Here's wishing for a cool christmas, again

Last year, I wished for a white xmas, and got what I asked for - hook, line and sinker. (Go to last year's December posting, if interested for more christmasey pictures)

The back garden was covered in huge hail stones by the middle of xmas day (this was the best mother nature could deliver in the southern hemisphere. Thanks Mum!)

So this year instead will wish for a cool xmas (preferably blooming and cold in blooming and bold land) and all readers a happy one, oh and a safe one as well.

As a christmas tip in the garden, woolly bushes (adenanthos sericeus) - an Australian native can come up well with xmas decorations.

River, acquatic health tips and links - not all nutrients are good!

And it is another blooming hot day, however, am glad to say I heard some good news on the smelly rivers and stinky inlet front.  I shall backtrack for a moment.  I was down at Barwon Heads for our annual summer jaunt in January, and I noticed a smell in the inlet as I was swimming in my favourite spot, where many of the Sea Change TV scenes were filmed.  There was a smell I had never noticed before at the Heads, which made me want to clamber out of the water 'tout de suite'.  Later my suspicions were confirmed that algal blooms were posing a huge problem in the area, and these were probably the cause of the smell. These blooms create a green tinge on the surface of our waterways, and a gasey odour. They are caused by high levels of nutrients and other 'nasties' seeping in to the rivers and acquatic systems.When untreated sewerage gets in to drains or when loads of sediment flows in to our rivers, or when we feed our gardens with phoshorus and nitrogent rich fertilisers these materials seep in to our ground-water and active river systems and cause a chemical imbalance.

Fish get poisoned by the toxicity of the water, oxygen levels drop, the waterways become a no-go zone, and people and pets swimming (unaware of the risks) in these systems can come down with cyanobacteria poisoning, too.  Entire seafood, fishing and tourism industries get affected by these blooms.

Am seeing reports of these outbreaks in New Zealand, the UK, the USA, Canada, and no doubt other places I've not yet stumbled across.

The great news is that scientists at the CSIRO in Australia are coming up with antidotes to the formation of these blue green algae, and one of these is Phoslock, a type of clay which stops the release of the nutrients. I heard on the radio today that this substance is being distributed in around 20 countries already.  The other good green news about these green (and often red or pink) blooms, is that not all algal blooms are harmful.

Here is a link to the wonderful CSIRO's discussion on point.

Footage of our beaches turning red from algal blooms.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?NR=1&v=NRJUTj63Zmg&feature=endscreen

Some more video links:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GNhJs9jfhI4
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mmKgd7w5-rk (funny - mostly - educational video)

In the meantime, what can we do to minimise these blooms:

(1) fertilise our lawns, gardens and productive plots with organic, low nutrient fertilisers.
(2) use low phosphate laundry powders and detergents as sewerage run-off to seas and waterways does commonly occur
(3) take care with our pets toilet habits (pick up after them)
(4) instal rain gardens or encourage our councils to do this
(5) farming regulations need to be rigorously enforced and buffer zones be created around waterways to ensure ruminant animals don't do their 'business' around rivers and creeks

It's Blooming Hot! - A Call to Plant

Blooming hell. It is one of those days when you want to utter every expletive under that yellow orb,  called the sun, and more, and that's because of the havoc being wrought by that all mighty self-combusting orb, and the low cloud cover!

Today it was 45 degrees celcius in parts of our state, and we are a hot continent, but this is blooming ridiculous.  It's meant to be only spring. Currently, it's still 36 degrees at the Tullamarine airport. (Okay, keep it nice, Nicolle. We know you can tone the language down.) So here we Melburnians sit, with our air-conditioners buzzing at top speed - hmm .. but not me of course, and as I walked back from my tram  stop, after a scorcher (as we call a hot day in Australia) in the city, I noticed there were not many houses with their air-con on.  It's probably because of the electricity prices soaring over recent years. But, money or  no money,  us greenies were put on this earth to suffer, and never use our ACs (well I rarely use it when my son is at his father's), because I'm such a blooming martyre like so many others.  I'm not a devout - dark green greenie, but there are a couple of green things I do well - I catch public transport, and I don't use my AC.

So out comes the large damp towell which gets draped over the shoulders, and then, if I can track down the spray bottle, out it comes too.

So what do we do? Sit here and complain? Yes, a lot of that.  We aussies, are a bit like our ancestors, the brits, we do so love a good whinge. But there is something else we can do, in addition to whingeing and that is :

- To Plant

Yes, I know you're going to say - but it's too late, it's almost summer, planting a deciduous tree the requisite distance from the house, isnt' going to help me this hot season. No, that's true.  But maybe, it's something we all need to think about with springs turning in to summer, and winters turning in to spring, and so forth.

