It's actually the front yard, not the back. The back yard is a small paved area with a few pot plants, a vegie patch, an area with a lemon tree and a fejoia, a small propagation green-house and three absolutely gorgeously gnarled Old Man Banksias. After that, it's National Park. We're shortly to fence off the bits of the back yard that I want to keep wallaby-free, so the produce actually happens! But we'll be keeping a "corridor" from the bush to the front garden, which is entirely native, for the frogs, birds, reptiles and mammals to wander through.
Now as for your "pathetic square of dying grass", please feel free to email me with photos, details of where you are (ie, climate), and I'll be more than happy to give you what horticultural advice I can. No one should have a pathetic square of dying grass in Australia. (If I might be so bold, can I suggest that you go to my website, follow the link to ponds, and see my last pond, which I constructed on what had been a seriously dull piece of turf?) Aspiring is good, but realising is far better.
Nice to have you visit. Sometimes, it's good to think of things other than politics!
We would love to get some shade happening in our back yard: something native and fast-growing that offers a lot of cool shade. I have a great fondness for London plane trees, but being an introduced species, I’m not so keen to plant them. Anyway, Wagga has some beautiful parks and gardens that are full of long-established London plane trees: I can enjoy them with a good book and the kids at any time.
It often gets up over 40 degrees in Wagga in summer; it's a very, very dry climate with low humidity (which took a lot of getting used to having come from Sydney). Water is a big problem in the Riverina; it hasn’t rained “properly” for years, and when it eventually does rain, I fear that Wagga will go under water - again. (By all accounts, when Wagga was settled by white folk, the Wiradjuri people warned the newcomers about the floods: the silly white folk didn’t heed the warnings and set up shop regardless. End result – devastating floods).
I best go now and see if Howard has been knifed yet! (I seriously have to step back from the election shenanigans; it’s taking up waaaay too much of my life and causing me to age at a rapid rate).
Regards
David Fletcher
Wagga wagga
PS I’ve been keeping an eye on your web pages for a while; I felt that I had to defend your pond with a comment!
Dear Marg, Ah water! Magical stuff. I understand the pleasure you are getting from your labours. When we [3 of us, self, wife and our close friend] started looking for a property on the Murray about 15 years ago I said I wanted to have a place with 'some water'. Which we got. About 3 square kms of R.Murray lagoon that fronts our place on the cliff above it. A 'big pond'. We have a panoramic view of our own wetland and all that goes on in, on and above it. Simply love it! I should inform you at this point that when it comes to the issue of 'ownership' we do not subscribe to the white male capitalist/feudal sense of ownership. Rather its a sense of being one with the land. We are, or were before his sad demise, friends with the regional indigenous guardian of the river and shared our land and awareness with him and his compatriots. But recently our lagoon has disappeared, well 9 months ago actually. A victim of the water politics. I'm angry that we have lost our 'pond', not because it has gone as part of a natural cycle and would normally reappear in due course but because human interference has distorted that natural cycle so much. I've been away from home for a week and returned yesterday. Still no real lagoon [don't expect to see it back for a year or 2 if ever] but I was pleased to see a thin smear of water making a puddle of about 1 s.km.. Amazing what a southerly wind and 2mm. of rain can do. As I type this I can hear the frogs talking to each other, some swans are having a chat also and earlier today some Caspian Terns were hanging around for the first time in months. Maybe things are getting better. cheers fred
I envision getting a bobcat in to dig a pond of a couple of hundred square metres in the acreage (fingers crossed) I'll buy next week. The reason is that a pond of that size is self-sustaining whereas a small pond can be a burden. Or thats what I've told!
I'd also like a small island in the middle so ground nesting birds can breed free from fox and cat predation.
My camera skills don't match yours but I'll do my best to photograph what I do!
David, if you like I'll look at what acacias are native to your region. They're excellent for giving quick satisfaction: fast growing, water wise, beautiful.
Ack, Fred, what a dreadful tale. It's one thing running out of water because of natural cycles, but entirely another if some bastard has "bought" the water. Our politicians need a serious bomb under them to make them realise that water isn't just for irrigation. Our bloody ecosystems need it too!
Steve, I can't tell you (or maybe I already have) how jealous I am of your acreage and your planned dam. With an island for the birds?! Consider me drooling.
Please, please, lots of photos, and let me (us) know when you've done the deal on the property. Fanbloodytastic.
Dear "Lomandra",
ReplyDeleteYour pond looks like a pond to me!
I LOVE your backyard, it makes my backyard look like the pathetic square of dying grass that it is.
Perhaps I should set an aspirational target to upgrade my pathetic square of dying grass!
