Things move slowly on and when I recently looked at the 2015 version of ‘The Tour’ I realised that there had been some changes in the almost ten years since I put it up. So here is a more up-to-date version – the 2024 tour!
The Hedgerow (LUFFA)
The hedgerow is still in place although it has been renamed the L.U.F.F.A. or longitudinal understory food forest area. The Tea Trees, bay tree, feijoa and lillypilly, rose, the coffee bush and sweet potato vines are growing well and are reasonably productive. There have been no additions of late in terms of plants. The midyin berry bush is still yet to produce berries. The comfrey plants have been thinned out considerably due to the hot and dry weather we tend to get in summer and all of them in this area have passed on.
In terms of structures, a street library, community bench and street pantry have been added, more detail on that later. The edging I used originally has decayed to a greater or lesser degree, so I removed it all and replaced it with pavers donated by a friend. I feel this will be a longer-term option.
The Old Banana Circle
This has been just hanging around for some years once the bananas were removed, being a recipient of grass clipping but not much else. I did install a buried pipe watering system some years ago but recently I turned it into a bed for growing insectary flowers that flourish in the shade. As the mulberry tree has grown it shades this area pretty effectively. We do get a bit of sweet potato moving in as well.
The Herb Spiral
Not much change to the herb spiral (wedding cake) it still continues to be a productive centrepiece of the front yard.
The Mulberry Tree
The mulberry tree is also still in place and continues to be productive. The woodchip ‘park’ area under the mulberry tree has had the woodchip mulch replaced a couple of months ago and has been extended to the most northerly wicking bed. The bench and table and the swing are still in place but the strawberry tower and biopod have been moved to other areas. A path has been installed to meet up with the park area, more detail on this later.
The self watering bird bath
Also added to the ‘park’ area is a self watering bird bath on a post to defeat any marauding cats, it has become very popular with the local birds especially on hot days. Being under the shade of the mulberry tree keeps it cool and inviting.
The self-watering bird bath C/W birds!
The Tank
While the front yard 5500 litre tank remains essentially the same, it has had a downspout filter/ first flush system added towards the end of 2023. Due to contamination of the rainwater by decaying leaves from the mulberry tree being washed into the gutter, then down onto the tank intake, I installed a downspout filter to remove the larger leaf litter and a first flush to prevent the finer decaying plant matter from finding its way into the tank. It has proved itself to be well worth the effort.
The downspout filter and first flush set up. The bottom pipe is the tank overflow to drain
The Wicking Beds
These are looking much older and starting to fall apart a bit, particularly the southern one. The northern one has been colonised (read: taken over) by some Queensland Arrowroot that I put down some tubers of years ago! There are two smaller (30cm) beds east of the two large wicking beds, the southern one was converted into a hugel bed growing rhubarb and the northern one is used as an insectary flower bed.
The Fruit Tree Circle
The fruit tree circle is still in place and most of the trees have gotten a lot bigger. One of the apples died and was replaced by a multigrafted apple, which is getting bigger, but slowly. The worm tower is still in place but no longer topped by the chook, it now has an insect watering station on top of it.
Insect waterer on top of the worm tower, inside the fruit tree circle
The fruit tree circle as it is now, with native indigo growing in the bottom left hand corner
The comfrey and white clover have not survived but a native indigo plant which was added in a few years ago continues to do well.
The Olive Tree
The olive tree is still there and productivity has been variable. The edible flowers (mostly freesias) planted below it still come up every year and look stunning. There has also been an addition of comfrey (still there) and white clover (passed on) to assist with providing nutrition for the olive tree.
The Lavender Hedge
While there are lavender plants still there, it is looking a bit scrappy and I have started putting in some new lavender plants. As with the LUFFA, the bed edging has decayed and I recently removed it, also replacing it with pavers donated by a friend.
