flapping her wings and then proceeded to offer some awkward dancing at a distance. The whole performance smacked of a B-grade movie - and a poor one at that.

Curious to know what she was hiding (yes, my investigative prowess figured out she was trying to throw me off the path) I peeled back some of the foliage to find these two delightful, yet very hot, bronzewing pigeon chicks nestled in close to the trunk.

They didn't seem to be in too much of a hurry to move even though their mother had now abandoned them. Maybe she figured that it was better off for the chicks if she left them although I'm not sure you would find that tip in a Parenting 101 guide.

They stayed put for most of the weekend until mum came back late Sunday evening and escorted them off to safety. Finally I could continue the garden watering regime without fear of upsetting these chicks and would no longer have to field "Can we pick them up, Dad?" questions from the children.

Who knows, maybe we will see them back here as adults one day!

Posted by Stuart | Permalink | Comments (2)

Do you remember when "hydroponics" was an activity only performed by science geeks or mull-heads? Homegrown labs had that clandestine feel about them and anytime you mentioned hydroponics it was met by dubiously raised eyebrows.

Much has changed since those days with homegrown hydroponics now hitting mainstream markets. And the reasons for this are multi-faceted; smaller homes, higher density living, financial constraints on families and even the emerging desire for people wanting to grow their own foods.

The problem is, unless you're prepared to fork out some serious dollars for a production-level kit most home gardeners won't venture into this arena. They're more likely to purchase from others who grow their produce organically than do it themselves which is a tragedy for the progression of this technology as a homegrown activity.

So, let's boil it down into some bite-sized pieces and hopefully you'll build up the courage to give it a go yourself.

The Hydroponic Process
Basically, hydroponics works by growing plants in a soil-less medium and flooding them with a nutrient-based liquid. Seedlings are either placed into a pot with perlite or gravel or some other resource that can help retain them and then continually, and regularly, watered.

Basic Hydroponics Equipment

• Container - this holds the medium with the plants in them. It needs to have some draining mechanism fitted
• Light - is very important and can either by via artificial lights or utilising a well-lit patio or balcony. Full-sun is too harsh.
• Pump - this is the engine room of the process. The pump needs to move the water through the reticulation pipes from the reservoir.
• Sump Tank/ Reservoir - this holds the run-off from the container grow-beds.
• Growing Medium - this can be anything that will retain the seedlings; coconut fibre, expended clay pellets, perlite and gravel.
• Reticulation - you will need some pipes running from the pump to the grow-beds and then also draining it away back into the reservoir.
• Nutrient - plants need up to 20 different mineral elements for successful growth. These are;
  Water-Produced Nutrients
  1. Carbon (C)
  2. Hydrogen (H)
  3. Oxygen (O)
  Main Mineral Nutrients
  4. Nitrogen (N)
  5. Phosphorus (P)
  6. Potassium (K)
  7. Sulphur (S)
  8. Calcium (Ca)
  9. Magnesium (Mg)
  Minor Mineral Nutrients
  10. Manganese (Mn)
  11. Boron (B)
  12. Sodium (Na)
  13. Chloride (Cl)
  14. Copper (Cu)
  15. Iron (Fe)
  16. Zinc (Zn)
  17. Molybdenum (Mo)
  18. Nickel (Ni)
  Beneficial Nutrients
  19. Silicon (Si)
  20. Cobalt (Co)
  These are required as a liquid solution that can either be purchased or made yourself if you are prepared to give it a go. Here's a helpful starter.

Here's an image of the process setup. With this process they replace the growing medium by utilising grow cups which holds the plants in place.

Plants you can grow
Vegetables and some fruits are the main plants that are grown in a hydroponics setup but they're not the only plants that can grow via this method. However, it's fairly hard to make these arrangements look nice enough to become your sole garden but if space is limited it's certainly an option.

You don't have to do anything special with your plants to get them growing but you will need to remove any soil before inserting them into the medium. This can just be washed off leaving the roots exposed.

Running Costs
A homegrown hydroponics setup should be very cheap to operate. The only costs associated with this are the nutrients - which can mostly be avoided if you opt for aquaponics rather than just hydroponically grown plants. Plus, the energy source required to operate the pump, which can also be offset by using renewable sources such as wind or solar power.

Future of Homegrown Hydroponics
The future for home-based hydroponics is huge. As more is known about this technologically greater numbers of home gardeners will begin to dabble in it and producers will be able to create kits, nutrient solutions and even seedlings far cheaper than they are now.

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Rarely a day will pass without some form of feathered wildlife visiting our garden. Usually it's parrots, magpies, pigeons, honeysuckers or finches and sometimes we're blessed with the odd butcherbird dropping by. But not usually babies and they don't usually stay long.

A few days ago I was privileged to watch two young butcherbirds fossick around an empty hanging basket - empty because the plant died from neglect and I haven't made it a priority to replace it. They seemed amiable enough together yet childish like two schoolboys intent on teasing each other, neither one knowing when to end the conflict.

Pulling each other's tails, grabbing their opponent by the neck interspersed with wild flapping was the order of the day. At first I thought this must have been a mating ritual but they were too young and it's the wrong time of year for that sort of carry-on.

Needless to say, they entertained us for a while before their passing visit expired.

You can follow the complete match here.

Posted by Stuart | Permalink | Comments (2)

Before I try and answer this question, grab a pen and pad of paper and head outdoors for a quick look-see. Count the number of trees that you have, the number of plants and the landscape features that occupy your garden. Now try and calculate the cost of replacing it all.

$300. $3000. Or perhaps $30,000. Sure, it's priceless because you can't add your blood, sweat and tears to the mix nor are 30-year-old trees readily available from your local nursery. And garden insurance can't insure you for any of that.

Yet consider what would happen to your garden should a bushfire, hurricane or other natural disaster reduce your gardening efforts to a glorified junk pile. The sheer devastation and angst would be unbearable knowing that you would have to rebuild it and you possibly wouldn't have the money on hand for a timely fix.

Now, let me ask the question again, "Is garden insurance worth it?"

Possibly these thoughts have been entertained in your mind before and you've reconciled yourself that in such an event you will just have to rebuild...regardless of the time frame and cost. But, it's conceivable that you've never considered such an outcome and this post has now got put this item on your Top Ten Fears list just above Global Terrorism.

Before you panic and start ringing every insurer looking for the cheapest plan you may want to check your current home policy. Some companies already include your yard and garden items (including tools, sheds, plants, trees and even garden ornaments) in your home insurance with minimal excess rates. They may even cover vandalism and theft by those well-meaning party guests who decided your prized garden gnome (now there's an oxymoron) was indeed a prize.

If it doesn't then you might want to resume your first response and panic and start ringing every insurer looking for the cheapest plan.

Before you do though, there are a couple of items you need to consider before signing up;

1. Does the insurance plan cover natural disasters? If it doesn't then you're probably wasting your time and money as this is the biggest cause of garden damage.
2. Is the excess greater than the risk of losing a few plants? For instance, if a storm came through your property and felled your large 30+-year-old tree would a replacement be cheaper than the policy excess? If so, keep your money.
3. Does the policy include debris removal costs? No? Find one that does because this is going to be a huge cost by the time you employ tree loppers, earth-movers etc.
4. Will your garden insurance cover theft and vandalism? As sad as it may sound this is 'up there' with the top reasons people claim on insurance policies. Grass trees have become the fashion accessory here in Oz and at $500 per tree are also becoming the folly of garden thieves.

I guess the point of this post is not to scare-monger but to at least get you thinking about possible disasters and how you may handle them. Taking out garden insurance is one option but it's not the only path to take.

Posted by Stuart | Permalink | Comments (4)

Here's a sample of some of the plants that are flowering their heads off in the my garden at the moment.

Leptospermum 'Merinda' Leptospermums, commonly called Tea Trees, are the flavour of the month at the moment in my garden. I struggle to walk past them in the nurseries becausethey are just such wonderful bloomers. Merinda starts life growing in a prostrate form and then eventually shrubs. I was hoping that it would flower before this month's GBBD and the first few blooms popped the night before. It will now flower for at least 2-3 months. Leptospermum scoparium 'Apple Blossom' Another beautiful specimen, Apple Blossom has been in my garden since we started and has always provided a wonderful flourish of pink, ruffled blooms every spring. Verticordia chrysantha I was introduced to Verticordias about 5 years ago on a trip into our wheatbelt and vowed that someday I would have one in my garden. Until recently they have been quite hard to find so when I stumbled upon this specimen I wasn't about to let it go. It was flowering when I bought it more than a month ago and it is still blooming now with no signs of letting up. In fact, the very same flowers are still on display with none fading or dying. It's a fascinating plant. Ceanothus dentatus The Californian Lilac, while certainly not an Aussie native, fits quite comfortably into our backyard native garden. It's another plant that has been with us since the garden's inception but this year's flourish is by far the best. I'm astounded at the detail within each bloom as they start of as little stars and finish resembling a fireworks show. Arctotis 'Red Magic' I have shown my other Arctotis blooms on GTNI before but this is a new one that has now taken centre stage in our perennial border. The vivid red is so enticing and its prostrate growth is wonderful to fill any 'spot' in the garden. Anigozanthus flavidus - Kangaroo Paw The last remaining Kangaroo Paw that is left in my backyard is flowering again. I had a few of these that eventually died because they couldn't get enough sun. While they started well, once some of the larger shrubs began to grow they blocked out the much needed sunlight and this is the only one I have left. Crab-Apple Blooms Not the most exciting fruit, except for gelling, this tree is beautiful both in its bark but also these abundant blooms. It is definitely one of my favourite trees in the garden and has been fairly maintenance free apart from pruning at the end of autumn and fertilising in spring. Hawthornia I'm still deciding what to with this plant. It currently resides in our native garden and is also struggling with the lack of light. It has become quite leggy and while the flowers look gorgeous, the plant itself is looking quite ordinary. Felicia amelloides 'Pinwheel Periwinkle' This is the third Felicia that I have tried growing in the yard and it is proving to be a success. Apart from starting off quite leggy (they are meant to be a small mounding plant) the top half of the plant looks great. I'm sure that an autumn trim will bring it back into line but for the moment I am going to enjoy these dainty blooms.

Posted by Stuart | Permalink | Comments (6)

Unless you garden indoors, or on a balcony, or on a tiny crevice somewhere in the abandoned outback, moving around your garden can only be facilitated by some form of pathway. Garden paths are the route we take to get from point A to point B and give us access to to our garden beds and other features and resources that reside in our yards.