Best Regards
"Fagin"
Aw, thanks "Fagin". :)
ReplyDeleteIt's actually the front yard, not the back. The back yard is a small paved area with a few pot plants, a vegie patch, an area with a lemon tree and a fejoia, a small propagation green-house and three absolutely gorgeously gnarled Old Man Banksias. After that, it's National Park. We're shortly to fence off the bits of the back yard that I want to keep wallaby-free, so the produce actually happens! But we'll be keeping a "corridor" from the bush to the front garden, which is entirely native, for the frogs, birds, reptiles and mammals to wander through.
Now as for your "pathetic square of dying grass", please feel free to email me with photos, details of where you are (ie, climate), and I'll be more than happy to give you what horticultural advice I can. No one should have a pathetic square of dying grass in Australia. (If I might be so bold, can I suggest that you go to my website, follow the link to ponds, and see my last pond, which I constructed on what had been a seriously dull piece of turf?) Aspiring is good, but realising is far better.
Nice to have you visit. Sometimes, it's good to think of things other than politics!
Margaret,
ReplyDeleteWe would love to get some shade happening in our back yard: something native and fast-growing that offers a lot of cool shade. I have a great fondness for London plane trees, but being an introduced species, I’m not so keen to plant them. Anyway, Wagga has some beautiful parks and gardens that are full of long-established London plane trees: I can enjoy them with a good book and the kids at any time.
It often gets up over 40 degrees in Wagga in summer; it's a very, very dry climate with low humidity (which took a lot of getting used to having come from Sydney). Water is a big problem in the Riverina; it hasn’t rained “properly” for years, and when it eventually does rain, I fear that Wagga will go under water - again. (By all accounts, when Wagga was settled by white folk, the Wiradjuri people warned the newcomers about the floods: the silly white folk didn’t heed the warnings and set up shop regardless. End result – devastating floods).
I best go now and see if Howard has been knifed yet! (I seriously have to step back from the election shenanigans; it’s taking up waaaay too much of my life and causing me to age at a rapid rate).
Regards
David Fletcher
Wagga wagga
PS I’ve been keeping an eye on your web pages for a while; I felt that I had to defend your pond with a comment!
Dear Marg,
ReplyDeleteAh water!
Magical stuff.
I understand the pleasure you are getting from your labours.
When we [3 of us, self, wife and our close friend] started looking for a property on the Murray about 15 years ago I said I wanted to have a place with 'some water'.
Which we got.
About 3 square kms of R.Murray lagoon that fronts our place on the cliff above it.
A 'big pond'.
We have a panoramic view of our own wetland and all that goes on in, on and above it.
Simply love it!
I should inform you at this point that when it comes to the issue of 'ownership' we do not subscribe to the white male capitalist/feudal sense of ownership.
Rather its a sense of being one with the land.
We are, or were before his sad demise, friends with the regional indigenous guardian of the river and shared our land and awareness with him and his compatriots.
But recently our lagoon has disappeared, well 9 months ago actually.
A victim of the water politics.
I'm angry that we have lost our 'pond', not because it has gone as part of a natural cycle and would normally reappear in due course but because human interference has distorted that natural cycle so much.
I've been away from home for a week and returned yesterday.
Still no real lagoon [don't expect to see it back for a year or 2 if ever] but I was pleased to see a thin smear of water making a puddle of about 1 s.km..
Amazing what a southerly wind and 2mm. of rain can do.
As I type this I can hear the frogs talking to each other, some swans are having a chat also and earlier today some Caspian Terns were hanging around for the first time in months.
Maybe things are getting better.
cheers
fred
I envision getting a bobcat in to dig a pond of a couple of hundred square metres in the acreage (fingers crossed) I'll buy next week. The reason is that a pond of that size is self-sustaining whereas a small pond can be a burden. Or thats what I've told!
ReplyDeleteI'd also like a small island in the middle so ground nesting birds can breed free from fox and cat predation.
My camera skills don't match yours but I'll do my best to photograph what I do!
Cheers
Steve
David, if you like I'll look at what acacias are native to your region. They're excellent for giving quick satisfaction: fast growing, water wise, beautiful.
ReplyDeleteAck, Fred, what a dreadful tale. It's one thing running out of water because of natural cycles, but entirely another if some bastard has "bought" the water. Our politicians need a serious bomb under them to make them realise that water isn't just for irrigation. Our bloody ecosystems need it too!
ReplyDeleteGlad you've got frogs. :) Any idea what species?
Steve, I can't tell you (or maybe I already have) how jealous I am of your acreage and your planned dam. With an island for the birds?! Consider me drooling.
ReplyDeletePlease, please, lots of photos, and let me (us) know when you've done the deal on the property. Fanbloodytastic.