Blooming and Bold


Without the buzzards and bees

Where would we bee?


A blog by Nicolle Kuna

A blog about sustainable landscaping and some eco-humour and eco-creativity.

Inside this blog we look at everything that is encroaching in to our natural urban landscapes – outdoor rooms (errchkem), weeds, urban noise, excess nutrientsThere’s a bit of art to add extra colour and inspiration. We believe in making sustainability fun - more gaming, less shaming.

Also see website on social marketing for greenies

To contact us – go to the contact us page http://www.converseconserve.com as the contact facility on this blog has been giving us mischief.

Attribution for above garden design goes to

Andrew Jones, talented artist and designer.

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Monday 31 October 2011

Outdoors Rooms and Evicting the Upper Class

I was listening in on my Sustainable Produce Gardens class recording, and I found out something interesting. The microorganisms in our soil which break down organic matter and release nutrients in to the soil which are so important for plant growth tend to hang out in the "upper echelons" of the top-soil. Yes, indeed, they are truly refined,  high-class dudes.  Our teacher said that 75 per cent of these little critters hang about in the top 5 centimetres of our soil. This is why you hear people talking about the importance of protecting the top-soil.  

So when planning your Outdoor Room, consider keeping as much softscape as possible, to minimise the impact on these little fellas.

My Vision: Comics Go Green

I had a funny premonition the other night, as I finished a great autobiography by Barry Humphries, one of the cleverest, most creative Australians alive.  My vision was of Edna Everage strutting the stage with a bunch of native flowers eg Red Flowering Gum (aka Corymbia Ficifolia) which, by the way, does come in a range of stunning colours.  Gladies are out, and Gum is in for a Housewife Superstar, in my vision. She could have her own TV series along with other celebrities where they feature eco-tips in a light-hearted way.  What we need to do is inject a new spin in to sustainable gardening so the public don't see us gardeners (or greenies for that matter) as boring folk, whose only excitement is getting their finger-nails dirty, and dishing up a bowl of homegrown vegetable stew!

Monday 17 October 2011

Ways trees can save us

Feeling a bit off-colour today after ingesting some building dust plastering the back shed with my 13 year old son.  High time I purchased an industry approved face mask and goggles. I have started reading a very interesting book called 'The  Global Forest- 40 Ways Trees Can Save Us' by Diana Beresford-Kroeger.  Lovely, lovely writer (nee Ireland) and not surprisingly given the way she interweaves observations about our Celtic heritage, mythology, symbolism with the stuff of biology.

Speaking of people in the public eye, I was listening to Radio National's By Design programme on Saturday morning, and the host was interviewing Paul Bangay,  a famous Australian garden designer. Mr Bangay was heard to say (and this is as close a quote as I scribbled down): Australian gardens are today becoming less about a choice of plants, hybrid planting, as in the past.  Today, gardens are becoming a place for relaxing in,  for a kitchen, a television ...

But then he seemed to stop himself going further.  He didn't go on to say, why next, people will be taking their baths outdoors, too.   You see us gardeners do think the latest craze is ... a tad crazy.

Thursday 6 October 2011

Vegie time

Wow, it's October, and time to put in some Spring/Summer vegies down here in the Southern Hemisphere.   Here are some photos of a garden with tomato plants with marigolds to keep the bugs at bay.  My productive planting teachers says it's important to practice companion planting, ie mix up the plants and annoy the feisty pests with wormwood, mint, tansy, nasturtiums and marigolds, just to name a few.  There is a wide range of plants to combine with a vegetable garden,  all having different functions, whether it be to confuse the insects with their strange smell, draw the good bugs (lure plants), or repel the bad ones. 


If the vegies are planted in tidy rows as per the picture (reminiscent of broad-acre farming), the critters are more likely to have a field day (pardon the pun). I'm told the bugs don't look that hard, and if they see something that resembles a squashed friend, they tend to stay away, thinking it's 'Curtains for cute bug' time.  I am going out to put some broken egg-shells around the leafy green vegies, as this is something the slugs and snails don't approve of!