While paths serve a practical purpose they also add aesthetic appeal to our gardens. The veins of our garden architecture can be so much more than mere accessways. In fact, many gardens are highlighted by their paths that accentuate the plantings and other features.

The real beauty of pathways is that there are no rules. Garden paths can be constructed from almost any material and can be installed within a few hours, a weekend or, for those very intricate and detailed jobs, many months.

Here's a few to tickle your creative juices (click on the thumbnail to see the larger image);

Stepping-Stones

1. Large Blocks
   
   
   Carved and shaped blocks lie in this pond seemingly floating above an eternal void. This type of path is not something to try if you have a few hours to pass. The sheer size of the blocks, even if they are already cut, will take more than one person to maneuver.
2. Floating Steps
   
   However, a stepping-stone path like this could easily be constructed within a weekend. Brick piers rising out of the watercourse are topped with a pebbled slab. The only precaution with this style is ensuring that the slab is fastened securely and maintained over time. While this style of path looks quite intriguing they can become very dangerous over time and vigilance will need to keep them maintained.




3. Pre-Fab Stepping Rounds
   
   If you're after a less intensive stepping-stone path then buying pre-fabricated rounds, squares or any shape and then surrounding with pebbles is a great option. Log rounds, sliced across the grain of a hardwood tree, work really well too but be prepared to replace these within 5-10 years as rot and nature take their course. If you're going to use logs then check for white-ant infestations before you add them to your garden.

Inset Paths

While stepping-stone paths are usually based on a stepping platform raised above ground level, insets are paths that are set at ground-level or below. They are created to seamlessly mesh into the environment in which they will reside.

4. Lawn Insets
   
   One of the most common form of inset paths is laying the step directly into lawn. It's a very easy path to make and one that can really standout aesthetically. The downside, of course, is the level of maintenance needed to keep these looking great. The edges will need to be regularly trimmed and in the warmer months this may need to be a weekly chore. One other maintenance issue for this type of path is that the lawn will, over time, grow above the inset steps. Therefore, within a few years you may need to lift each step and re-align it with the level of the lawn.
5. Garden Bed Insets
   Another option is to inset this path directly into the garden bed. This pathway could be constructed using wooden blocks, flagstones or any other flat material that isn't unnatural in its shape. As a base isn't constructed to hold these insets in place they need to be heavy and broad enough to handle the weight of those traversing it. Insets that wobble or can easily be displaced can become hazards later on.

Pebbled Paths

Some of the easiest paths to create and maintain are ones that are created with pebbles or stones. Gravel, aggregate, river stones, crushed bricks and crushed limestone - there are many more - are great options for weaving a pathway through your garden.

6. Loose Pebbles and Stones
   This is a great example of an easy path solution. While loose pebbled paths require some barrier or border, once this has been completed then shoveling loads of pebbles is a very quick task. And, it's a garden path that can easily be completed within a few hours - depending on it's length - or at least within a weekend. The benefit is once it's down there shouldn't be too many ongoing maintenance issues, either.
7. Fixed Pebbles and Stones
   If you have enough time, and plenty of patience, then challenging yourself to create a fixed pebble or stone path is certainly rewarding - when it's finished! But don't expect that to be anytime soon as these paths need to be done in stages and can take weeks, months or years. The base of the path is usually concrete but could also be cemented limestone. As the slurry begins to set, pebbles or stones are set in decorative arrays and held fast over the years.

Paved Pathways

Paved paths can be traced back as far as the Romans as their roads were all built with paved clay-fired bricks. And there's no prizes for guessing what they perceived as the benefits such construction. Strength, endurance and the durability to weather the elements were all positives for this type of pathway.

8. Brick-paved Paths
   
   These are one of the more common styles of paved pathways mainly because they are easy to lay, will last a long time and are strong enough to withstand most climates. Depending on the pattern selected - herringbone, brick-pattern, basketweave, stretcher-bond etc (here's a link for more patterns)- will determine the amount of time it takes to construct such a path. However, regardless of the style, most of the work goes into preparing a base for the bricks to sit on. If you get this right then your paved path should outlast you, but skimp on the effort at this level and you could be repairing dips, raised bricks or ones that are falling away for the rest of your life.
9. Tile-paved Paths
   
   While you may expect that tiles are an indoor medium, they are starting to become popular outdoors as well. There are three ways to do these; the first is similar to the Fixed Pebble path in that they are inset into concrete (usually coloured). The second is like brick paving where terracotta tiles are laid on a gravel/sand base while the final option is to fasten them onto a concrete path with some form of adhesive. The third choice is great if you're wanting to give your garden a new look to an old path. Instead of removing that ghastly 1950's concrete path, provided it is still structurally sound, you could easily give it a face-lift with some mosaics or tessellated patterns.

Vertically-Defined Paths

Pathways don't have to be constructed on the horizontal plane all the time. While we usually consider a pathway to exist by the material that we're walking on, we can also consider a path when it is created by borders or via the vertical plane.

10. Formally-Defined Vertical Paths
    
    The classic example of this style of path is where garden beds are raised or bordered. This intuitively creates a pathway for people to meander, and work, in your garden. No material is used on the base of the path, it just evolves because of the bordering barriers. It's an easy form of path if you're already constructing the barrier but can be quite time-consuming if the border has no other purpose than to define the pathway. That being stated, it must also be observed that temporary barriers in a garden can very easily be erected and divert traffic effectively away from areas that aren't open to the public.
11. Informally-Defined Vertical Paths
    
    The best example of an informally-defined vertical path are the ones we find in forests and within natural areas. The forest path is usually created either by people trekking through a particular pathway or by water-runoff carving into the side of the landscape. It's quite obvious that no resource has been used to define the horizontal pathway and trees and bushes are the only items defining a barrier. Obviously, to create a path like this in your own garden requires a substantial portion of land yet while it appears to be informal can easily be manipulated to work in your own yard.

While this isn't an exhaustive list of all the pathway possibilities, it should whet your appetite to discover more or to be creative with your own resources and mediums. Garden paths are more than just a way to access your yard and can be one of the great landscaping masterpieces that sets your garden off.

Posted by Stuart | Permalink | Comments (5)

Amidst the rain and gale force winds - more likely a gentle breeze compared to Ike - we ventured out into the bush on Saturday arvo with kids in tow. Multi-tasking was the goal as we packed a picnic allowing us to spend our first soccer-free Saturday away from home and with our precious children.

Plus, we also intended to fossick around the bush for materials for our new dry creek bed. The gravel was in abundance - if you could be bothered shoveling the stuff caked in clay and grit - and gnarled, weathered hunks of timber were equally available. Even gravel boulders lay around abandoned, waiting like a child in an orphanage for that perfect family to desire adopting. Their colours skewed between orangey-yellows to deep ochre reds and anything in between.

In the end, the cold "breeze" got the better of us and we headed back with our new trophies. Fortunately, we still had a few hours up our sleeve and were able to start work on the first stage of the front yard makeover.

The creek bed shown in the photo above is actually the middle section of a meandering path - so there will be a few more trips out into the bush still.

We used our African Box to start the hedge between the paving and this garden bed and the other side will house a native hedge - possibly westringia or a shrubby grevillea. The plants that are dotted around are not staying where they are and some won't even make it back into this bed. However, the two deciduous magnolias are staying and will become the features for this garden.

Next week, we're off plant shopping...

Posted by Stuart | Permalink | Comments (3)

Gardeners don't like magazine gardens - unless, of course, it's OUR garden that's splashed across the front cover. We complain that they're not REAL gardens but have been tizzed up for the camera and landscaped by some chic upstart who's just graduated from architectural school.

Gardens featured in magazines, we argue, lack the raw dynamism of a garden. Leaf litter, the occasional weed and a plant that sorely needs some TLC are not things you will find featured in the cover shots that glorify their pages. Instead manicured lawns, topiaried hedges and annual borders that flower more prolifically than the florists wholesale markets become a little...well...ho-hum after a while.

Is there any value in picking up another issue? Or, are you sadistically wired that you enjoy the de-motivating effect they have on your own gardening efforts?

Sure there is. Those pictures that seem so fake and maladjusted can actually breathe some life into your own garden - if you're willing to view them from another perspective. While we normally make comparisons between the illustrated garden and our own, in reality we will probably never achieve that glam demeanor - and honestly, who would want to?

Magazine gardens, from my vantage point, offer something incredibly unique - how NOT to design a garden. Basically, they are the antithesis to my own garden dreams and therefore provide a wealth of inspiration and an exceptional example of what a garden shouldn't look like.

Here's a little sample of what magazine gardens portray and how my own differs;

• Heavy maintenance - unless you have a team of horticulturalists on hand trying to achieve a garden that could even jockey for a middle-page snapshot, you're more than likely to produce stomach ulcers rather than that picture perfect outcome.

  I love to pour over magazine gardens and think through all that would be required to create and maintain that look. Then, if I find myself lusting after the result I ask myself the question, "Am I prepared to pay the cost to get that?" The answer is always an unequivocal "NO". I love to garden, but I don't live to garden.



• Magazine gardens are always easy to photograph - mine, on the other hand, is not. And I like it that way. The gardens that feature in magazines are usually quite open, well-spread and fairly minimalist in design.

  My garden hugs me every time I enter it and it feels like I'm walking the red carpet towards the Oscars. My personal space becomes invaded by the crowd of plants and shrubbery jostling for me to stop and adore the new growth or flower that's just bloomed.

  It's very hard to photograph that...



• Minimal specimens - you'll notice that most of these gardens have only a few specimens on display. Large drifts of the same plant, symmetrical positioning that catches the eye and mono -coloured bulbs that consume vast regions of the garden. It's as if the whole garden has been designed purely for show purposes much like your local wildflower exhibition.

  Indeed, my garden is more about the plants than the style - not that it's devoid of landscaping eye-candy. But, to just grow one type of plant over a large area seems like an immoral waste of garden. These gardens inspire me to use plants more effectively than to go with contemporary thinking.

I'm sure there are many other ways that these gardens inspire me to be different and perhaps I'll share some more in future posts. In the meantime, how do magazine gardens affect your choices and garden style?

Posted by Stuart | Permalink | Comments (6)

When we started our front yard, the aim was to make it a place where our kids could play on the lawn and we could still enjoy some level of gardening. Five years later, the kids have outgrown our postage-stamp sod and choose to play football on the road or at the local reserve.

