Wattles and Bush Regeneration

The group of wattles in the foreground are an example of how the bushland here is slowly regenerating after more than a century of poor management, overgrazing, over clearing and neglect.

When we bought this property twenty years ago this entire area at the head of the valley was an impenetrable mass of blackberries.  Removing these was a one of our first challenges and was achieved without the need for toxic sprays.  Simply hacking them to the ground with a brush-hook and letting the kangaroos graze on new emerginbg shoots did the job.  

After several years these wattles emerged.  They are a pioneer species and many of the older plants  are already reaching the end of their life-cycle perhaps to be replaced by more long-lived trees.  Time will tell.

Trees for Mudgee Honey

Mudgee is famous for its honey. The Yellow Box, Eucalyptus melliodora, is one of the most important  local species that provides an abundant source of nectar.  Yellow Box honey with delicate, fresh floral flavours is one of most popular of all honeys.  In the [pasdt honey production was an imprtant part of life at The Drip and we are still home to huge numbers pof healthy bees.

But over-clearing, excessive use of mature trees for timber and generally poor management practices of The Drip in the past has resulted in very few Yellow Box being left.  As part of our ongoing programme to re-vegetate the property Aran and Julia Creighton planted a grove of twenty five tubestock Eucalyptus melliodora last year.  With abundant rainfall this year, the growth has been remarkable and the young seedlings are already out of their tree guards.  

We expect that in just a few years from now these new trees will be providing valuable nectar for our local bee populations.

Elderberries in an Edible Hedge

 

About ten years ago we started planting an edible hedge in The Nuttery with an assortment of odd plants including elderberries, hazelnuts, damson plums, edible crab apples and medlars.  It was to be a kind of a low maintenance food forest for foraging and would also give privacy to The Caretakers Cottage from The Drip Lane.

To be honest it became a bit of a neglected area and not a lot happened there until this year we decided to give it a bit more attention.  We removed weeds, mulched it, watered it and planted fifty more hazelnuts.

The result has been remarkable.  Not only has everything tripled in size but for the first time this year we have got a huge crop of totally delicious Elderberries.  We tend not to pay much attention to elderberries in this country.  Big mistake. They are totally delicious, not unlike blackberries, but juicier, making a fantastic jam or jelly. They are filled with anthocyanins and anti-oxidants so can provide significant health benefits, although if excessive amounts are eaten raw they can cause nausea.  This winter we will add more of them into our edible hedge.

What's Blooming This Week?

Robin Red-breast Bush, Melaleuca lateritia, is from the south-west corner of Western Australia.  

We have found it grows very happily here in our Water Garden, where it enjoys a moist but well-drained position.

It flowers it midsummer at a time when few native plants are flowering so is proving to be a big hit with the honeyeaters here.

A Dry-stone Wall and Compost.

Peter Marshall is giving The Forecourt a quick upgrade with a new drystone wall and and a raised bed filled with compost.

The stones have all been collected from around the property and the compost is from our composting bins. Very satisfying.

The bed will be planted with aromatic Catmint, Nepeta cataria, featuring delightful pale lilac/blue flowers and silver grey foliage.  This looks fantastic against the soft pinks and earth tones of our local stone and our particular variety is propagated from plants that have grown here in The Old Cottage Garden since around 1880, so we know it survives our conditions.

Protecting Grape Vines from Possums

Possums cause a massive amount of destruction and figuring out ways to keep them from destroying the gardens is an ongoing challenge.

This grape vine, intended to cover a pergola and provide cooling summer shade, has been decimated by possums this summer.  The spiky things that we have now attached to the pergola definitely keep birds from landing.  Will they stop possums running along the timber rails?

Within a week or so we should know the answer.

What's Blooming This Week?

The Red Swamp Banksia, Banksia occidentalis, a spectacular Western Australian species, is commencing its flowering season here at The Drip.

This year, after so much rain,  there are dozens of flower spikes forming. 

Like many plants chosen for the Water Garden it provides a welcome food source for local honeyeaters.