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 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)

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)

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 (8)

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)

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 Cotton Rope 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.

   "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.

Posted by Stuart | Permalink | Comments (0)

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.

Posted by Stuart | Permalink | Comments (3)

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...

Posted by Stuart | Permalink | Comments (3)

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.

Posted by Stuart | Permalink | Comments (0)

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)