And, after years of struggling with reticulation pipes, constant mowing, fertilising and aerating we decided to redo our front yard landscaping.

Our intention this time is to create an area that uses water well, has little or no maintenance and produces the effects we want primarily with indigenous species. The large lawn - when I say large, I mean larger than the other small ones - at the very front will remain but all obstacles within it (ie. garden beds) are being removed. This will make maintenance a little simpler and still keep the neighbours happy.

The overall plan is to create a dry creek bed that meanders through the garden dotted with stepping stones and railway sleepers. Grasses, and foliage plants will abound punctuated with succulents and flowering natives. Our two deciduous magnolias are about the only plants remaining and will, apart from the African Box, be the only exotics to survive the front yard makeover.

The challenge will be to try and keep a "cottage style" apparent in a very xeriscape fashion. The cottage style doesn't normally lend itself too well to pea-gravel, cactus and water-saving initiatives.

So here's a few pics of stage one:

My wife recommended that we take some before/after shots of the process - me; I was just happy to be underway.
Some of the willing workers...
10 minutes later...

We transplanted our struggling African box from the very front lawns in order to give them some reprieve from the Postie and to add some formal borders to our xeriscape cottage garden.

Next step is to move some of the soil around to form a sort of topography for the creek bed and plantings. Stay tuned for next weekend.... Oh, how I love Spring!

Posted by Stuart | Permalink | Comments (9)

It was so much easier getting out of bed this morning. Why? The calendar had ticked over from winter to that most optimistic season ever - spring. Not that it was any warmer and huddling beside the fire as my hands defrosted made me question the validity of this spring awakening. Yet, we're finally on the right side of winter and afternoons basking in the garden seem a little closer.

Spring arrived today
Aglow in spring time fashion
Spring fever follows

Spring's Dresser changed her
Into winter's chilled soft wrap
Without care or flare

Spring flaunted her smile -
Everything she loved slowly
Awakened in praise

Dorothy (Alves) Holmes

While images of flowering annuals evade us at the moment there are signs that spring is awakening. Slivers of new growth are starting to protrude from their hosts and blooms are slightly unfurling teasing us with a glimpse of the season's offerings.

For me, spring is a time to relax. Winter has been hard work sourcing firewood to keep warm, coaching winter sports and helplessly watching the garden slip into some nasty habits. The 'relaxation' of gardening is like the proverbial cliche - 'change is as good as a holiday'. (Actually, that's probably not a good metaphor because we all know nothing's as good as a holiday - and change usually means more work - but you get my drift).

So, while most of my northern hemispherean peers are looking towards fall and then another bleak winter, it's days like these that make me thankful I live this side of the equator.

Photo source: annia316

Posted by Stuart | Permalink | Comments (4)

As the fingerprint dusting concludes and the last shards of evidence are zip-locked for forensics, the investigation has already put out an APB for your arrest. The crime: the willful murder of the home garden.

More than a century has been spent creating this paradisaical wonderment and yet less than a decade has ruined it forever. The home garden, a retreat from the bustling world that sucks our creativity and enthusiasm for life, has been tainted and blemished beyond recognition. Even dental records and DNA testing would fail to identify its past glory.

MOTIVE
Greed. Pure, evil, insatiable greed. You stopped paying for quality and chose convenience over uniqueness. Taking risks on plants where life hung in the balance was swapped for guaranteed PBR (Plant Breeder's Rights) manipulations...plants that had been bred to grow regardless of whether you watered, fertilised or nurtured it. And your neighbours bought the same plants.

WEAPON
Mass-production. Economies of scale dictate the new world order and home gardens lack the power required to demand this weapon be cast down. Especially when one considers the motive. For some unknown reason, we would much prefer a store that stocks 2 million of the same friggin' plant than one which prides itself on introducing a new species, sport or natural manifestation. These are all a little too risky.

VICTIM
Sole operator nurseries and garden centres. When I moved to this region 13 years ago we proudly supported all 5 of our local nurseries. Today, none of them exist but instead they have been replaced by two big-box outlets selling the same crap plants that will still be there in 12 months time. And these two operators buy predominantly from the one large plant breeder - so you can grasp the level of uniqueness and originality that confronts the average gardener when they frequent these stores.

ACCOMPLICES
Your neighbours. Gardening shows. Garden related magazines. They all played their part. Take a drive through the 'burbs and the picture doesn't deviate much. The once glorious home garden is now a shadow of its former self. Postage stamp lawns, drought-tolerant flax borders and a gaudy water-feature are now the limit of our garden expression. We now compete on lawn-type, flax colours and the price tag of that hideous sculpture.

Sadly, I'm not sure a resurrection is possible. I think gardeners have bought into the consumption mentality and the days of sharing plants, swapping seeds and dividing perennials will be confined to the radical fundamentalists. The home garden, as an ideal, is dead...and we've all played a part in its demise.

This post has been submitted as part of ProBlogger's Killer Titles - Group Writing Project

Posted by Stuart | Permalink | Comments (4)

As energy companies seek to throw fists full of dollars attempting to find renewable sources, most homeowners are doing the same - but their paths could be going in different directions. While the energy companies invest in hydro-electrics, wind farms and even tidal solutions the home wind turbine has been taking leaps and bounds in it's level of possibility.

One has only to type a few keywords into YouTube to discover the many backyard inventors trying to save money on their energy costs. Yet the average person, who doesn't hold a degree in electrical physics, struggles to see how the technology can work in the home situation - and without the backyard looking like a NASA substation.

Enter stage right, Mariah Power and their patented Windspire wind turbine tailored specifically for the home market. This invention is quite revolutionary (pun fully intended!) in that it brings the technology that is currently available for mainstream energy companies down to the size required for the home situation. Here's a vignette of the product and its possibilities.

The advantages of this system are that all the hard work has been done for you - it's almost Plug-n-Play. And while you can assemble it yourself it's probably in your best interests to have a qualified technician install it for you.

Probably the most important advantage for the Windspire, and other similar models, is its ability to operate in light wind speeds and lower revolutions. While this may seem like a superfluous data tidbit for you the aerial wildlife in your area view it is a definite plus. One of the many criticisms against wind farms is that their turbines, operated with large propellers, are having a disastrous effect on the native bird populations.

Before you start dialling that number there are a few considerations to take into account. First, and definitely the most important, is whether your area averages the 12mph wind speeds required as a minimum (This data can be sourced by typing "Wind Maps" into your favourite search engine). If that didn't knock you out of the first round then the next pre-requisite might - the minimum land specification for a home wind turbine is 1/2 acre! Gulp! I'm out already.

If you're still in the hunt there's the $4,995 price tag or the reduced $3,995 price sticker to consider as well - which may, or may not, be economised through power savings, but we'll get to that in a minute. And, if you're still in the running there's the waiting list to negotiate also, and at the time of writing this post it was between 6-12 months.

Now, before you race out and order one for each of your family members it might pay to crunch some numbers first. The economic calculator available on Mariah Power's website allows you to quantify what one of these units will achieve in your situation.

In our household we annually consume 6,200 kWh at a rate of 12.76 cents per kWh. With average windspeeds of 12mph (20kmh) we're not likely to break even on this system for 15.2 years - plus it will only produce 1/3 of our power needs. While Mariah Power will argue that rising electricity costs will reduce that time period one has to wonder what the Time Value of Money (TVM) is doing to these figures as well. In the end it's probably an even-ing out effect.

In conclusion, would I get a home wind turbine? Maybe, but probably not this one. Firstly, I was ruled out it with the amount of land needed to house one and then the costs and low production of our energy needs made it completely inviable. But then there is the environmental issues to consider as well and how do you put a price-tag on that?

My response would be that I'm out to find a wind turbine for my home that will achieve both - financial savings plus environmentally advantageous.

Found via Treehugger

Posted by Stuart | Permalink | Comments (1)

My concern has never been to create a garden that's safe for pets but one that's safe from pets. Sure, I've discussed the threat of poison plants and how they can be fatally harmful for our l'il balls of fluff and it's good to be mindful of the dangers they present to our dogs and cats, but what about the damage they can do to the garden?

Heck, they look so innocent don't they and if it wasn't for their damned cute looks I'm sure we would all be pet-free. Yet for most gardeners keeping a garden and a dog or a cat seem at complete odds with each other.

Fortunately Marty Hair from Freep.com [link since removed] has this great advice to offer us;

And dog-lovers must occasionally look the other way when impatiens get squashed and petunias trampled.

It's not the impatiens or the petunias I'm worried about - it's the hand-picked tulips that are just about to bloom that put me on the edge. It wouldn't be me looking the other way, let me assure you. I'd be making sure everyone else was looking the other way as I buried the little ferret....

Seriously, the two can co-exist. It won't be long before your local botanical garden announces its "Bring Your Pet Along" weekends and encourages you to leave the leash behind. Then you and your best friend can enjoy frolicking in the gardens, and don't worry about the petunias and impatiens - the resident horticulturalist is sure to "look the other way".

The best piece of advice to come out of the article was this gem;

A fence should be the first thing installed in a yard that will be home to a dog

Damned right. It will go right across the front of the garden to stop the mangy mutt from even thinking about getting its paws into my gorgeously manicured lawns.

On the other side of the coin, a fence is going to look fairly ugly so maybe I'll just go with a dog containment system that instantly pulverizes any animal - apart from birds, frogs and other natural creatures - upon impact.

Good tips Marty...

Posted by Stuart | Permalink | Comments (5)

Here's a hypothetical scenario for you to ponder: Imagine that while digging in your backyard you discover an oil reservoir with enough pressure to possibly drill. Do you (a) bottle it up and not let anyone know about it, (b) file for a drilling licence, or (c) sell your home to a large oil company and retire to garden elsewhere for the rest of your life?

I guess the question really becomes, How attached to your garden are you? If in the case of the oil discovery would you be willing to keep it hush-hush so that you could continue growing your garden instead of taking the money? Or, would the money give you a few more options?

If you distilled it right down to the core, is it the GARDEN or the GARDENING?

In my case it's certainly the GARDENING. While I love my garden and have enjoyed creating it from scratch it's still a postage stamp compared to the dreams I have. A couple million dollars could definitely keep me entertained on a larger block with better views and no set budget for plant and landscaping purposes. I might even be able to employ a few gardeners to work alongside me, wouldn't that be neat?