Over the next day or so, I am going to post up some photos of a house near me, and how they have cleverly kept the lawn on their nature strip and planted fruit trees all around their garden, and along the nature strip as well. It's truly sensational, in every sense of the word.  Their home faces north and west, and this means they cut out a huge amount of the heat island effect, which would  exist if the trees and lawn weren't there. Sensibly, apart from the footpath, and road, which can't be avoided - really, there are no hard surfaces.  I will probably go overboard and photograph a gorgeous Crepe Myrtle and a few others.  All I can say is thank you - to the trees, and thank you to the people who plant them!

There is every reason, given looming 2 degree temperature increases across the globe, to be planting where ever possible.

Watch out for weed trees (cough splutter, as I have a very large desert ash in my midst which gives a lot of shade for which I'm grateful. Well, I never said I was perfect!) Here is a link to some old posts where I went on and on (as we greenies tend to do) about all the benefits of gardens -  but I think worthy of being revisited on a day when November temperatures broke the all time record, in Melbourne!

http://bloomingandbold.blogspot.com.au/search/label/Benefits%20of%20Gardens%20vs%20Outdoor%20Rooms

There are around 20 fruit trees in our midst, including owners yard!

Street Garden - Community Garden - Verge Garden Extraordinaire

What we feed our earth feeds us!

Rather worrying when you ponder that what we feed our gardens can end up playing havoc with our body functions in more ways than one.  Indeed, people are getting sick from eating mussels, due to algal blooms.  An entire shellfish farm has been closed in Tasmania and the shellfish has had to be recalled.

Typically, these algal blooms are not just due to natural processes in the waterways, but are caused by man-made land-management factors.  So that means that what we feed our gardens and agricultural crops ends up in the waterways (nutrients such as phosporus and nitrogen) and ends up in our rivers and potentially then ends up in our stomachs, depending on our diet, of course.

(I wrote a few blogs on this a while back, as these algal blooms have been happening all over Australia.)

So, let's remember to avoid over-feeding our gardens with fertilisers, as this gets in to the drains and ground-water and creates a chemical imbalance in our eco-systems at large.

Rotating houses and increased amenity

Was out having a coffee yesterday and happened to stumble on this article about a rotating house being constructed in Canberra, which allows for a change of view, and it occurred to me what a good idea this was from a few different perspectives (pardon the rotating house pun). If you have trees around your property it allows for you to adjust the amenity of  shading at a particular time of day. It enables passive solar elements as well as charging up the photovoltaics.

If the property had extended eaves or an overhang this could also help with produce plant shading at hotter times of the day. Particularly useful for those practicing crop rotation.

Apparently the energy use involved in operating the rotation is that of a typical light bulb.

The world of design is an exciting phenomenon in this world of climate challenges! These houses are getting more common overseas.

http://www.theage.com.au/national/efficient-design-follows-sun-in-roundabout-way-20121114-29cpq.html

Let's remember hurricanes and the importance of gardens

Just wanted to write what great news the Election result is for Mr Obama,and all of America. Such a happy day! Of course, it's  a long road ahead too, but at least there is hope for the health care policies that have been introduced, and for laws that will make America a fairer country for all.  I was just having a think whether or not the Democrats policies have anything interesting in store for landscapes and gardens (anything blooming, new and bold). I had a quick look but the usual topics being covered were 'oil', renewable energy, 'gas' policies and such like.  Now what do the topics all have in common - they are resources and they all come from the ground. This set me thinking about all things topical, including the recent Hurricane Sandy that TreeHugger blog is saying has broken all manner of climatic records.

What people forget is how important gardens are in the context of storms, heavy precipitation and hurricanes. Gardens provide permeable surfaces which help absorb stormwater which otherwise pools in our laneways and roads. Stormwater drains are limited by their capacity to accept these water flows, as we see with any flooding event.

So let's be bold about gardens, parks, and any other form of plantable surface, including rain gardens, verge gardens, community produce gardens, and roof gardens.   They are all bound to help out in a serious storm by helping to absorb water overflows and divert the rain away from homes and public buildings. Also, gardens provide us with oxygen, clean out carbon dioxide, provide shade and mitigate the heat island effect - the benefits of gardens are endless. (I have spoken a lot about water sensitive urban design in my early posts and the benefits of gardens over built up areas).


Rainwater Fact: According to a site The Groundwater Foundation (a U.S site), compared with a conventional lawn, rain gardens allow for 30 per cent more water to soak in to the ground.

http://www.groundwater.org/ta/raingardens.html


And finally, watch this video which might have had some influence on why Mitt Romney didn't win the election:

http://grist.org/politics/the-most-brutal-ad-youll-see-this-election/

Bird Habitat Matters

http://www.birdsinbackyards.net/feed-or-not-feed-0

This is a great link for whether to feed birds in your backyard, and other habitat info.

