Now that the busy, full-of-travelling months of August and September are over, and ‘all’ I have to do until the end of the year is write a book (!), I’m trying to make sure that I balance my life a bit more: using productive writing time effectively, and using non-writing time to get out of the chair and achieve other things – including some exercise!
We moved into our place over eight years ago, and we always planned to have a garden, but starting from scratch on a block out of town with limited water is a challenge, and an expensive one at that! So, other than a small herb patch outside the kitchen window, we haven’t done a lot yet. Years ago, Gordon fenced a large area a short distance from the house, intended to become the main vegetable garden/orchard, but that’s been waiting all this time for gates and a system to get water from the small dam to the garden – other than lugging buckets!
The landscaping around the house is also a major work – involving drainage systems, earthworks, water tanks and pumps and other structural elements. Our designer friend Kerry has drawn up a preliminary design, so hopefully soon we will get started on stage one of that.
However, I’ve really been missing having a garden – both the pleasure of working in one and eating fresh produce, and the physical exercise and activity in just getting outside on a regular basis. So, on Saturday, Gordon and I went into town and bought a few bits and pieces, and on Saturday afternoon set to work. While I cleared stuff, Gordon mowed the fenced area – it’s 30 metres by 20 metres, so the size of some house blocks. Then we made a gate out of chicken wire and star posts, and hung it. It’s not beautiful, but it’s functional! Yesterday, I raked up the ‘grass’ while Gordon built the first garden box, using railway sleepers we’ve had in anitcipation for years. Then I spread gypsum, to help break up the clay soil, and we spread the raked grass into the garden bed. I still need to cart a lot of soil to build up the garden, and add in whatever organic materials will help eventually make decent soil, and, once I plant, I’ll have to carry water by buckets from the dam nearby, until the landscaping/drainage/tanks/pumps are in place. For that reason, we’ll start with just one garden bed, but eventually there will be several in this patch, plus fruit trees – as well as the eventual landscape garden around the house.
But this is a beginning, and I’m very happy about it. And despite aching muscles from raking and such (it’s a long time since I raked lawns every weekend when I was growing up!), I feel better for the outdoor activity.
Garden beginnings
First layer of material
'Consulting' with the supervisors 🙂
I love my vege patch. Be prepared however – somethings are better bought. I have to say my favs are tomato, eggplant, beans and lettuce. We also have 2 big compost bins. And after spreading it out in the garden each year we get loads of tomato, lettuce and other surpise seedlings popping up out of the compost. They are great. Let me know if you need a good netting company. We have netted our garden and it has really helps with the birds and other night creatures. PS another book. how exciting.
Oh I see excited little sets of skippy, wombat, cockatoo and currawong eyes hiding out in those trees, all beaming over this project. I can imagine the conversation, “Look Mummy. Aunty Bronwyn is growing juicy those green things for us. And she’s put a fence around them to keep those lazy hounds out so we can enjoy our breakfast in peace. Isn’t she kind.”
The resident security guards won’t cooperate. They’ve always thought of green things to be bush dweller wastage food; hardly worth a bark. — Mrs Currawong said her family would like strawberries as well as fresh peas.
Still, I’m sure your bush friends are kind and well behaved. They’ll leave you a pea pod and a bean; just one of each. And you’ll enjoy the satisfaction of knowing someone appreciated the efforts.
Nice to hear all is well in Bronwyn land. Looking forward to number three; and four… —- Eric