lovely lovely gums

Our block includes a few introduced gums, presumably planted as ornamentals. These have flowered through much of winter, and are a joy to have. In permaculture terms, they serve a number of functions, including providing bird habitat (the wattlebirds, particularly, love them) and pollen (if not nectar) for bees at a time when food is quite scarce.

the ‘drying day’ and permaculture principles

For a notoriously unhousewifely person, I’ll admit to one unmitigated housework pleasure – drying laundry on a good old-fashioned clothes hoist. Watch it effortlessly harness wind and solar energy! Towels are drying well with winter sunshine and a bit of breeze.

neglect, forgetfulness and pleasant surprise

Despite best efforts to record and document garden developments this year, I’m rather glad some things have escaped me. Let's call them uncontrolled experiments and pleasant surprises ... Daffodils have appeared between feijoas in the first orchard bed, and broad beans in one of the beds further back.

winter’s mushrooms

Mushrooms are growing all over the grove and lower area of the property. Why so heavy here, I’m not sure. But they’ve sprung up throughout, everything from scatterings of fairy-sized knobbly orange buttons to dense, wrestling clumps of heavy, leathery, soil-encrusted brown wads that break open seams in the damp earth.

drying pumpkin seeds

Successfully dried and lightly toasted pumpkin seeds following the method discovered a couple of months ago. So simple, I'm kicking myself for only discovering this now. A great way to make use of something usually discarded, a free version of something I usually buy, tastier - if I say so myself! 

beautiful tools for a better job?

Does a beautiful tool do a better job?

And is it completely irrational to invest emotion in the tools we use?

the most valuable animal in a permaculture system

Pictured in its winter plumage is the most valuable animal in the permaculture system: the spouse. This particular spouse variety (Fryerstown Fox, common name 'Chris') can be observed clearing away any sticks, stones or other debris, and forming mounds of soil.

class at claudia's

Spent an afternoon at claudia's with permaculture class. Claudia is our sample 'client' for a site assessment activity. Beautiful mudbrick house in bushy block above a creek gully.

the nostalgic fruitgrower

Looking at my most recent plantings, and thinking of the things I've regretted not being able to grow, or secretly dreamed of growing, has started me wondering why fruit trees, more than any other plants, seem so deeply nostalgic.

fruit trees are go!

Big day in the yard Sunday (July 11) as the long-awaited fruit trees were picked up from Katie of Mt Alexander Fruit Gardens at Wesley Hill Market on Saturday morning, and all planted out on Sunday. Only 13 trees, but that was tricky enough, especially doing them alone!

a stitch in time?

Slowly building up beds, planting holes and planting mounds to take fruit trees. First lot are due as bare-rooted trees shortly. Others to be ordered for spring planting. Lessons from past failures have been learnt.

tools, love ’em or leave ’em?

With the husband determined to help out with yard work, he took the big decision to buy an angle grinder, with a view to turning some of the discarded corrie around the place into garden bed retainers. And we both figured it was a tool we’d find more jobs to turn it to once we’d made the commitment. One cut-in-half piece of corrie later, and the angle grinder’s going back to the shop. Refusing to start again!

winter’s depths

Ice on the car windows, ice in the dog bowl, even a layer of ice on the shallow puddle that passes for a dam. If the days have been intermittently bright, and mild, the nights have dropped decisively below zero (-4 in Bendigo last night).

transplanting wattles

Getting sick of buying wattles for windbreaks etc (even though the IGA always has some good local ones to pick from), especially as half of them die before I get organised to plant out. And propogating from seed sounds rather forbidding - and too long-term for impatient people like me. So had the bright idea to try transplanting self-sown ones from round the place.

first winter musings

Winter’s well and truly here, and with it the best and worst of life in Fryerstown. I love winter but the house here is so, so cold and so hard to warm up, and this first burst always brings dread at the three or four months of denying discomfort that’s to come – if I won Tattslotto it would be a designed-from-scratch passive solar house for me. So much for the charms of our relocated suburban 40s weatherboard!