New house, new garden, big new plans!

The Wildes have done what we do best (or at least, do regularly): moved house! And while it was a bit sad leaving some of the plants that were just starting to fruit at the old house, I’m excited about the new opportunities this house brings.

At the old house we were dealing with a big, open yard that nonetheless got huge amounts of shade from surrounding fences and structures; highly acidic and waterlogged clay soil; an awkward yard that made it pretty well impossible to get a wheelbarrow up to the veggie beds.

Here we’ve got some amazingly dry, sandy and apparently dead soil, devoid of life. However, we also have sections that get light pretty well all day, parts that are shaded and receive dappled sunlight, and well established fruit trees including plum, orange, lemon, mandarin, olive and – my personal favourite, for interest value – Medlar!

First things first: investigate the water tank

We know the water tank is part of our property, but we don’t know how to get it going – or if it even still works. I can see where it *used* to connect to the shed roof for water collection. In amongst what appears to be a tangle of jasmine vines, I found a pump – and then a cord! Will the plug still work? No idea! I also need to get some new secateurs (old ones disappeared in the move) and cut away the tangled overgrowth so I can see what pipe goes where. It would certainly be a shame to have to shell out for garden water if we’ve got a huge tank sitting right there!

Hot Compost: let’s give it a crack

Next to the water tank I want to put a hot compost. It seems the ideal spot because it’s out the way of everything, including the chickens, so it can be left undisturbed until I go in and disturb it with a garden fork. So far I have acquired cow poo, sheep poo and some waste straw from a rabbit refuge, filled with bunny poo! I can also collect up chicken poo from around the yard. Still to come: more straw, some lime and a bit of wood ash from Sean’s BBQ. Then I’ll weed out the location and use the weeds as green matter, layering up the thing like a lasagne. I’ve never successfully made a hot compost before, so we’ll see how it goes!

I spy the perfect spot for a garden bed

I took this photo around 6pm when it had gotten shady, but for most of the day up until around 3pm this area gets full sun exposure – and slowly shades over in that late part of the afternoon. I want to build a couple of raised veggie beds in this area (heck, maybe I’ll get really ambitious and plan for 4, taking advantage of the side closest to the house to plant things that would prefer a little less sun). There’s a heap of builders’ rubbish left on the ground so I’m keen to go fully raised beds rather than planting straight onto the mess.

Hip and happening hibiscus bed?

What do you do with a garden bed that sees full sun exposure most of the day and packs the heat with a toasty brick wall behind it? Treat it like a desert or tropical zone! I started researching heat-tolerant plants and pretty quickly came across the suggestion to plant hibiscus. I love hibiscus! Giant showy flowers? Yes please! And while much of Melbourne is a little too cool for these warm-loving plants, this is a rare and perfect spot for them. They’ll get to soak up as much sun as they like in summer, and across winter they’ll be protected from the wind while the brick wall will hold in the daytime heat and help reduce the risk of frostbite.

I’m unsure at this stage whether I will plant directly – after building up the soil enough to support a plant – or just pop a few hibiscus into pots. While the upside of pots is that we can bring them when we move, our next house may not be as suitable for the plants anyway, and pots can be expensive. On the other hand, it looks like it’ll take some serious work to enrich this soil!

Chooks? Chooks.

I love ’em. Big ones, small ones, fluffy ones, scruffy ones. Chickens are one of the most endearing farm animals and I’m so glad we were able to bring them with us (let’s be honest, it would have been a dealbreaker if we couldn’t). They’re hard at work fertilising and tilling the soil, helping me with the early stages of preparing to revitalise the yard and its dusty, dead dirt. Thanks, girls!

So that’s what I’m focused on for now. I say focused, but there’s such a long list of things I want to achieve that there’s not a lot of focus going around. I’m keen to improve the health and vitality of the fruit trees, enhance the rockery around the fish pond, get some of the plants I brought from the old house into a more permanent spot (they’re hanging out in pots at the moment).

Stay tuned and I might keep you updated!