For my overseas readers wallabies are small kangaroos.
Small, tasty, kangaroos.
Actually, to be precise they are small, tasty,plentiful, kangaroos that are in imminent danger of providing me with a nutritious lunch, if they don’t stop eating my garden right this second!!!
*takes a deep breath*
Normally the wallabies and I get along quite nicely. They keep the grass down. They only eat the lower branches of my fruit trees and they aren’t as destructive as those rotten, bloody possums.
I loathe possums.Possums will seriously damage a young fruit tree in order to nibble on one or two blossoms. Possums will break half a dozen branches climbing to the top of a young tree and then once they are up there they will break another couple of branches, just for fun as they go about their possummy business.
I went outside today and found that parts of my flower garden had been seriously nibbled. I had planted out some chrysanthemums, pansies and marigolds. The wallabies, thanked me for my thoughtfulness and chomped away merrily. They also had a snack on a pot of geraniums that I had been thinking about planting out into Mum’s garden.
My flower garden is in a constant state of flux. Sometimes it is quite nice but mostly my garden is in a state of rambling neglect. The plants need to be able to tolerate severe frosts, occasional snow, baking heat and prolonged drought. When you factor in wallabies, possums and the occasional passing deer, combined with my she’ll be right attitude you have a garden that looks like this.
Which brings me to the point of this rather rambly post. Mum’s garden.
I have been thinking a lot about the plants that I want to use.They need to be colourful and fragrant, drought tolerant, frost hardy and not on the local wildlifes most nommed list.
This is going to be the site for Mum’s garden. There is a natural hollow there that is filled with the remains of a bonfire at the moment. I am going to put two kiddies clam shells in the hollow and voila we have two frogponds.
Mum liked proteas as well as those giant banksias that were the baddies in snugglepot and cuddlepie. I know those plants fit the climactic bill and are pretty inedible as well.
I have lots of bulbs already. White Nerines in a pot, that I gave Mum one year for her birthday. Red Jacobean lilies that Mum and I got from Nan’s garden. Nan has promised me some orange Tiger lilies as well as some white Christmas lilies.
Mum and I had also gathered other plants from Nan’s garden. An orange climber thing that has bell flowers and seems to be quite hardy, whether it gets eaten or not is another matter.
I have a bell shaped trellis thingy that I was originally going to set up out the front here over an Amy sized wading pool. I had planned to grow kiwi fruit over it and the idea was that Amy could eat kiwi fruit whilst she was paddling in the pool. The kiwi fruit turned out to be the sookiest, thirstiest plants ever and the wallabies adored them. Oh well, the best laid plans…
So I will put the trellis thingy over the frog pond and grow the orange climber up it, along with a lovely white, super smelly, honeysuckle. The small honey-eaters will love it. There is a bird bath down at Mum’s that I am sure was a gift from one of her brothers. I will add that into the mix as well.
I am going to buy some mushroom compost and sheep poo this week and then I can make a start. That is the plan so far. Stay tuned..
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Seems as though you’re going to make that a very pretty place, indeed.
that is such a good idea. It bet it will be beautiful.
Oh, goody! It sounds like it’s going to be a lot of fun to watch grow, Kim!
Sounds like a very good plan. The flowers sound beautiful and I’m looking forward to seeing some pictures too. Hoping the wallabies stay out of it though lol!
Following our bushfire in January we had lots of large Western Grey kangaroos in what little was left of our garden as they were desperate for fodder. They kindly ate the weeds growing on the banking to our house which was very helpful 😉 Now that we have had rain (and boy, have we had rain!) the vegetation they usually feed on has grown back and we don’t see so much of them. Being a transplanted Pom I quite miss them….
Now THAT’s a good idea!!! Looking forward to seeing progress photos!!
You need to surround the garden with a thick fence of plants that will keep the wallabies and possums out, then you can plant everything you and your mum love best. Put a seat (or two) in there as well, so that anyone who visits has a place to sit while admiring the beauty. It’s going to be such a perfect place.
It sounds like it’s going to be beautiful. I’m looking forward to seeing it.
you have to BUY sheep poo?
@ Everyone I will take lots of photos. This project is something positive that I can focus on. And being outside and doing is always much better than being inside feeling sad..
@ Sharon I really like watching the wallabies and I love it when I see one in the daytime. I dont mind the damage that they cause, especially when we are having a drought and food is scarce.I am always very conscious that I am in their environment. I was just surprised that they ate the marigolds. And now at least I know why my mini-chrysanthumums didn’t self seed last year and pop up everywhere like they did in my girlfriends garden..
@ River I have a cast iron garden seat that I bought when Mum and I first started to talk about her garden. So it will be a nice place to sit and birdwatch as well as dream about clay.
What a wonderful altar and testamonial to your mum.
Love,
Suzy
What a wonderful place to be able to go ‘visit’ your Mum!
I can’t wait to see the pics.
good luck with it all.. 🙂