My gardens ( 3 )

My gardens ( 3 )

Posted on 26 Aug, 2008 18 comments

After living for 16 years in the old house we decided to build a new house on the farm. We picked a good location on another slope, had a bulldozer in to level it out, piled the rocks up in the front, installed the draining system, organised a concrete pad to be put in place and started building. From clay near the dam we build mud bricks. The ground floor was entirely build outof mudbricks, whilst boards made up the second story. It took 4 years to complete, as hubby had of course the orchard to tend to as well. Whilst building, it virtually was impossible to start shaping the garden, even though I always cleared any rubble away immediately. One cannot work in a mess. A huge big blackbutt ( Eucalyptus patens ) was just outside the garage and leaning over heavily. But I managed to keep that tree for quite a few years on, although in the end it just about keeled over from old age and we finally had to take it away, as it was gradually obstructing our entrance. But at least for the time being it gave the garden some character. In the last months of building and I knew for sure no more trucks with building materials had to be parked right in front, I started gardening. We placed a large log ( yes, we did have a tractor of course ) at both ends, and filled the space in between them with soil, spread it out evenly and right against the brick paved veranda. I seeded grass and also got runners from the buffalo grass at the old garden. These grew well. As it was still winter I could transplant my favourite roses and planted them at the edge of the garden in front, so they’d be in a sunny position. In between the rocks were some gumtrees and I also pushed and pulled the smaller ones to such a position that I would have a path to walk on in between the large boulders. I created a rock garden. Later on I planted more roses in between the rocks. We moved in November. The lawn barely established we already made good use of our garden for a special occasion: our son got married in the garden that month. At least there was a little bit of garden, the roses had budded and I had borrowed huge plants in pots which I placed on the other verge, so at least if felt a bit homely. I had also had planted some Madonna lilies ( white lilies, I don’t know what their botanical name is ) and they were just all out in time. I had even picked a bouquet of them and had put them in a vase on the table where the papers were to be signed.
The winter that followed, I planted out the Boston palm tree, which my father gave in 1986 and which I kept in a pot for one year and 5 4 year old Catalpa trees, which were dormant. One in the corner, so you wouldn’t drive into it when turning into the garage, two between the rocks and two on the side of the house. The palm got an honour place near the edge of the lawn. Our garden had been temporarily fenced off with a farm fence to keep nosey cattle out, but now we replaced this by a post and rail fence and it looked real friendly and country like. It proved the parking spot for all those magpies, whom I soon befriended with crumbs and crusts. A higly illegal action, but what the heck! I just loved to hear them guggle and chuckle in the morning as soon as it was getting light. No need for an alarm clock there! After breakfast I always went outside with the wooden breadboard filled with crusts. I then wiped them off the board underneath the Catalpa tree and my wedding ring would hit the board and in they flew from the treetops around the house and further away. They really are sweet birds, the only time to watch out for them is when they’re nesting as when you approach the trees where they nest they come swooping down and nearly peck your head. But that only happened when I walked the dogs across the farm into the forest and I always saw them coming so I waved my arms. Never been pecked at. Some years later hubby made me a birthday pressy. He made a pergola at one end of the lawn, slightly lower, so you’d step down to it. I grew white jasmin up against the posts. But not only I liked it, the cows thought the same. They always ate the ends which were near the fence, lol. I decided to plant the Seafoam little white rose there, so they’d stay away. That helped. Where the paving ended and before the fence I made a small fernery with some white begonia’s. We put some chuck wire up against that bit of the fence so no lurking cow tongues could get hold of any of them. In summer we always sat there having our pre dinner drinks and from there we could see the end of the farm and to the top of the drive, and were always ready in time when surprise visitors arrived. We were 600 meters away from the road. Slowly we befriended our wildlife. Little blue fairy wrens came quite close up to us and we fed them biscuit crumbs. It was wonderful to see them bring in their noisy little offsprings in spring. In spring we were always plagued by marsh flies and we just sat there with a fly swat hitting the darned things. But then….we threw them to the little wrens, and they just loved them! You should have seen them with one or two of these marshflies in their little beaks, head and feet poking out from either side of those beaks. Off they flew to the babies, who for ever were screaming for more, even though they were nearly their parents size. It really was wonderful living like that in the middle of the bush. Once we had a terrible fright when a tigersnake ( venomous ) decided to pay us a visit on the pergola. My hubby jelled out:” A snake”, and I screamed back ( even though I was right next to him ) :”Where?” But he needn’t have answered cause I saw it slither up the log onto the lawn. Immediately I reacted and called the dogs to follow me inside. But our blue heeler was getting deaf in her old age and she just stood there, whilst this snake almost slid through her legs. I nearly died. But she didn’t do anything, thank goodness and just looked puzzled whilst the snake disappeared. Phew….we packed up and went inside. That was a close shave. Tiger snakes usually don’t come that far in the hills, they are endemic to the sandy plains, which is 350 m down hill. Anyway, we just continued our peaceful life as if nothing had happened.
I planted all kinds of things: 3 Fuchsia bushes on the side of the house in a sheltered spot, a Blue Moon climbing rose, which really was a bit of a disaster. Lots of Kunzea baxteri ( calistemon species ) Grevillea’s and even more rose bushes. In the flowerbeds above the rock garden I had Snapdragons, Marigolds, Dahlia’s, some other flowers, but not all at the same time.In winter the little blue violets came out, all by themselves, smelling sweet. Each spring I planted different seedlings. I had a Verburnum tinus, which had lovely dark green glossy leaves and white cluster flowers, then blue berries. I had a lavender bush, but it got straggly and I chucked it. Below in the paddock a whole field of them grew, all from its seeds. I planted 3 or 4 Pandorea alba vines against some veranda posts; they grew up to the top story and on towards the roof, before I wildly pruned them. Every year I had to cut them back. In spring they would flower with their white trumpet flowers. It attracted bees, which I often saw crashing down to the ground inside a flower.
Many happy hours were spent in this garden, lots of them sweating away in the heat and dust whilst digging in that gravelly clay soil. Also in summer I mowed the lawn once a week. By now I had bought a Flymo electric mower, wonderful, especially on the sloping side of the house. Hubby had put in an irrigation system for the lawn, which saved the boring task of shifting sprinklers. For water we had a small dam below the house which was spring fed, so we never ran outof water. An electric pump would just pump the water up to the house and the sprinklers would full blast spray out the water over the lawn and plants. Wonderful.

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