TOP OF THE ROCK - BIRDS ROCK!

Link to Converse Conserve eco-cartoon

Here is a link to a post on my Converse Conserve site and a cartoon sourced from Green Humour Blogspot under a creative commons licence generously shared by cartoonist Rohan Chakravarty.

A number of us are interested in using visual images and humour to promote uptake of green causes.

Rohan Chakravarty is an amazing cartoonist and his cartoons are so powerful in the way they send a hopeful yet heartfelt message which every one of us, including the mainstream audience can understand.

http://www.converseconserve.com/cc-blog.html#.UHajL29JP4A

Here is a cartoon by someone close to me who prefers to remain anonymous, which is truly relevant to gardening!

Land- management and cities article

Here is an article which I wrote last week which is relevant to this blog.

It's a bit long, but it kind of summarises what this blog is all about.

It's a tad serious and could do with lightening up, but I just didn't find the time to rewrite it.

I will make sure my next Urban Times contribution is not so serious in its tone.

Enjoy!

http://urbantimes.co/2012/09/cities-land-management/

Dr Michael Dunlop - an interview

I am lucky to be at home, listening to a radio interview on Radio National, with Dr Michael Dunlop, Senior Researcher with Ecosystem Sciences at the CSIRO, and they are talking about how our landscapes are changing and will change - substantially in the next 20-30 years. (I am making a note of what he says, as it has cogency in relation to how our urban landscapes are also changing, and actually feeds the conversation in both 'camps'.)

He is saying, we can expect these transformations to happen over the whole of Australia - forests turning to woodlands, woodlands changing to grasslands, and this is something that we will all start to notice over the next few decades.  He even says our Australian bush will start to smell different - and we will see new species coming to dominate and others disappear.  The study uses modelling and observation as to how biodiversity is changing.

We will see more complicated weather patterns and fire patterns and river flows in Australia, and so it will be harder to interpret what is going on.  Eg in Tasmania we are seeing new native and exotic species, and not necessarily caused just by climate change.

So we need to change our conservation mindset.  It's not going to be just about maintaining the type of species that are there now, we will have to adapt, and 'help biodiversity adapt' he says.  Some species will have to move, and so it will be vital to rethink how we focus on one or another species, and instead adopt a 'landscape as a whole' approach rather than a threatened species approach.

This means our national parks and reserves are so vital.  These are designed to provide for a range of habitat so even if one species leaves, it's an invitation for others to come in.  Private land is also key in providing habitat.

He does acknowledge (despite his fairly positive tone) that we won't be 'passing on as rich a landscape to our grandchildren' but he hopes that with our guidance, we can still provide the best opportunity for many, many species to survive, including new ones.

An interesting outlook and one which no doubt will throw up a bit of controversy amongst conservationists.

Libertia peregrinans a weedy terror

Getting in to spring, at last and what a gorgeous day it was today, so am getting a bit more inspired to get going on this 'blooming' blog with more rigour.

Now I was enjoying today's  sunshine that Melburnians hanker for, after, what for us has been a real winter  (with nights where it's got down to four degrees or less... ouch - that is cold for us, and our houses weren't designed to take such low temperatures). I was out there planting a new grevillea, and I noticed how the Libertia peregrinans is simply taking over the garden (and will post a photo here shortly). It's a strappy plant found commonly in nurseries, emanating from New Zealand, that is drought tolerant, and pretty, but not being native to this country, one needs to bear in mind that these exotics have a habit of taking over! I also read that this species is under threat in New Zealand, so may be it's encoded in its genes that when it gets to a new country that it should go forth and populate. Don't ever rely on nurseries to be mindful of weedy plants unless they are certified with someone like Sustainable Gardening Australia! Weedy plants are for sale and widespread in nurseries.

So, it pays to look up the weediness habit of exotics before you plant them  (in more extreme cases they are known as invasive species), because you will end up paying with all the cutting back you will need to do, and also the constant digging up of those self-seeded stalks, as I'm finding all over the blooming garden.  

And weeds are not supportive of bio-diversity as they compete for water, soil, nutrients and light against all the good guys, which means the plants that would help sustain the wildlife may be placed in jeopardy. Indeed, I was watching the 7.30 report and the wombat is dying out in this country merely because the onion weed has spread and is outnumbering the natural grasses, so it's diet is disappearing.  A good cause to support.

Moreland bluestone lanes

Brunswick's blue stone laneways have been saved for now thanks to local campaigning, which is great news for the local groundwater and stormwater drains.