But, I'm still fairly young (just turned 21 *ahem* last week - you can ask my 4 kids) and I've had this garden for less than 5 years. What about those who have gardened in the same spot all their lives? You would assume that their gardens are quite possibly a large part of who they are, almost another appendage perhaps. Would these gardeners be willing to sell out?

Perhaps another way to look at the hypothetical scenario is to consider whether your garden has a price tag. Let's ignore the messy oil discovery for a moment and concentrate purely on the dollars and cents issue. Could you walk away from your garden tomorrow for money and how much would it take?

It's an interesting dilemma, isn't it! If you consider the amount of back-breaking pain, blood, sweat and tears that you've poured into your flourishing habitat could there be a price-tag that matched all that effort? And, can dollars provide enough comfort for the memories you may be selling off?

Posted by Stuart | Permalink | Comments (4)

Potpourri has always been synonymous with moth balls, smelling salts and basically anything 'grandmotherly'. You could open any drawer in the guest bedroom and guarantee a small spray of the stuff. And if that wasn't enough it was common to find a small glass jar on the bedside table with freshly scented petals wafting through the room.

But potpourri has seemingly come of age and enjoying a renewed zest (pun fully intended!) of life. The resurgence, it appears, is motivated by consumers who desire natural fragrances in their homes rather than those crafted in little bottles or contained in spray cans.

Potpourri literally means 'rot pot' and explains their composition but also their purpose. In the days when 'air fresheners' weren't readily available and odours were much closer to us than they are today - think bed chamber pots - it was essential to mask these vile smells hence the invention of potpourri.

Today, however, they're not needed nearly as much as they were then but interest in these powerful deodorisers is growing. Rarely could one frequent the local markets without at one stall peddling a range of potpourris and fragrant petal mixtures retail giants are getting on the band wagon as well. Plus, the aesthetics of these combos are sheer delight with hues and tones contrasting brilliantly.

So, as exciting as it may be to go and buy some potpourri from your local market or retail big box...I'm sure you will find it even more enticing creating your own. And if the products all come from your own garden how much better would that be?

Here's what you need;

• Dried Petals


• Dried Herbs & Spices


• Dried Fruit & Citrus Peels


• Fixatives


• Fillers


• Essential Oils

Dried Petals

Rose petals are the most oft used petals in potpourri but they don't have to be. In fact any petal that can withstand the drying process and still has some colour and shape about it can be used in making your own potpourris.

Marigolds, calendulas, delphiniums, English stocks, snapdragons, asters, magnolias, lavatera, tibouchina, scented geraniums...ya-da, ya-da ... the list could go on endlessly. The key is finding petals that will add some colour and texture to the mix without looking like it's trying too hard.

Roses are obviously the best choice for colour and petal strength and these can be dried whole hanging upside down in a cool, dry area of the house. If you're only making small mixes then individually drying each petal on blotting paper will also do the trick.

Dried Herbs & Spices

While most of your petals, with the exception of roses, won't hold any fragrance of their own once dried, herbs and spices become very aromatic once their moisture has been removed. Cinnamon quills, star anise, cloves, cardamom pods, juniper berries and unground mace can all add some extra texture to the mix as well as marrying some very romantic flavours.

In the herb department lavender, sage, rosemary and fennel and dill umbellifers will add some much needed grace and charm to your potpourri.

If you have these growing in your garden then pick a bundle when they are at their peak and allow to hang dry in an airy spot away from the elements. When they're crinkly dry they can be kept in airtight containers until required.

Dried Fruit & Citrus Peels

Fruit can also be a great addition to your potpourri mix. Citrus can have many uses either as dried peel, dried lemon or orange slices or even whole limes that have been zested or channels grooved into their skins.

Slices of apple, pears and persimmons can also add some great depth to the mix though they won't add much in the way of aromatic strength. However, as an aesthetic element the use of fruit ties in really well with all the other organic materials.

Fixatives

Fixatives are the element of potpourri that holds the aromas within the mix. The most common of these is Orris Root obtained from the common Iris germanica 'Florentina'. If you have these growing in your garden already then you're a blessed gardener. If you don't they shouldn't be too hard to source.

Like every other component of a potpourri mix fixatives are dried prior to assembly. In the case of Orris Root it is usually ground and then sprinkled throughout the mix. Other fixatives such as lavender stalks, patchouli leaves and even some types of dried moss can be used as is and will also help add to the texture.

Fillers

This is where the really creative come into being. Your potpourri mix may have all the essential ingredients but now it's time to stamp your artistic flair over the mix. Pine cones, leaves, bark, pebbles, chillis, shells and other small trinkets may be used to set your mix apart and can even assist with seasonal decorations.

Ideas may include: dried mistletoe and berries for a Christmas theme; small minikin pumpkins for Thanksgiving and maybe small conch shells to announce the arrival of summer.

Essential Oils

The final component to any potpourri mix are the essential oils. These are usually quite easy to access from aromatherapy shops and most pharmacies. Rose and lavender oil are the most common but there are many other perfumed oils that can add some fragrance to your mix.

Use sparingly and add more as needed rather than trying to overdo the scent in the first addition. Add a few drops then fluff the mix with your fingertips. If the aroma is too subtle for your tastes continue until you get the right balance.

And Voila! You have made your own potpourri. It wasn't that hard, was it? And once you've made one mix you can easily continue creating and amending as a masterful chef with a favourite recipe.

Where can you use potpourri?

Anywhere you want to freshen. The toilet, the bathroom, the living room, the drawers and clothes closets. If your kids are suffering from foot odour add some potpourri to their shoes overnight and empty out in the morning.

You can even leave some in suitcases that you pack away under the bed. The next time you open them up you will pleasantly surprised by the aroma rather than the musty smell that normally greets you.

There are many ways potpourri can be used in the house and this is only limited by how you choose to use it. Think of all the areas where you currently use room deodorisers and replace them with your homemade potpourri.

How long will potpourri last?

It's hard to give a time-frame on this as all it depends on the recipe you use. However, most mixes can be topped up with more essential oils and orris root or other fixatives and replenished as necessary. Once the mix gets beyond its 'use-by-date' - and you will know when this is - then the whole lot can be tossed back into the compost heap ready to help your next mix come to fruition.

Posted by Stuart | Permalink | Comments (10)

Ever since I began gardening I've had this nagging desire to have my own greenhouse. A place that was dedicated purely for propagating plants and storing them in some form of recognizable arrangement. Yet I've never had the chance, or the space, to construct one.

Even with our smallish suburban plot I found I was once again limited to making compromises. However, this time I was committed to seeing the 'half-full glass' rather than the 'half-empty' one.

And, Voila! Here is the logical outcome.

This is the side of my shed. Not any side, mind you, but a North-facing side - very important for us southern hemispherean gardeners! It's main purpose is to keep the other 3 side walls erect (and gives somewhere for the roof to hang on to as well). Apart from that, it's just a thoroughfare for the wood pile at the rear.

Look closer and you'll begin to be inspired by the possibilities. Here is a wall pleading to be utilised and so I consented by erecting some framework for future shelving.

What about the cover, I hear you ask? Well, here is the genius... One of the problems with our climate is that in summer it gets far too hot for far too long. So I couldn't just construct a standard greenhouse or all the plants would sizzle in summer and die. Therefore I needed another option and it came quite suddenly and somewhat divinely - in other words I can't remember how I came up with it!

I plan to have two types of cover - clear plastic sheeting for the cooler months and UV-resistant shade cloth for the warmer ones. Both of them will be made as single, continuous sheets that can be taken off and put back on again.

Here's how they will be attached;

1. Steel REO bars - approximately 2m long - will be concreted 500mm into the ground opposite the shed wall and on the other side of the 2m wide path. They will be spaced out at 1m intervals requiring 6 for my 5m long shed.
2. Channels will be sown into both the clear sheeting and the shade cloth at similar intervals wide enough for 20mm PVC pipe to travel through - much like a tent would work.
3. Then brackets will be attached to the roofline at the same width intervals and will hold the PVC piping.
4. Once these things are in place it's simply a matter of pushing the PVC piping through the channels on the cover and placing one end through the roof brackets and the other over the vertical REO bar. This will create a half-dome effect.
5. As the seasons switch the covers can be interchanged to turn the greenhouse into a shadehouse and vice versa.

It's a very simple system but will provide me with the space to grow a quantity of plants both for use in the garden and also for experimentation. I'll keep you updated with progress photos.

Posted by Stuart | Permalink | Comments (7)

Optimism has entered my garden once again. Even as we approach the end of a tired summer when my plants are showing signs of heat stress or their inability to cope with persistent diseases, there is a tinge of anticipation in the stratosphere above our home.

There is nothing more hopeful in our yards than creating a new garden bed. The aroma of expectation wafts through my creative senses imagining scenes that are still years away. Thoughts of new plants that I will be able to upload for Garden Blogger's Bloom Day traverse my mind. Oh... the accolades - I should begin writing my speech now.

But with this newfound optimism also comes the tyranny of labour. The joy I shall reap in 2-3 years time will only come about if I get my butt into gear and start preparing the soil. No longer will my wife put up with my incessant "One day..." - it's now action time.

So, why hasn't this bed been prepared until now? Unfortunately it's bordered by our new garden shed - which is finally finished BTW - and couldn't be planted out until the walls had been erected and painted. But now all of that is completed and the garden bed was just hoarding various species of weed - weeds that wouldn't dare inhabiting any other garden bed.

Also I had been waiting for my first compost heap to fully decompose and cool down so that I could start using it. And what a compost it was! Four wheelbarrow loads later and I had made way for the next one to be turned.

And 4 barrow loads was only just enough. This garden bed, with its very deficient sandy soil (using the word "soil" is a big stretch of the term), sucked it up in no time and was begging for more.

After watering the compost in it also became very apparent that the sand had become water-repellent. This is a huge problem if you're planning to introduce plants straight away. Fortunately I have some time on my hands as I'm hoping to plant in early spring - some 9 months away - so solving this dilemma isn't as urgent as one would expect.

While most gardeners would propose adding some wetting agents or water saving crystals, at 35 I'm a misnomer wanting to do it the "old way". That is, I'm keen to start a 'green manure' and give the soil a chance to repair itself - naturally.

As this process will take 3-4 months, I'll keep you updated with how the soil is improving and how the plant choices are progressing.

Posted by Stuart | Permalink | Comments (6)

It finally arrived on Friday - the camera that I needed to show you through my garden again.

