Gumboots

Every time I slip into my gumboots I feel suffused with joy. When we bought our house a little over three years ago, I was both attracted to, and daunted by, the garden. It had been neglected for decades and was riddled with weeds. 

When we bought the house there was a May Bush, a straggly Banksia,

and an out-of-control tangle of ivy in the front yard

The ivy filled the front and side gardens and

was strangling the eucalypts

The back garden was also a mess ... dozens of woody weeds

We hired a green-thumbed friend to advise us on how to proceed. She suggested removing all the weeds (obviously), and drew a map showing what types of plants would thrive on each side of the house.

It's taken three years of weeding, digging, chopping and planting but the place is transformed.

At the front we still have the May Bush and the (now much healthier)

Banksia; we also have feijoa trees, ground cover plants, and edible

plants (mint, parsley, rocket, rosemary and garlic) in big pots

The woody weeds are gone from the back yard; now there

are raised garden beds with berry bushes, plus several fruit

trees which will eventually move from pots to the ground

I'm germinating seeds ... with any luck we'll have

tomatoes, pumpkins, basil and chillies soon!

It's a work in progress. I hope we'll live here for another thirty years and that the garden will keep evolving ... it's such a privilege to be able to care for this gorgeous wee space.