Meanwhile, on the verge...

You may remember that less than a year ago, we transformed the half dead and compacted patch of grass on our verge into this:

 

Then we added some pine bark and planted out some low-growing Australian native plant tube stock (scaveola, conostylis, grevillea, kangaroo paws) and it looked like this:

 

 

Well, nine months later the plants have grown, we lost a few and along the way we've planted some more here and there (knobby club rush, cushion bush, pimlea, banksia) and now it looks like this: 

 

I'm ready to add some more bird-attracting plants while we're getting good rains to help them settle in before summer. (banksia blechnifolia, eremophila Amber Carpet and decipiens, eutaxia obovata or bacon and egg plant, grevillea gingin gem and kangaroo paws Mangles and Pink Beauty) I expect that in another 12 to 18 months our verge will be a carpet of flowering native plants. Here's my tube stock:

Not only are the plants beautiful, they will provide a much-needed food source for native birds and bees in the metropolitan area. On top of that, I will hand water them through their first couple of summers and after that, they should be able to survive on rainfall alone. The tube stock, although small, does grow quickly and tends to settle in better than more established plants.

 

It's really important to provide food and habitat for our native animals and insects in the city. Imagine if every 10th house on our streets replaced their patchy, unmowed, ugly, water and fertiliser-guzzling lawn with a native verge garden. It would be like having thousands of acres of bush reserves in our cities. That could only be a good thing for our environment right?

 

Now, if I've inspired you to plant out your own native verge, even if it's just a couple of ground-covering grevilleas and a few kangaroo paws, stay tuned for my next post on how best to plant your tube stock!

Garden Week inspiration

Perth's Garden Week is in its 42nd year and runs for another few days. Organisers say the event fell away for a while and there wasn't much interest, but in the past three years they've had more and more exhibitors and now the crowds are coming back.

 

 Here's a peek of what's there:

 

 

 

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At the opening, the mayor of the Town of Cambridge, Simon Withers, spoke about how town planning is responsible, in part, for the amount of green space in the city. He said decreasing block sizes and councils that allow people to build massive houses on them, leaving no space for a lawn or a tree or two have created a 'heat island' in the city.

 

His council has banned synthetic lawn on verges and even stipulates what percentage of the space out the front of a house must be vegetated. He believes residents and councils must demand more green space and gardens in the planning process.

 

Mr Withers seemed very passionate about planting more street trees to create an air conditioning effect in the suburbs. After his talk we had a great conversation about town planning. We discussed the merits of not having walls at the front of your house, so it allows you to interact with your neighbours and bring the community feel back to your neighbourhood. I feel that by having my food garden out the front with no walls, it has allowed me to meet and strike up friendships with all my neighbours. That's something to think about for anyone planning or designing their front gardens. Maybe walling yourself away isn't the best idea. Oh, and go and plant a tree!