Garden Before and In-between Shots

Planting out a garden is primarily an exercise in patience.   Only the very rich and greatly assisted can create an instant amazing garden.  For the rest of us it takes planning, patience and time.  Lots of time. 

I posted about this last time year about the wonderful Apace nursery from which I bought a load of cheap Australian native tubestock to plant in our laneway.  They were tiddly little sprigs of nothing at the time so I thought I should update to show how they have progressed.   I've actually had to cut this all back heaps already because they have been growing lilke billy-oh.

Below is garden bed I planted out in about November with succulents etc.  Every single  plant in here was either a cutting gift from a friend or someone who is not a friend but who's plants hang over their fences.  I know the proper names of virtually no plants, but never forget a gorgeous plant I've seen.  I'm so envious of the brains of people who can casualy drop some latin name of  the plant they happen to be standing next to. 

There's still a way to go here, for all that creeping purple leaf stuff to take off over winter and fill in all the gaps. 

These clay pipes came out of the building site when they took down the old washouse.  They don't make em like that any more.  Today pipes are all white plastic and look like they will last about six months.

Now that summer is well and truly over it is time to start planting again here in Perth.  I might be a bit over zealous, planting into a building site that will still see plenty of clumpy boots and choc milk cartons, but I've bunged in some more Apace tubestock down the side of the new side extension. 

There is a coastal salty-sagey-looking thing in there, and in beween is 'Running Postman' which will creep around and cover all that ground.  Now that's one name that is hard to forget, what a lovely image Running Postman counjours, which also has little letter-box-red flowers.    I planted some last year, this is what it looks like after 12 months.

My garden design principals are to get stuff in that will grow in the place of weeds, with minimum water or effort.  Once that is achieved there is time for fancy smancy flowers etc.  And maybe learning the names of them too.

Going Native

If you've been following my blog you will know we are now completing the build on our garage/studio.  I'm yet to post pics of the whole thing as there are still some finishing off jobs to do.  But in the meantime, the garden.

When I say garden, I'm talking about the two strips of dirt on the laneway at the rear and side.  Er, when I say dirt, I mean the muddle of builder's rubble, concrete and sand.  But rest assured, weeds will grow anywhere at this time of year, even in that unforgiving earth so something had to be done.   Having lived with reticulation to water the verges in our last house, and having spent every other weekend repairing it, for this place we vowed NO MORE RETIC and are totally wed to the idea of natives and succulents that can survive our harsh Perth climate without regular water.

There is a wonderful organisation called APACE not far from me who provide native tubestock at a fantastic price for ratepayers, to encourage the planting of indigenous native plants that don't require precious water and will survive the most gormless of gardeners.   I selected a bunch of stuff that I've seen growing in sand dunes, so it should survive our lane way.    Saltbush, grasses, that sort of thing.

Do you like the pole?  Supposed to stop lorries knocking the corners off fences.  It belongs to the Council I believe, but we decided it would look better painted like a packet of lifesavers.   I did concede and get a trailer load of decent soil to get it all going.  But I must say I do wince at paying for dirt, call me tight.

This is the other laneway side.  My plants look pretty puny at the moment, but I'm confident that they will grow fast and fill the lane with beautiful native shrubs, requiring no watering and stopping the weeds.

I'll put some succulent ground cover I've got out the front in soon too that I am propagating myself.  Ooh I do love a  cutting.















And as some inspiration, look at this beautiful succulent garden tucked away on a University campus nearby.  So sculptural, so drought tolerant.  It's growing in sand dear Watson.

But best of all was the sense of excitement planting all these and thinking about how it will all look in 12 months, which must surely be one of the best of many great things about gardening, that sense of looking forward to the future and wonder of nature doing its thing.   I just need to work on my patience now.