I can see some of you SLR snobs already looking down your nose at my choice, but bear with me, there is a logical explanation.

I originally intended to get the latest Canon 400D (branded as a Rebel XTi in the US). In fact, I was almost swayed to part with more cash and indulge in the 40D. Fortunately, I have a friend who is a keen amateur/pro photographer - he teaches Photography at the college I work at - who asked me some serious questions on my intent of its use. Questions that took an SLR-lusting-wanna-be away from my preferred choice.

Now, apart from my wife's dodgy point-and-shoot that we lost, I've always had SLR's and enjoyed the freedom of their many options. But, for the type of photography that I intend to enjoy, this point-and-shoot on steroids has it all...and a little bit more.

Let me show you some of the specs;

- 18x Optical Zoom (That's right...18x) - Serious macro work for flowers, bugs, birds etc plus the freedom to enjoy the neighbour's backyard from the porch - not that I would do that.

- 8 megapixels

- Superfast 15fps spontaneous picture-taking

- Everything can be automatic or manual at the slip of a dial

- Aperture sizes from f2.8 up to f8.0

- Autofocusing

plus, an optional extra is the conversion adapter (CLA-10) which can hold the TCON-17 telephoto lens capable of extending the focal point by 7x - or the equivalent of a 416.5mm lens!!!

So, why the change of mind? Portability. I've lugged SLR's and their accompanying lenses around before and always whinged about it. And though I didn't want to be seen as an amateur, practicality won it - I must be getting older! And just when you thought they were good enough reasons, I found this one for half the price of the EOS!!

I spent some of the weekend taking a few pics and trying out what this camera could do. Here's a small sampling - my Flickr page. [Side note: I'm thinking of adding an option for Blotanical users to link to their Flickr pages on their My Plot. Would it be a useful addition?]

Anyhow, you should expect a few more pics of my garden from hereonin.

Posted by Stuart | Permalink | Comments (5)

Are you a 'sitting duck' for some unscrupulous gardener to heist your plants? And if so, what on earth are you going to do about it?

It's not like you can safely secure each plant to the ground with a padlock and key. Nor would your garden look attractive with lengths of barbed wire or electric fence. And while these options border on the extreme, gardeners are now looking for measures to safeguard themselves from garden theft.

Unfortunately it's no longer a rarity to see a recently landscaped garden devoid of plantings that were in place the day before. Once the landscaper has moved on it appears to be open season on plants and those looking for a quick garden makeover move in. Less than 10 minutes later gaping holes appear across the landscape and the offenders are well on their way, possibly saving themselves hundreds of dollars.

For most home gardeners, a heist of this magnitude is quite unlikely. Yet there are gardeners tearing their hair out trying to respond to this growing nuisance - gardeners like Michael Newton. And the result of his dilemma has pushed him into a corner stating, "I have had enough. I will just let the weeds grow now. There is just no point."

Any gardener can understand his frustration as there are few options available to secure ourselves from garden theft. Obviously the area you live in, the type of plants you have recently positioned and whether your garden is obscured to the general public all contribute to the possibility of becoming a victim to plant theft. Yet each of these are not easily overcome.

Sure, you could move but that's never easy and won't guarantee that the area you move into won't change over the years. You could even plant more common, cheaper plants but how boring would that be? Or, you could open your garden up so that 'all-and-sundry' can have a squizz and lose your privacy in the meantime.

Here's a few gardening tips for those not wanting to suffer at the hands of plant theft;

1. Aim sensor lights towards your most recently acquired plants. Sensor lights (aff.) can flood your garden with light the moment an intruder enters the property or heads to your plant.
2. In the same vein, although far less efficient at deterring humans than animals, is the Scarecrow Sprinkler(aff.). While this may annoy the would-be thief it may not be enough to distract them from their intent. Plus, unless you're a light sleeper who wakes the moment your retic turns on, you're probably unlikely to be aroused with the sprinkler than a set of sensor lights.
3. Keep a guard dog. While this is a great option for keeping intruders at bay, having a dog in your prized garden can wreak its own set of problems.
4. Stake your plants. Plants that are positioned and have been tied to a stake, or set of stakes, are less likely to attract the interest of a plant thief - but then again, it all depends on what that plant is.

After a month or two, your plant's roots should have secured it in place and also made it a less likely target. However, if a thief plans to steal one, or more, of your plants there isn't a whole lot you can do about it.

There are no simple answers to this dilemma but it would appear that gardeners are going to have to find some. And sooner rather than later.

Posted by Stuart | Permalink | Comments (3)

We lost our little Olympus point-and-shoot a couple weeks back so I haven't any photos to share of our progress on the weekend. Just think of this post as an exercise in developing your imagination.

Re: the camera - I'm not too worried about it (although it was a present for Deb a few years back) as it will now bring the purchase of my DSLR forward a few months - fingers crossed. The P&S was helpful for the family snaps but when it came to great flower pics it was fairly ordinary, at best. If the breeze were lighter than a whisper and the sun was almost at its zenith you might get an okay image. But any variation on those two elements would automatically signal a doomed photo.

Anyway, enough of the camera.

The weekend was pretty busy sitting in front of the computer for most of Saturday plowing through my blog directory update (stay tuned). By Sunday arvo I was itching to get out into the garden and connect with something a little more natural, and my garden has been begging for this result over the past few weeks.

After coaching my eldest son's soccer team, they all put in and bought me a $50 voucher to one of our local hardware/nurseries. So I headed down with grand expectations. Now, any gardener knows it doesn't take long to blow fifty bucks on plants but after walking around this store for a half hour I was scratching for ways to part with it.

Most of the plants were overpriced, or struggling, or both. And the flowering annuals weren't much better. Marigolds, petunias, alyssum, hearts-ease and pansies - blah!! This was actually becoming a chore and it's only the start of spring.

So, I headed for the seed rack and picked up a few more interesting morsels. Rudbeckias, salvias, echinacea and honesty are all a few trials that should make it into the neglected front cottage garden this season. I also picked up two propagator packs and some seed-raising mix to get the little beauties underway.

Once sown into their trays, I turned my attention on propagating a few more plants from the garden. Deb had bought home a few agave pups from a friends house so they were potted up and also some semi-hardwood cuttings from my delicious correas. And before ripping out my 'no-name' silver foliage plant I took a few soft-tip cuttings to keep for later.

Finally, I headed back out into the garden to plant some potted beauties that were screaming for release. A yellow leucadendron, a few bromeliads and a tillandsia had spent more than enough time in isolation and you could almost hear them sigh as I tugged their root ball from their containers.

I even had a spare 20 minutes to tidy up one of the garden beds and remove a heap of weeds. It almost looks good enough to photograph again.

Now, where is that camera....?

Posted by Stuart | Permalink | Comments (3)

How hard can it be to relax in your own garden? Well, if you're a gardener it can be near on impossible.

See, the problem with gardeners is that we actually like gardening. While most won't see anything inherently problematic with that scenario it can become a real shame when the thing that we enjoy doing can't be enjoyed without the 'doing'.

The proverbial adage, "Take time to smell the roses," couldn't be more apt for gardeners who can't enjoy their gardens without plucking out that weed they missed in their last cleanup spree. We can sometimes become so obsessed with the voids and problem areas within our gardens that they consume even our relaxation time.

So, it's become acutely obvious that we need to find a few alternative ways to relax and take our minds off the garden chores.

Here's 10 ways to relax in your garden without gardening:

1. Snooze in a Hammock What better way to enjoy a Saturday afternoon in the garden - and with this two-person jumbo hammock (aff.) you don't even need two trees to string one up anymore.

   Relaxing in a hammock has an amazingly soothing effect on your body. The gentle swaying motion and the fact that you're looking up, rather than across, forces you to enjoy your garden from another dimension.

   Put on some comforting Enya tunes - or anything that takes you away to another place - and enjoy your afternoon.
   

2. Take up Painting
   Sure, you could easily walk around and snap all the flowers and garden vistas with your new digital SLR but that would hardly make for a genuine way to relax. Instead, buy yourself a cheap canvas and few basic paint colours and let your creative juices flow into another medium.

   The beauty with painting is that it requires time to enjoy. You can't rush it and who knows - you might actually be good at it.
   

3. Prepare a Picnic
   This is a great way to relax, especially in your own garden and even moreso if you have kids. The novelty of packing a picnic will automatically get you in the mood to relax so when you step out onto your manicured lawn and throw down the picnic blanket you've already reconciled your mind to taking the afternoon easy.
   
4. Play Croquet
   Setting up a game of croquet throughout your garden - it's not necessary to have lawn - is easy to achieve and a brilliant way to while the day. The more players the better, but if there is only the two of you then find some creative ways to play a few games - blindfold each other, play backwards etc.

   If it's just you on your little lonesome then challenge the dog - at least there won't be any arguments when it comes to announcing the winner.
   

5. Read a Non-Gardening Book/ Magazine
   If you're like me, reading a gardening book is hardly relaxing. Five pages in and I'm already itching to get out into the garden to tweak a garden bed or check my compost heap for signs of readiness.

   No, if you're wanting to relax in your garden then put all the gardening books away and find some mind-numbing novel to pique your interest. Even reading the latest lifestyle magazine should encourage you to chill out a little.
   

6. Catch Butterflies
   If you have kids, then this is a fantastic activity to stir the relaxation muscles. Each of you walk around the garden with a butterfly net (aff.) carefully scooping up these wonderful insects. Once they're caught you can let your children gently caress them before releasing them back into your garden.

   Give them a couple of minutes head start and then try and track them down again.
   

7. Employ a Masseur for the afternoon
   Many hotel chains now promote mobile masseur services (no, not that type of masseur) to come and spend an hour or two getting all those knots out of your back. While it's not the cheapest service, as a treat it might be just the thing you need. Plus, it can all happen in the privacy of your own garden.
   
8. Play with a pet
   Many gardeners have pets; dogs, cats, rabbits, hamsters etc. If it's normally caged then allow it some freedom to roam around and explore. This may not be the most relaxing activity if you haven't set up some inescapable boundaries first but if everything is in place then spending a little time with them may be just the ticket.
   
9. Do Some Relaxation Exercises
   If you have an exercise ball, or any other apparatus that is portable, try taking it out into your tropical garden or set it up on the patio. Even aerobics could be enjoyed in the comfort of your garden and it might even make them more fun and enjoyable.
   