Lavender hedge, new edging and gabions
Also installed in this area are four gabions composed of wire mesh and concrete waste. These are designed to provide habitat for lizards and local insects as well as removing the need for dumping the broken-up waste concrete and Besser blocks.
The Strawberry Tower
This has been relocated to the back yard but is currently not in use.
The Bath Wicking Beds
After adding a second wicking bath a few years ago, they fell into disuse and mainly grew weeds. A year ago I cleaned them out and planted silver beet and lettuce and a zucchini. They are for passers-by to harvest and take home for use. There is a sign inviting them to do this, which also brings the reader’s attention to the Bay tree on the right-hand side of the sign and that people can harvest bay leaves for cooking with.
The Small Fruit Bed
This is still in place with the fig and the blood orange both doing well. The bed has been enlarged and the edging has also been replaced with pavers. The bed has been enlarged and a dwarf lemon tree added to the western end of the bed. The comfrey did not survive. There is also a large black pot, with indwelling olla to provide water, currently growing pumpkins.
The Wheelie Bin Water Tank/5000 litre tank
The wheelie bin water tank has been removed and given to a friend and in its place is a 5000 litre water tank that is long and high rather than round. It has a first flush diverter and the outflow of the tank goes to a 3000 litre tank in the backyard, beside the garage. Our neighbours have installed a front patio where they like to spend their time then the weather is nice and the 5000 litre tank provides them with privacy from our yard.
New Bits
Street library, street pantry and community bench
The street library and the bench went in in 2017 and the pantry wen in in 2022. The library is available for any passer-by to remove or donate books. It has had variable use, with books being borrowed every week or two and we do occasionally get books put into the library or left on the bench. The bench itself does get some use, but seeing as we are not looking out the window all the time it is difficult to know how often it is used.
Street library and community bench
The street pantry is installed just below the street library
The street pantry was put in to take overflow from the veggie garden and fruit trees. It depends on what we have in excess but it needs to be something that can sit for a while like citrus fruit, chokoes, zucchini, occasionally eggs. Leaf crops wilt after only a couple of hours which is why I put in the ‘harvest it yourself stuff’ in the wicking bathtubs.
Bat boxes
We have three microbat nesting boxes secured in the tea trees. Two are commercial and one is home-built. They are facing different direction so that they will be comfortable through the seasons, one faces east, one north and the other west (roughly).
Commercial microbat nesting box
Homemade
Multipurpose path
A very recent addition to the front yard has been the path between the ‘park’ area and the main access path to the front door. It follows the desire line which was worn through the grass. It prevents erosion, reduces the amount of grass to mow and allows rainwater to percolate down into the soil rather than runoff. It was constructed using free pavers donated by a neighbour, cardboard and wood chips. It is nice to walk on and draws us towards the park area.
Native Garden Area
The area just in front of the house had some decorative (read ‘useless’) shrubs so in 2017 I removed them and widened the bed, which provided more growing space and reduced the size of the lawn needing to be mowed at the same time. I then installed a deep pipe waterer along the front so I could keep them all watered efficiently. After that I planted banksias, a grevillea, callistemon and syzygium and then mulched the area with wood chip. A banksia, the callistemon and the syzygium remain and are growing.
As it is now
As it was when newly planted
When putting in the irrigation
Native bee hive
In 2018 I bought a native been hive and installed it near the 5500 litre water tank. When the weather got cold I would cover the hive in the polystyrene box provided for the purpose and when the weather got too hot I would cover the hive with a damp towel which had one end sitting in a bucket of water. The hive appeared to be doing well and I was making plans to split it when it basically just died. I think was due to the extended cool and wet weather we had due to La Nina for three years in a row. It perished in 2022.
Cinnamon Tree
In the middle of 2023 I bought a cinnamon tree to see how it would grow in our area and it we would ever get a yield off it. I originally had it in a small pot in the greenhouse but transferred it to a larger pot under the mulberry tree when the weather wamed up. It is growing, but slowly!
