Lived Experience Forum

[Dimity]

I'm enjoying my roses, native frangipani,  irises, catmint and dark blue salvia in the front. But the back is a disaster. I'll have to deal with grass blackberries and wandering trad with shears secateurs and spade as I don't want to spray. I'm feeling daunted. I'll only be able to do 1/2 hr at a time...  please wish me luck. 

[Dimity]

Time to deadhead the roses for the next flush.

Still can't face the backyard. Trying again to find a gardener, I've been trying since July. Too depressed to garden, not gardening so depressed. Doing small jobs in the front.

[Dimity]

So I've given the roses a summer prune. I trimmed the catmint and salvia. And I've started on the backyard. 

[Dimity]

Hope you're getting joy from your gardens @Shaz51 @Bismuth @tyme @Appleblossom . My backyard is emerging from weeds like Aphrodite from the waves. I havent seen any mantis or bluebanded bees yet this summer but I'm hopeful. 

[Bismuth]

Hi @Dimity . I saw a blue banded bee in my front yard about ten days ago. Beautiful.

Unfortunately, my veggie beds are being overtaken by Kikuyu. I HATE Kikuyu. I can’t stop it, pulling it does nothing, poisoning it does nothing… if someone dropped a nuke on my town, the only thing to survive would be kikuyu. I dug out all I could see before I put the bed in, but must have missed a rhyzome and, just like the undead, it has regenerated - then pushed up through a thick layer of newspaper and 50cm of soil. It’s impossible. I’m feeling quite defeated.

[Appleblossom]

I am getting and giving joy from my garden @Dimity Long stem roses yesterday for friends and mini boquet for doctor today... a peace and a centennial rose.

Aphrodite from the waves.... love it.

Sounds like you have a much bigger space to worry about than I. My back is trimmed and after 20 years is established and lovely, although I might have to think about taking down 3 trees ... hmmm ... next year .. or maybe the one after ....

@Bismuth Loved your callistemon

 @Shaz51 bush turkeys wow

@perspective Vegies can be great ... my lettuces are giving and giving ...

@tyme 

yeah possums can be a nuisance. I am being good no cats and so the birds are having a field day ... sometimes I mind but often I do not. Its nice having them around.  Reminds me of all the natural things I cannot and need not control ...

[Dimity]

Glad you have bbbs @Bismuth. 

Kikuyu is awful. I have no real answers - it's easy enough to remove the runners encroaching from next door over the driveway but it's invaded the front lawn.The shrubbery that was so attractive to small birds is no more,  reduced to pruned lollipops over whipper-snipped Kikuyu. 

I read somewhere Kikuyu obliterated a penguin colony on Gabo Island.

[Dimity]

Your roses sound lovely @Appleblossom . Mine are mostly resting between flushes atm. My space is smallish and needs rethinking. Not enough sun for vegies and I haven't been good with keeping up the water. Taking down trees is such a wrench  I don't want to lose the maybe 80 yo gumtree in the common area the newer owners have targeted.

[Appleblossom]

Wow @Dimity 80 yo gum tree is worth preserving.  I put my 3 in so only have my planning to blame but they have given me a lot so I will leave it for now.  It is a rubber tree my mother gave me and a palm out the back and a lovely cherry blossom in my courtyard that I see in its seasonal glory, sitting on my couch.  

My vegies are mainly in large pots which means I do not have to bend too much.  There have been a lot of garden failures over the years and I mean a lot, but it was a new building site with raw clay when we moved in so its has been an experiment and kept me happy with little projects.  

[Dimity]

The cherry blossom sounds delightful and should be amenable to hard pruning and shaping - think Zen temple gardens.

Container vegies is an idea I've not followed up but could be doable. I'm looking hard at my current pot plants and have already culled some. I don't think I have the space for a self wicking bed.