10. Entertain Low-Maintenance Friends
    You know what I mean - those friends that can drop in at a moments notice, take very little effort to entertain and know the cue for when to leave. They're great people and you always feel relaxed in their company.

    Invite them over and spend the afternoon playing cards, or telling jokes. Bring out a board game or just sit on the patio sipping a glass of chardonnay - or two.....
    

Well, there you have it. Here's at least 10 ways to relax in your garden and I'm sure there are a heap more.

How do you find you're able to switch off and enjoy your garden? Do you have a way to relax that could work for others?







Posted by Stuart | Permalink | Comments (6)

It's your worst nightmare. You arrive home eager to get out into the garden only to find that it no longer exists. No plants. No flowers. And a trail of destruction left behind.

At first you blame it on some random weather pattern until, on closer inspection, it proves that human nature - not nature itself - is at fault. Some revengeful neighbour, arrogant council workers or disenchanted juveniles decided that your garden was a prime target for venting their frustrations.

And the mess they leave - heartbreaking.

1. Deborah Dale

   If you haven't heard the story regarding Deborah Dale's garden and her run in with the City of Destruction then you might want to check your pulse, or come out from under than rock.

   Dale's curbside garden was mowed down and destroyed by zealous council workers who mistook her garden for an unkempt lawn - easy enough to do if you're completely stupid.

   BTW - check out the before and after pics. If this is the way Toronto beautifies their city, I'm probably going to remove it from my To-Visit list.
   

2. Brenda Sherriff

   
   Brenda's story isn't too dissimilar except this time it wasn't the council with an axe to grind but a neighbour with hired help. Sherriff had been out while her neighbour's contractor had decided to do a little more pruning than was required [Link since removed].

   "I thought he was just going to cut back the foliage over the other side of the fence. But when I returned home he had been in my garden, hacked my plants to bits and even cut a tree down."

   The damage bill is expected to be more than £2,000 but money doesn't buy your garden back.
   

3. Stolen Trees

   
   While this horror story occurred against a local government, it's not unusual to hear similar tales about personal home gardens.

   Two 2m high Yuccas were stolen from an inner city garden with no trace of the culprits. An easy target, newly planted trees are increasingly becoming the focus of opportunistic gardeners or bored teens. In this case, it was probably the former as Adelaide suffers more water restrictions and the price of this size genus is much more than a punnet of flowering annuals.
   

4. Neighbours who don't appreciate your front-yard vegetable garden

   Bob Waldrop of Oklahoma City met with numerous code violations when he planted out his corner garden with fruit trees, vegetables and berries. Most of these were neighbour initiated as they found the garden distasteful, especially in the early years.

   This is not the last time we'll hear about this problem as more gardeners test the legal bounds of their council's bylaws and neighbour relations fray over differing opinions.
   

5. Vagrant gangs turn this garden into a toilet

   
   Imagine planning a beautiful garden only to find it completely taken over by pests - pests of the capricious human variety. This gorgeous garden in Edinburgh was closed in 2003 as it was being used by drug addicts and recently re-opened to the public. Unfortunately, it's now closed again.

   Beer-drinking mobs occupied the garden from 8:30 in the morning onwards, getting drunk, lighting fires and then using the garden as a sewage facility. Such a waste.
   

6. Sewage covering your garden after every downpour

   
   This must be the ultimate garden horror story.

   Since 1998, residents of Awdry Avenue face the unpleasant *complete understatement* event of having their gardens completely covered with a foot or more of sewage water. Once the flooding has subsided, everything needs to be jet washed down and cleaned up until the next downpour.

   Not only would the flooding be frustrating but having to deal with human waste floating round your backyard would be enough to send any person insane.
   

7. 20 cars crash through your garden

   
   Living on a bend can be an almost fatal affair and this garden has now been locked up and its owner won't allow his two young children play in it. In the past 6 years, 20 cars have crashed through his front wall and landed in his garden and it's only a matter of time before someone dies.

   Could you imagine trying to landscape around this hazard? Every time a car came around the corner you would be wondering whether your summer annuals are going to see past spring.
   

I'm sure there are plenty more garden horror stories out there so if I've missed some feel free to drop a link in the comments box.

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Is it wrong to covet a neighbour's garden?

Well, is it?

Isn't it our aim as gardeners to make everyone want our garden? I guess to some extent it is, but mostly we garden because we love it. If others appreciate our little portion of world beautification then it's a bonus, but our hobby doesn't stem from enticing others to desire what we've achieved.

I can appreciate my neighbours garden without craving to have it, or a garden like it.

I'm using the term 'neighbour' quite loosely because some of the gardens I covet are not even in my suburb. Some don't even reside within my state, and some aren't even grown in this country. But, in a global-village-kind-of-way they are still my neighbours... and I still lust after their gardens.

5 Reasons why it's bad to covet your neighbour's garden

• There's nothing they do that you can't - especially if they're literal neighbours. Every plant that grows in their garden could grow equally as well in yours. Your soil could be as healthy, your plants as pest-free and your flowers as big (if not bigger).

  True, they may have more money than you and able to hire the best landscaper's etc but if you're lusting after that then you might want to get your head read. Most of the gardens I covet have very minimal landscaping and structural features but use what they have and adhere to the adage..."if you've got it - flaunt it."

• Competition is for the soccer field - unless, of course, you struggle with Ugly-Parent-Syndrome - then it's probably best to stay away from the soccer pitch altogether.

  Seriously though, when you covet your neighbours garden there is a tendency to either give up and not even try or worse, take up the challenge and begin competing with them. When we start competing with our neighbour for "Best Garden in the Street" our knowledge and experiences become treasured possessions that can't be shared for fear of handing over the 'secret herbs and spices recipe'.

  I've always found that the best way to learn is to ask questions from those you admire and be willing to share some of your own experiences. This creates trust and then, mutually, ideas can flourish.

• Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery - unless you're a gardener...then it just shows that you lack imagination. If God had wanted us to all have the same gardens He wouldn't have bothered giving us millions of plants. He could have just come up with the Home Depot range.

  Sure, it's okay to like someone else's garden and appreciate their creativity and talent but to want to copy it is another thing.

  I love to be inspired by another's garden, take some ideas and then form them into something unique for my own garden. I guess this is why I balk so badly at garden gnomes, gazing balls and tacky water features. It's because they say originality as much as "What's a nice girl like you doing in a place like this?"

• You're garden is special - and your garden should reflect that. It is yours, after all. You need to take some pride in what you're creating and elevate your own gardening achievements without comparing them to next-doors.

  Put up a sign in your front yard that says, "This is the only garden of its kind in the world," if you need to remind yourself.

  The plot of land you're working with has its own demographics. Divots, culverts, mounds, bogs, groves whatever. Use whatever feature you have and create something entirely unique. If you're always looking at your neighbours garden you'll find yourself wanting to remove some of the features that could become the beauty spot of your garden.

• What are you missing out on? - when horse and carriages once ruled the motorways they would put 'blinkers' on the side of the horses eyes. This would stop them from looking around and being enticed from the direction they were supposedly heading.

  If we spend too much time coveting our neighbours garden we can easily miss what is going on in our gardens and in others around us. Our focus is consumed by the garden we desire that we can actually miss the more desirable.

So, next time you find yourself looking over the neighbours fence make sure it's because you're trading ideas. If you begin to covet what your neighbour has created, I can guarantee that you will end up despising gardening altogether.

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Autumn is not the most exciting season in our garden, so I don't have a lot to share with you. But, I do have a few good pics that can display some of what's going on.

Enjoy...

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Yesterday was Anzac Day, a midweek public holiday and a chance to catch up on some much needed rest - I've been fighting a flu since Sunday.

Apart from sleeping in and taking my time to get my act together, it was an opportune occasion to head into the garden. The big project of the day was removing our damaged hedge. Our goal was to also get down to Margaret River's Lavender Farm and look for a new variety to hedge our garden - but we ran out of time and will hopefully get there on the weekend instead.

It was an interesting experience ripping out a group of plants that you have tended for a couple of years. I remember when we first planted these - all grown from cuttings - and the time it took for them to be firmly established. Growing a hedge is no afternoon picnic.

Once the plants were out, there was a sense of freedom from having to live with a hedge that would take some time to regrow but also we could look forward to planting something else. No longer do I have to despise walking past this part of the garden.

That's not all. The amount of green waste I was able to collect from these bushes is enormous so I'm opportunistically looking forward to starting a new batch of compost. And, we even found some plants that had been smothered by this monstrous vegetation that were still alive and thankful for some breathing space.

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For non-gardeners, or those who like to garden - so long as it can be done within TV ad breaks, designing your garden for low-maintenance doesn't have be a chore. In fact, if you design your garden well then most of your gardening activities can be spent on enjoying the things you like to do - like planting, cutting flowers and trimming your plants to shape.

To achieve this there are certain gardening jobs that you may want to avoid in the planning process. These chores are usually quite time-consuming, take a heap of effort and in some cases be quite banal. So which jobs can be avoided? Check these out;

1. Lawn Edging - this is by far the most time consuming task one could perform in their garden, especially in the warmer months. Design your lawns to butt against a wall or a fence rather than run into garden beds. This will allow you to use a brush cutter or line trimmer to keep the lawn under control. Exposed edges will always require edging to keep them from extending their boundaries and looking neat.

Time saved each week: For a small lawn at least 20 minutes in spring and summer.

2. Hedge Trimming - if you would rather watch football or clean the oven than get out in the garden, plan your landscape design without hedges. Depending on what plant you are trying to hedge will determine how much effort is needed to maintain its look. You can still grow a hedge but choose plant varieties that look good without the formal trim.

Time saved each month: Obviously it depends on the hedging plant and how many hedges you have but conceivably it could save you an hour or more each month by not trimming them.

3. Lawn Mowing - no prizes for guessing that this would be a job to avoid. Rather than spend time mowing and manicuring a lawn opt for ground covering substitutes. These could be plants that don't require as much mowing such as dichondra and chamomile or it could be non-organic coverings such as paving, concrete or gravel.

If you really want lawn, design your areas in such a way that it cuts down the time needed to manicure them. Round your edges rather than allowing them to butt into a 90° corner and try to keep obstacles at a minimum. You could always contract someone else to mow your lawn for you.

Time saved each week: Easily 20-30 minutes.

4. Weeding believe it or not this is one job that can easily be avoided. Design your gardens so that plants grow closely to each other thereby inhibiting weed growth. Use semi-permeable weed-control mats to lay under your mulch or just mulch heavily enough to restrict their growth.

