Stuff We Like

The Zen temple gardens of Japan, as seen in this photograph of Ryogen in  Kyoto, can provide an ancient inspiration for a modern aesthetic.

Not only is this garden,  with its expanse of raked white gravel, incredibly beautiful and contemplative but it seems that it is also relevant to our garden in other ways.  Dry zones, with the soil protected by gravel mulches,  can be left unplanted creating very pleasing "negative space" within the overall design.  Though the monks who created the Ryogen garden had other things in mind,  at the very least this is a damn good way of saving on water usage and protecting the living soil from intense heat,  both of which are important in these times of global climate change.
 
The Main Courtyard here at The Drip has been filled with locally sourced white limestone grave.  It gleams in the moonlight. 

Midsummer Growth

Midsummer pruning and weeding needs continual attention in the "garden rooms" surrounding the house. These gardens and orchards are the most productive areas of the property and as a consequence are the most labour intensive.

Usually things wouldn't get out of hand like the Cut Flower Garden in the photo above, but as a result of the floods in November everything went a bit sideways.  In the Cut Flower Garden, the lavenders all drowned in the floods and the weeds took over.  Two months later, the soil in here is still very moist , temperatures are consistently high and the growth is exceptional for this time of year.

It will be interesting to see just how long it takes to get this area back to being manageable again.  And once it is sorted out, then ideally a few person-hours a week is all that should be needed to keep this garden attractive and productive.

A New Year and a New Website too

Kim and Jenny McClymont spent New Year here at The Drip, staying in the almost finished  upstairs guest room. Not only did Kim continue work on the dam he designed to slow  the waterflow, trapping silt and flood debris and thus easing erosion in the gully but he also made  another suggestion based on his experience in management with the NSW National Parks service.

As a result of Kim's input  we are now working on a new website which will  be the Standard Operating Procedures for The Drip.  There is a lot of stuff going on here and having a manual like this will be so helpful, not just for us but especially for guests who are not familiar with the in s and outs of life in the country.  The website will include relevant photos, maps, diagrams, plans, useful links etc.

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The  online manual will not be accessible to the general public but  will be limited exclusively to password holders.  Family and friends with access to the site will be able to update the content, contributing to the development of  the operating manual and,  as we now are getting more and more visitors here, people will also be able to use an online calendar to check accommodation availability and  book times that they would like to stay at The Drip.

Notes from the Library

Stacks of new books are being added to The Library,  all funded by having quit smoking.  What a win-win this is!  The new purchases fall into four main categories covering photography, garden/landscape design, food and art.  Recent highlights include

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  "The Wirtz Gardens".  A sumptuous two volume edition featuring all the gardens created by the legendary landscape designer Jacques Wirtz over the last fifty years.   Inspired by these masterpieces we  have commenced the mass production of Box hedging and soon the hill behind the house will begin a transformation influenced by Wirtz. The goal is to plant one thousand new Box plants each year from now on.

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  "The American Wilderness"  Published in 1990 this is the final large format volume of works by the photographer who did more than perhaps any other individual to help the world understand the importance of preserving wilderness areas in National Parks. He was one of the original greenies and a true hero.

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  "The Big Fat Duck Cookbook".  Terry Durack wrote that  "This is not just a cookbook.  It is not just an art book.  It is not just a record of the most innovative and exhilarating self-taught cook ever to have come out of the UK.  The Big Fat Duck Cookbook transcends all others because Heston Blumenthal transcends all others."   Yep!!!

Wollemi Pine Christmas Trees

Its Christmas morning. And it's beginning to rain here at The Drip, serious rain after one of the driest and hottest years on record. Today a new Wollemi Pine, Wollemia nobilis, joins the others we have planted here. We aim to plant another Wollemi Pine in the grove every Christmas.

The Wollemi Pine is one of the oldest and rarest trees on the planet. With less than 100 adult trees known to exist in the wild, the Wollemi Pine is now the focus of extensive research to safeguard its survival. It was discovered in the nearby Wollemi National Park in 1994 and was one of the reasons the Park was recently granted World Heritage status. Wollemi Pine seems to thrive here at The Drip, no doubt feeling right at home.

The photo shows the first Wollemi Pines that we planted here in 2006. These were part of the first worldwide release of Wollemi Pines. Royalties from sales of the Wollemi Pine go to support the conservation of the Wollemi Pine and other rare and endangered plant species.

Birdwatching at "The Drip"

These Powerful Owl chicks were photographed at "The Drip" by the Mudgee Bird Watchers group on Sunday December 13. 

The Munghorn Gap Nature Reserve, adjoining "The Drip",  straddles three distinct eco-systems and as a result is home to a truly remarkable diversity of species of flora and fauna, with more than 160 native bird species recorded.  This environmental richness has made the Munghorn Gap a significant destination for Australian and international birdwatchers. The local bird watching group now visits "The Drip" regularly and is compiling a valuable list of the many species seen here at different seasons. We will post all sightings as they occur, plus additional information on some of our special residents, such as the magnificent Lyrebirds and the endangered Regent Honey Eater.

Other species spotted on November 13, 2009  included:

Black Faced Cuckoo Shrike
Common Blackbird
Common Bronzewing
Currawong
Eastern Rosella
Noisy Friarbird
Yellow Faced Honeyeater
White Eared Honeyeater
Yellow Tufted Honeyeater
Eastern Spinebill
Spotted Pardalote
King Parrot
Kookaburra
Leaden Flycatcher
Lyrebird
Pheasant Coucal
Red Browed Finch
Double Bar Finch
Red Wattlebird
Rock Warbler
Rufous Fantail
Rufous Whistler
Sacred Kingfisher
Silvereye
Straw Necked Ibis
Sulphur Crested Cockatoo
Wedge Tailed Eagle
White Throated Tree Creeper
Yellow Rumped Thornbill

What is "The Drip"?

"The Drip", named after a permanent spring that emerges from the sandstone cliffs of the Great Dividing Range, is a 60 acre privately-owned property 30 kms northeast of the renowned Australian wine-growing township of Mudgee and adjoins the environmentally significant Munghorn Gap Nature Reserve. The World Heritage listed Wollemi National Park, home of the Wollemi Pine,  is nearby.

Settled in the early nineteenth century by descendants of James Blackman, one of the first Europeans to enter the Mudgee valley, "The Drip" was purchased by Clive Poolman and Michael Creighton in 1992 and is being developed as a private eco-retreat for family and friends.  The property comprises a rich mix of natural bushland, including sandstone cliffs and ridges,  grazing paddocks, extensive gardens, orchards and cultivated parkland.  "The Drip" is being developed along green, sustainable, organic principles with a strong  emphasis on minimizing the carbon footprint through use of renewable energy sources and the design of energy-efficient twenty-first century architecture.  Areas of degraded farmland are being regenerated with native vegetation. The restoration of habitat for the local fauna of the Munghorn Gap, particularly the endangered Regent Honey Eater,  is a priority.