It is a rather pathetic new planting—a last minute, much belated rescue attempt to save the cane palms (Chrysalidocarpus lutescens) I inherited from Brigitta and Elise, which I have been neglecting. Hidden amongst the foliage of the garden bed directly in front of the house it was easy to pass them by. In pots long… Continue reading Palm Rescue
Category: ZONE 1
Kookaburras
They sit completely still on a low branch of the jacaranda, the laughing kookaburras (Dacelo novaeguineae) which visit Matthew’s garden. The garden has been almost completely neglected and is in the process of re-wilding—an interesting experiment, or perhaps re-wilding is an over generous descriptor.I wonder what the kookaburras might find there. Lizards? Though only small… Continue reading Kookaburras
Lolly wrapper
Bright as a lolly wrapper it was impossible to miss. But how did it get there at the base of the Brush box (Lophostemon confertus) across the road on the nature strip between the road and the railway line where the council workers mow and whipper snip diligently. Small and nestled against the trunk of… Continue reading Lolly wrapper
Hackberry joy
The Hackberry (Celtis occidentalis) is a ‘reluctant’ deciduous—that’s how I think of it. Reluctant because it loses its leaves without any colourful fanfare. Leaves slough off in such a way that you think, perhaps it is dying? Even towards the end of winter the trees along the railway line, where they proliferate, still hold onto… Continue reading Hackberry joy
New garden bed
Raise the earth towards the sun. Raise the plants out of the shade. Will it work? I don’t know but the new raised garden bed is finished and I am waiting for the sun to return, to rise above the house which casts its shadow all winter. First plants I want to plant are broad… Continue reading New garden bed
Rain
It seems to me that since the drought broke in 2020 it rarely simply rains—rather it pours with a weight and drenching urgency. Water. Cloud. Rain. How can there be so much water in the sky? The thousands of litres floating, defying gravity until it doesn’t. And falls. It has been called a sky river… Continue reading Rain
Channel-billed cuckoo
The squawk, squawk, squawk of a baby bird begging for food itches in my ear… squawk, squawk, squawk. But it’s rougher, more irritating, scratchier than squawk, squawk, squawk. I go out onto the veranda because I know this baby bird is in the jacaranda…squawk, squawk, squawk. I search for it. First I see a currawong… Continue reading Channel-billed cuckoo
4 stages to Summer
We have passed the Summer solstice and so are heading towards Winter again. But before we turn fully away from the Spring here is that familiar transition from Winter to Summer as expressed by the interwoven wisteria and jacaranda. The blossoms come, the leaves come, the blossoms fall, the leaves come… the blossoms fall but… Continue reading 4 stages to Summer
What lies beneath
Fungus, they appear seemingly out of nowhere. But this nowhere is not nowhere but the life-full earth. Neither plants nor animals they have a kingdom all of their own. They web the earth with a super network of connectivity and partnership, unseen, until the rain calls up a fruiting body, sometimes elegant, sometimes delicate, sometimes… Continue reading What lies beneath
Is it the ground?
The thin trunk and the thinner branches are covered with scaly encrustations from some sort of bug infestation. The tree, a eucalyptus (Eucalyptus saligna) is dead. It must have been struggling. This strange spot between the two houses is perhaps inhospitable. The four blueberry ashes (Elaeocarpus reticulatus) have slowly died. Two have already been removed.… Continue reading Is it the ground?