Time saved each week: 10-20 minutes.

5. Digging if you plan to grow vegetables plan not to dig. Create raised beds that don't require any tilling of the soil but are grown on top of last season's compost or layers of straw. Buy yourself a compost tumbler rather than using the bin method.

Time saved each week: 5-10 minutes.

6. Watering this is one job that I'm not a big fan of as it can be incredibly time consuming. Install some garden reticulation and set it up with an automatic controller to come on when the plants need it the most. Then, it's merely maintaining the system for leaks and breakages which in comparison is little time at all. You can even put your hanging baskets and container plants on the same system.

Time saved each week: Upwards of 2 hours or more.

7. Pruning and deadheading this job comes down solely to plant choice. If you opt for plants that are high maintenance in the flowering department you will spend forever keeping the plant in shape and free of dead blooms. This is why many people select foliage plants that don't require this much effort.

Time saved each week: 10 minutes or more.

So, as you can see, with a little design forethought you can easily save yourself a couple hours each week in garden maintenance. Which will give you more time for...gazing.

Posted by Stuart | Permalink | Comments (3)

A garden screen is becoming an essential item for many home gardens as population density increases and it seems your neighbours are getting closer than ever.

So, to make our gardens a little more private and reclusive gardeners are creatively adding garden screens. It's not that we don't like the neighbours - we just like plants more. We would rather walk out the back door and be transfixed by a collage of colours, smells and textures than confronted by the neighbours washing line or sea of car bodies and parts.

Call us hermits if you like, but most gardeners enjoy a sense of tranquility around their homes. I would even venture that most home owners seek the same thing - a place where they can escape the busyness of daily life and relax without focusing on the neighbours lack of gardening imagination.

So, how do you create a garden screen? Well, there are many options available and they can each be assessed by your desired level of ongoing management. For some, a garden screen needs to be a living thing such as plants while for others it may just be a thing of beauty such as a mosaicked wall or a textured fence.

Here's a list of options;

• Hedges - certainly not an option for the person looking for a low-maintenance idea. Hedges can be created from a multitude of plants including, but not limited to, conifers, gardenias, murrayas and even agonis. They can be shaped either formally or in contemporary designs to reflect your garden style.
• Screening Plants - while hedges are created from plants using screening plants usually requires little pruning or maintenance. Provided the shrubs are planted close enough and can grow well together they can form an informal hedge or a just a random planting of more than one species.

  Options as screening plants may be hibiscus, hop bushes, grevilleas and pittosporum.



• Bamboo - is a great option for creating a garden screen. I've talked about bamboo before and the great alternatives to using non-invasive species. In the right setting, bamboo can easily create an idyllic hideaway and mesh with your garden design.

  Bamboo are screening plants that can quite densely, and quickly, fulfill your garden screen needs.



• Fences - now plants have one downside - they take time to grow. And if you can't wait two or three seasons before that hideous view is blocked out then erecting a new wall or fence may be the only option. You may even find that extending the current fence is also an achievable possibility.


• Climbers and Creepers - if you do go down the Fence or Wall path then covering them with a creeping plant or a climber can hide the harshness of constructed materials. You may also find that rather than building a fence or a wall you could erect some trellising that will allow a creeper to cover it.

  Here's a couple of options for some different creepers and climbers.



• Trees - if you have enough space, the canopy of a small-medium sized tree may even be a possible garden screen option. Growing trees will usually be the slowest method of screening out unwanted views but they can be very effective. When selecting trees as an option choose evergreens rather than deciduous or you will find that for half of the year that unwanted view will continue to reappear.

It certainly isn't hard to create a garden screen and depending on your design, time availability and climate conditions, you should be able to find an easy answer to enjoy your privacy.

Posted by Stuart | Permalink | Comments (4)

For the person who has everything you might consider a little piece of eco-art, maybe a herb to decorate that blah! wall which once housed the outdated suede effects.

Drosera, a New York urban ecology-focused company has prepared some great herbarium sheets for customers to purchase. The sheets, which are unframed, carry a pressed original native plant (originally considered 'weeds'), their origin and a little of its history.

They aren't forthcoming with the price of each piece but one could safely assume they're targeting the organic-Chardonnay set.

For those who live in New York, Drosera's site has a wealth of information about many of its native flora.

Link via Treehugger

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Only one week out from autumn and our plants are already gearing up for a break. And who would blame them? They've been flowering their little heads off and deserve a well-earned rest...

Feel free to make suggestions or comment on what you've seen.

Posted by Stuart | Permalink | Comments (2)

Your garden, if it's anything like mine, is a powerful source of downtime. It's a place where one can hermit-ize themselves from the outdoor world and refuel, taking time to reflect and refocus my thoughts.

There have been many times when life has countered some body blows and I've found that an hour sitting in my garden has completely altered my perspective on the situation.

And as I've reflected on what parts of the garden aid this meditative process I've since found that there are a number of design elements that work for me, and you may find work for you and your garden as well.

Before I disclose them, it might be worth mentioning that I'm not talking about zen gardens, feng shui or creating your garden as some shrine to a little known god. I'm talking more about designing a garden that helps you to stop and 'smell the roses' - so to speak - and being able to collect your thoughts in a safe refuge.

So how do you go about creating it? Here are some elements that I find work really well;

1. Shade - perhaps it's just because I'm a gloomy person that I prefer to sit in darkness. Not really. It's the dappled shade and the way a tree canopy can filter light and dynamically alter it via its movement that seems to work.


2. No visible fences - its not possible for most gardeners to remove their boundaries and cast their eyes over the rolling hills. However, it is possible to completely cover your fences with living plants so that they can't be seen. I find this is a big part of being able to reflect in your garden is to feel that there are no limitations to your refuge world.


3. Running water - in a meditative garden one of the key elements is to have the sound of water running in the background. This is why many people now include water features in their landscape. It shouldn't be a gushing waterfall but just a gentle trickle.


4. Wind chimes - now these are not my idea of a meditative element. In fact, if wind chimes were in my garden I would have throttled them with a hammer within half an hour. But, some people find them very relaxing and enjoy hearing the breeze orchestrate a small symphony in their gardens.


5. Relaxing chairs - adding some relaxation chairs such as the ever comfortable Adirondack chairs, a banana lounge or a rope hammock can really set the mood and put you in a meditative frame of mind - that is, if you don't fall asleep.


6. Add some birds to the setting - you don't have to create your own aviary to enjoy birds in your garden. Many gardeners choose to tempt the native birdlife by erecting a bird feeder or locating a bird bath for them to preen themselves in. However, their gentleness and unflustered lifestyle can be a real boost for a meditation garden.

So there are a few design elements I've known to work for me. There may be others that you find helpful as well and I'd love to hear what other elements you would put in a meditation garden.

Whatever they are the purpose of the garden is to be a mediative refuge where you can escape the hustle and bustle of the outside world and reflect on the things that are wonderful.

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Our regular home garden update. Enjoy...

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Week 6's instalment. Enjoy.

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My apologies for missing the last installment of our Weekly Garden Update. Life became a little hectic last week.

Anyway the show must go on...

If you have any suggestions or you would like me to show you particular parts of our home garden, please mention them in the comments section.

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Now that we have DSL a whole new world is opening up to us - literally.

I am finally able to scour Google Earth and I thought I might give you a picture of where we live so that you can better understand what I'm talking about in some of my posts.

Here's the key landmarks;

1. Our Home - Less than 2 km (1.24 miles) from Geographe Bay we live about 1m above sea level.

2. Busselton Jetty It is said to be the longest wooden pier in the Southern Hemisphere but these days it's becoming a political bunfight as much needed repairs are going to cost millions.

3. Vasse-Wonnerup Wetlands - These wetlands are now part of Ramsar's Wetlands of International Importance. Teeming with local flora and fauna this wetlands area encompasses more than 1000ha.

4. Bunnings - Maybe the equivalent of the US Home Depot but nowhere near as bad. I'm a self-confessed Bunnings groupie and wear my free t-shirt with pride - when I'm painting.

5. Our favourite nursery This has just been sold and unfortunately the last owners let it run down too much. Most of the plants were potbound and/ or stuggling.

6. Vasse Diversion Drain - Most of Busselton is low lying flood plains so the council built a diversion drain to take most of the runoff back out out to see. However, in 1997 (6 years before we built here) it flooded.

Anyone else want to share their Google Earth map?

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After a few requests from some readers for more photos of our garden I thought I would add an ongoing series that I would try and keep up to date every Saturday. I will try and show you what plants are doing well, those that aren't and even some of the projects we are currently embarking upon.

Here's the first instalment.

Let me know your thoughts and suggestions.

Read on if you're after the transcript because you can't see the slideshow.

Continue reading "Weekly Garden Update - Week 1 2007" »

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For some time I've kept a cherry tree in a tree bag waiting for some construction to be completed so that I could plant it. Some of you may remember the day I did finally plant it out and what a relief it was.

Our climate is a little too warm to grow cherries normally so every time my cherry tree would blossom it would never result in producing fruit. The tiny flowers would just wither and die.

Well...I'm here to show you my very first cherry...

Actually, I wish that was how my first cherry looked. Here's the real un-Photoshopped version

Something else had already found my cherry even though I had been watching it ripen for days. Needless to say I was a little less than happy....Trying to be organic has nobs on it!

This cherry tree was a present from my sister nearly 4 years ago and this is the first season that it's been in the ground. Unfortunately it was the only blossom that continued to mature but I'm optimistic - at least it produced one!

So, I shall feed it again with some good fertiliser, continue to mulch it with a feeding mulch and make sure it gets watered well over the summer growing season. Hopefully next year will be even more productive.

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Saturday soccer has finally finished for another year, the weather is becoming more enjoyable to work in and we actually had some resources laying around to finish off a few projects. Not a bad weekend at all really!

My main assignment this weekend was to lay the concrete slab for the first of our water features. I started preparing the location for this at the beginning of July but the weather and other commitments have kept me from getting back to it.

However, it's done now and curing well especially with all this rain we've had since Sunday. The plan is that I'll start on some of the brickwork this weekend (weather permitting) but after that we're on holidays for a couple of weeks and won't get back to it until after then.

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The next project has been clearing up our future vegie patch. We had to haul a couple of trailer-loads of dirt to raise the level which Deb and I did during the week. Then we went and sourced some free woodchips (provided we load it ourselves to cover it all.

