the garden progress

 Alright then...here is the garden update from Michelle. YAY! I am not entirely sure where to start. After the fires cleared away a lot of our bush block it looked as though nothing was ever going to grow ever again...ever. But as amazing as Mother Nature is, she started little by little and before long covered everything in a blanket of green. The first thing I wanted to do was to get some little flowering shrubs in. Luckily for us the house we were renting in Wattle Glen had a pretty full garden due to the landlord being a landscape gardener. So I pinched shoots, took cuttings and saved seeds so that we could start someting at our place.

I set up a bit of a ramshackle vege garden that had to keep the rabbits out at the bottom, the kangaroos, wallabies and deer out at the top. I hadn't reckoned on the mice, bush rats and our cute little ratty type native animal, the antechineus (anti-kine-us). Or the birds...

I will pop a few photos up of the journey of the garden to catch up a little bit...Some of the plants which grew up on their own and a few of the ones I planted to encourage the birds and the insects to come and live at our place.

Oh and these guys...

2010 Checking out the vege garden fortress!

2010- that is the vege garden up to the left

a pig-face flower

Pig-Face flowers

viola hederacea- a little native violet

Ranunculus lappaceus- native buttercup

A 'must-have' , the good old lavender

flowers starting to bloom...

This was one of the first cuttings & one of the first to go in

The steps were a moment of greatness. Pippi approves and is often found sleeping on them in the sun.

The daisy bush has been a trooper since the start and is now massive!

The gum trees are all going about their business

Stellaria pungens - Prickly Starwort

The gorgeous Dianella admixta - Black-anther Flax-lily

All of these plants are growing at our place and we have tried to preserve and encourage as many of the local natives as possible. I collect seed, buy-swap-and beg native plants to keep the birds happy. Althouth I do love the pretties like the daisies, lavender and dahlias! Next post from me I will show you a few pics of our little friends that are all living here with us.