When we moved to our little 5 acre paradise here in Berry, back in 2014, a major part of the attraction, apart from being a wonderful space for the horses, was the beautiful gardens and variety of trees throughout the property. However, one thing was missing, Australian Native Plants. Sure, there were a few ol' gum trees along fence lines, as well as a couple of lovely old paper bark trees … but no flowering Native plants. Australian Native plants are another passion of mine ... Growing up in the country there were many adventures exploring bush around our place and taking in the beauty of the many flowering natives - waratahs, banksias, hakeas, heath plants, giant rock orchids as well as expertly hidden, tiny ground orchards, tree ferns … you get the idea! At the back of our house, the previous owners had established a very beautiful rose garden, in a raised, roughly triangle shaped bed, with sunlight most of the day. Knowing that one day I'd fully "renovate" this space, I contacted the local garden club and donated the rose plants to them, and then planted 3 dwarf grafted gum trees - two reds and an iridescent orange, who's colour has been spectacular each summer since, as well as planting a 2m grevillea 'bush' that quickly over "achieved"! The bed was covered in Liriope plants - an excellent ground cover with a small lilac flower, that had over the years became as thick as carpet, and home to quite a few rabbits and maybe a few other creatures! Anyway, this April I decided it was time to "renovate". The grevillea had become overgrown and messy … it was … retired. Over the next couple of weekends, much to the surprise of the rabbits, the Liriope plants were dug out, and re-homed to the local Men's Shed, as well as to a few other locals who were keen for some freebies! Tough work for an old codger like me, but somehow rewarding. I had a vision of what I wanted this garden to be, to look like, and each hour spent renovating was getting me closer to that vision. The gum trees were shaped and thinned with new buds appearing almost instantly … I guess they were liking what was happening too! The garden bed had a bottom layer of course gravel … perfect drainage, and hopefully great for some native plants from Western Australia.
So, over the next few days, using an old upright trolley, the rocks were transported and rolled into place to form mini-beds. The idea was for the mini-beds to help highlight feature plants, as well as provide a natural path through the native garden. Whether by good design or just plain luck, there were just enough rocks to do the job. Some recycled drip hose and a few new nozzles became the irrigation system. It was now time to decide on plants and their position.
A couple West Australian Kangaroo Paws; 2 West Australian Banksia ground covers; a few prostrate dwarf Acacia's 'Limelight'; yellow flowering and grey leafed Conostylis, planted in a cluster at one end; and grey leaved, yellow flowering prostrate Emu bush at the other. Slowly Eden's Garden was coming together. Plants in pots placed on the garden to get sense of how they would look. A few pots rearranged, and then put back … Our main bathroom looks out on to this garden. Each morning we see birds going about their day in and around the gum trees - I was keen to see how they would interact with the renovated garden. I wanted there to be a feature plant in direct line of sight from that window. The decision was a 'no brainer' … had to be the Waratah with it's stunning deep red flowers in Spring. Even though I'd tried and failed a few times over the years, I was confident that this Waratah would thrive ( or perhaps I was jus hopeful! ) Anyway, Spring is here and the Garden of Eden is looking great. Each morning a pair of Eastern Whip Birds fossick their way around the rocks, Blue Wrens do likewise, Wattle Birds swoop in and take refuge amongst the gums. Lewin's honeyeaters are regular visitors, along with a stunning pair of King Parrots, and Eastern Spinebills.. Safe to say the local birdlife are pretty happy with their new garden too!
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Craig here ...Hi - I'm Craig, the loving and supporting husband to the lovely Sarah :) Archives
October 2019
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