The kids playset will reside here for the next year or two as we finish off some of our larger projects (shed, pergola, chicken coop...) and then we'll start with the vegies. The wonderful thing about having sawdust here is that it's great softfall for the kids but will break down over time and add to the soil.

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But, that's not all...

My darling wife wanted to redesign our side garden which we had basically completed 18 months ago. This little rejuvenation program involved ripping up some slabs, pulling out a mountain of dichondra, altering some reticulation and forming a couple of extra garden beds.

Not that I'm averse to having more garden beds, I just thought we might be free from redesigning the garden for a few years yet.

Along the way we discovered this little frog informing us that our efforts have not been in vain. Roy would be able to tell you what type it is I'm sure...

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Here's another plant that is flowering for the first time this year in our garden. It's been growing well over the past three years and almost produced buds last year but seemed to run out of time as the season drew to a close.

While it's not an Australian native, originating instead from South Africa, it does reside in our backyard native garden. It's featured before in a post of mine when I showed my favourite garden aspect (it's behind the blue fescue).

It begins flowering from August through November on horizontal branches. The flowers, known as inflorescences, bloom at the end of each stem in clumps of 2-3. The leaves are quite hard and pointy at the ends.

Leucospermum "Pincushion" can be grown from seed that is produced within the flowers but it's not an easy proposition. They are hard nut-like seeds and in a natural setting would only propagate after a fire. Therefore, if you try to propagate these you may want to use heat to crack open the nuts and plant the seeds in early autumn.

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We started a new project this weekend (like we didn't have any others already on the go). Alas, we didn't get too far though before the weather, social commitments and general weekend laziness forced it to the bottom of the feeding chain.

We're about to start building the first of two garden water features. This one is very formal and will take up the complete side of the fence that is showing in the photograph. It starts from the where the crab-apple tree garden ends and will run the length of one section of fence (approx 2.4m - 7.87ft). It will have two levels, the upper one almost reaches the top of the fence and will contain the pipes for the water to flow through while the second one will contain the pond and an assortment of water plants and various fish.

The first stage of this project is to pour the concrete slab for the water feature to be founded on. In order to do that I need to connect the reticulation pipe that will run from my shadehouse (another future project) to the main irrigation pipework. The electrical cable, though not connected yet, was already dug in prior to the turf being laid and will be hidden from most views. This cable will power the water flow and may also be the source for some low voltage lighting.

The preparation for concreting is being done now because I need to mix some cement for the paving in Deb's garden room. The paving has all been laid now and will need to be lifted and cemented into place.

Stay tuned for further updates...

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The focal point of our new garden room is this bird aviary that we have been constructing from recycled materials and some local bush poles. As you can see it's not huge and won't accomodate a vast array of birds but there will be enough room to enjoy a few. We're planning to host some finches and quails at the moment but later may decide to go a little more exotic and include lovebirds or canaries.

Building a bird avairy outdoors is not as onerous as one might assume and can be constructed from very minimal resources. The materials we are using for this design are; bush poles for the uprights, corrugated mini-orb sheeting to protect them, thatching for the roof and wiremesh to encase it all.

It certainly won't be a construction that Aviary Weekly (if there is such a thing) will display on the front cover but it will suffice for our purposes. The aim of building this bird aviary is to tie in with the garden room theme and also to add some interest as we, and our visitors, pause for a time.

Outdoor aviaries, like water features and fountains, can provide a great focus to relax and unwind. The beauty with an aviary is that unlike a water feature you can watch little creatures go about their business without too much fuss or anxiety and they sing while they do it. I'm looking forward to sitting in this 'room' and enjoying their activity.

BTW - we had grand visions of which birds we could stock in this aviary until we talked to our local pet store owner. We found out that there are many birds that can't dwell together in the same cage so if you are planning to build your own bird aviary, ask some questions and consider what birds will live together happily (without eating each other).

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One of our weekend projects was to clean up some of the rubbish we have laying around our yard and to install a temporary compost bin. Voila! Here it is in all it's glory.

It's not complete yet as I need to hammer a couple of metal stakes through the inside to ensure it doesn't tip over. As you can see it's constructed purely of 3 wooden pallets which we have scored over the years from bringing some of our project resources onsite. The beauty of this contruction is that it took only 5 minutes to erect and will take even less to dismantle.

This compost bin is also completely portable. If we find that it becomes a nuisance where it's positioned now we can transfer it elsewhere in a matter of minutes.

The grand plan is to erect better built compost bins however the space required is still not available yet and won't be for a couple more months. But in the meantime I was tired of sending all my beautiful garden waste to the tip and finding that I was still needing to import mulch and soil improvers.

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Unlike Alice in Canberra we don't get to see such spectacular autumn colours. Here in Busselton our altitude above sea level is almost zero, we don't suffer from frosts and we're a little higher in latitude than our nation's capital city. All those variables combined suggests that leaf colour during autumn is usually devoid.

However, the closer we get to winter we are treated to such a (minor) magnificent display as the leaves colour and fall all in the same week. Our silver birch here have only just begun to colour and they will be bare within the next couple of days. My magnolia was the same and all that's left is a spindly stalk with tiny buds protruding from branch tips.

Some of our close neighbours have oaks and elms and even they're only recently starting to colour and fall. I think I'd like to witness an autumn where leaf colouring went on for some time and had such vivid colours displayed.

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The weekend started in its normal fashion - rise early to blog before taking No.1 son to his soccer game in Margaret River (60kms away) then back home by 12:00. I sat and read the paper for an hour over lunch before my wife suggested that we do something with one of the dead corners of our garden.

The first step of our garden room design was to erect a fence so that we could hide all the rubbish in one area. The new rubbish area will one day be our spa and tropical rainforest garden but that won't happen until a few other projects are completed. We had already put the posts in the ground a few months earlier but hadn't progressed any further than that.

My wife became inspired with a couple of sheets of colourbond that we had laying around so we nailed them to the posts and found we actually liked the look. We've got a half-dozen buddleias, which we grew as cuttings 4 years ago, ready to plant in front of this "inspired" fence so over time it will become hidden anyway.

The right-hand garden bed is completely shaded so we're planning to grow hellabores, jacobinias, hydrangeas, camelias and rhododendrons there. Some of these we already have but unfortunately we'll have to plan some excursions to the nurseries for the others - that's going to be tough to handle.

Along the fence at the back will be a hedge of buddlieas, some nasturtiums and a cherry tree that has been busting out of its growing bag.

The left-hand side is our veggie patches that we can't work on until we've completed our shed and moved everything from our temporary shed into it. I'm looking forward to this day with eager anticipation. In front of the veggie patch we plan to situate an old bath adorned with strawberry plants - we just have to source an old bath.

In the centre of this new garden room will be a small aviary. We're keen to have some finches and quails to keep our children amused and provide another dimension to our garden.

The floor of this garden room will be crazy paved with slate and river stones with the odd chamomile thrown in to break up the harsh look of the rock.

The entrance to this garden room design is the piece d'resistance. It involves our last of three garden arbors made from jarrah posts and supporting a grape vine over its trellis. The beauty of the grape vine will be its deciduous habit in winter allowing much of the sun to penetrate the garden beds as it lies lower in the sky.

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We had a potting shed at our old house but we're still in the throes of constructing one here. It wasn't really planned as a potting shed, in fact it was an outdoor kitchen for a failed business venture - but that's another story.

This place, that we'll call the potting shed, had a large stainless steel bench at one end with a sink and running water. The sink sat at the far end of this bench and allowed me to throw all my pots into a bleaching solution and then once cleaned they could drain on the bench. Then I would stack the pots into their respective sizes ready for my next potting spree.

The beauty of this shed was that it kept it all indoors and out of the weather. So no matter whether it decided to bucket down large hailstones, I could venture into my potting shed and start propagating some plants or pot up some seedlings. I was only limited by my imagination - and the number of pots I had.

Our new shed will also have an end dedicated to potting up some plants. Alas, this one won't be plumbed so I shall have to fill the sink with buckets of water but it will give me an area to work in.

I've decided the potting shed needs to have these basic elements;

• Sink that's big enough to hold at least 20 - 50 pots


• Bench space to allow you to lay out enough pots that can be planted at once.


• Storage for your potting mixes


• Somewhere to drain and store your pots and seedling trays


• Storage compartments for your seeds, pot labels, string or tie wires, and a place to store your plastic covers


• And finally, a big window so that you can look out and enjoy the garden and dream of what it will look like with all your new seedlings planted

That's the potting shed - a place where gardener's dreams come true (even if it may only be in their lucid imaginations).

And where else are you going to mount that copper weathervane?

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The shed project has gone on hold for the time being awaiting another injection of funds. This will hopefully happen around September/ October which will be perfect weather to get into some serious construction. Not!

It seems that there is this cycle of money and time in our lives but they never appear to coincide. At one point you may have heaps of time but you don't have the funds, while at another point you have the money but just can't organise to have some spare time - or it's raining!

So the shed project is on hold. However, we have some wonderful friends who have just completed a renovation on their house and were left with a heap of timber which they wanted to get rid of. Enter stage left (Scavenger Stu) who for the price of removing it from their lawn ended up with all this new project resource. Alas, very little of it is useful for the shed but I have other ideas in mind.

The new project is to construct a couple of garden arbors. The first one, seen below, is to cover our garden bench. We plan to put some trellis on it and grow some sort of climber which we are undecided about at the moment. The obvious choice for our cottage style front garden is some Chinese Wisteria. However, I've also been toying with the idea of some Clematis. Any ideas?

Grapes isn't an option because we are soon to construct another arbor out the back which will house a variety of grapes (yet to be sourced also!).

Creating this arbor hasn't been a stress. The four supporting posts already had stirrups on the bottom which only required me to use a spade bit on the sleepers which were already then and then drop them into the holes. The rebates had already been cut out and the bolt holes had already been drilled. It's starting to sound like an IKEA project already.

I had to leave the roof beams due to time constraints but will hopefully get back to it this weekend. Then it's just a matter of attaching some wooden battens for the trellis, a coat of paint and voila it'll be ready for something to be planted over it.

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As you can see some progress is being made with the front annual borders. As I said in my previous post we have planted a mixed orange and yellow cosmos at the back, purple lisianthus in front of that, pink and purple asters hiding them and then flattened out with some white alyssum at the front.

I'm so looking forward to seeing this picture come to fruition. The cosmos is already showing some signs of life and it shouldn't be too long before the alyssum graces us with its presence.

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