Garden Part 2
Oct 28-Nov2
Celebrating mum's birthday, with tea and cake surrounded by 2 hard day's planting. Still loads to do but it is already taking shape.
The morning before we start plating, I woke at four, with first light as everyone said they wanted to start early but was told that this was above and beyond the call so couldn't raise any of this lot until 7.30am. It was going to be a scorcher of a day so the earlier the planting begins the better.
The walls have been almost finished and the steps are done. So planting began. Jess bought in over 100 plants and we got to work. The rear batter (the high slope) is planted with hardy perenials, nearly all of which will mature to about 1m wide and many about 1m high, giving a dense mosaic effect of strappy textures and lower wooly ground covers. Flower spikes will sprout from the Gymea lillys in about 5 years, reaching up to 3m tall with huge red bird attracting flowers, while a carpet of wild flowers will develop from the small native daisys. Most of the plants are Australian natives with a few New Zealand (the flax) plants, South American and South African additions.
Placing out the plants.
Jessi begining the planting.
Jasper and I digging holes, and planting ornamental grasses and Australian wild flowers.
Jasper's first plant, sown all by himself!
Jess and Jasper busy working, we planted for about 11 hours on Saturday. The ground was incredibly hard and compact and holes had to be big enough for the dirt to be teased up, mixed with organic matter, watered and planted. Hard work on a 1 in 2 slope. Dad and Zoran dug holes. After planting we mulched with straw which will break down and add more much needed organic matter into these poor deprived soils. Once this process is underway, we have about 4 tons of woodchips on the front grass, which we chipped from all of the wood and dead timber lying about the property which we cleared before shaping the garden. We will mulch all of the planted areas with this. It takes much longer than straw to break down and will help with water efficiency and also soil temperatures on this western facing garden. It will also help prevent weed growth. We have tried to maintain a fairly closed loop, with nothing leaving the site - green waste composted, wood waste chipped and used as mulch, soil rearranged to create a usable area without having to haul any off site.
Water restrictions are in place so we can water tomorrow (sunday) with a hose, but today it is buckets, half a bucket per hole and a bit more to water in once planted, lets hope rain comes soon! Jasper was great filling up the buckets for us to pour.
Zoran and Jasper, the busy team, mixing mortar for some more stairs.
The top batter complete. Every day I come up and give each plant half a bucket of water, and we waited a fortnight until - Today it rained (nov 5) (and yesterday too)!! Lovely soaking rain, bedding in the plants and the straw mulch.
There is still plenty more. Here is an image looking down onto the deck where, once this soil is moved and levelled by hand, we will have a gravel area with a water feature, surrounded by small box hedge and lots of green and white. It is a slightly shaded spot and wetter than the top, so can be a little lush in the plant types - a white and green theme with scented flowers.
Photos of Zoran's beautiful stairway next time, when the rain stops!
Txx