What some people may not realise is that we need to increase our absorption of rainwater rather than creating more non-permeable surfaces which concrete usually is, unless it's been manufactured in a particular way, so as to absorb water.  When water runs off hard surfaces it inevitably carries pollution which consists of organic material, hydrocarbons, nutrients and pathogens which upset the chemical balance of our rivers and creeks, and leading to our wildlife becoming sick or perishing.  The groundwater needs replenishing, too, and even if the Council wanted to replace the lane ways they can do so by replacing the blue stone with materials which contribute to stormwater filtration.  Otherwise why not just save themselves the trouble and keep the blue stones, as they are so charming and really in keeping with the local area.

So far the heritage and cultural aspects appear to have been the main factor that I can see in the debate.  (This is one of those campaigns I would like to have joined just haven't been able to make the time.)

Moreland Council have probably been concerned with the maintenance of these lanes, as time goes on.   But ultimately whatever surface is there will need to be maintained.So, we don't need to get blue over bluestone!!

We went on a community garden tour. 

Horticultural therapy ... my grevillea

Planting more grevilleas, now my clay (rock hard) bed seems to be a little broken up by the wormies, thanks to the laying over of pea straw.

I'm thrilled it's taken ages - but my Mallee Embers Grevillea has finally flowered.  Who says australian natives aren't as beautiful as exotics.

Photo taken at night. 

Pea straw is great mulch which also breaks down and nourishes the soil by bringing more worms, who nourish, and aerate soil and create drainage that so many plants need.

training wheels for trees ... sort of

An article I was reading in the Melbourne Leader (local) newspaper this week, reminded me that I had been contemplating what it would be like to to be a guide dog puppy trainer, until I remembered that I have two cockatiels, and perhaps it wouldn't work so well. Well, lo and behold, for those who are unaware, trees need training wheels too!

Those readers who live in Melbourne can look up this site, Tree Project Forest whereby people can volunteer to grow some seedlings even on their balcony or in a small garden, and then give them up at the appropriate size, so that these can be replanted in the country, and therefore will ultimately go to benefit the rural landscape.

As this blog is particularly interested in the connections we make in our city landscapes with water and rural eco systems, it seemed apt to post this on here.

To help reforest rural Victoria go to:

http://www.treeproject.asn.au/

Lawn (grass length) and carbon emissions

Speaking of long lawn ......

I am always writing things down on scraps of paper.  Not very modern, of me.  The notes I'd made say that farmers are making a point of  keeping their grasslands at a good length to sequester carbon, keeping grazing land grass at a length of 15-20cm and maintaining the green leaf. I understand many farmers are taking the sheep off when the grass gets to 15 cm which is quite long. Similarly, residents in urban areas ideally shouldn't cut their lawns too short.   Keeping the grass long holds in the carbon, holds in the nutrients and moisture too.

In our very obsessive compulsive age, we are tending to keep our residential lawns short, gardens very tidy, very few species (the minimalist effect, and this affects habitats) and we forget that OCD and nature are at odds with each other.  It's common knowledge that if you cut the lawn too short, it will die.

I'm merely flagging this point about lawns, as I'm sure there are more informed posts out there, which I'll  link to in due course.

Intestinal worms and gardening

Now this is not a topic for the faint-hearted (or intestined), but I thought it a worthy one considering it can affect us all, and the more we share the information, the less these little ‘gems’ need to be shared in the physical sense. We gardening officionadoes are known for going on about the godliness of earth worms.  But, God clearly did not create all wormies equal! 

The last couple of years not so coincidentally, whilst doing more vegie and general landscaping I have noticed an increase in certain unmentionable symptoms, which I’ve long known to be intestinal parasites (fortunately of the smaller/microscopic variety). I tried the traditional medications available at the chemist, but just found that a little while later the symptoms and the little blighters would reappear (well, not literally under my nose. And friends have occasionally commented - why are you so thin - it must be all those intestinal infestations!)  So, the last six months I've noticed I've been more susceptible than usual to infections and flus so this led to some research. 

I was doing some maintenance at a friend's house and she said, 'don't pick the silverbeet. It'll give you worms'. I remember thinking what a strange connection …. and then dismissed it as unimportant.  However, I am still investigating whether there is a high risk of ingesting the blighters (or their larvae) by eating vegetables grown in infected soil.  I've read elsewhere this is why vegies should be washed thoroughly, but the risk may be higher with salady vegies which don't get cooked. 

I do know that threadworms are a common parasite that can be picked up by walking on contaminated soil without shoes and similarly can be contracted by getting soil under your finger nails – ie gardening without gloves.  And unlike other sensible gardeners who keep their fingernails short – I do not do so.

So the long and the short of this wormy (and parasitic) parable, is that my son and I are now on this herbal medication - Paracea Forte which you take for around 3-4 weeks and possibly do another treatment to make sure you nip them in the bud.   With such herbs as Berberis vulgaris, and Juglans Nigra… it’s bound to be something that takes them out! So I shall write another post soon to inform any readers how we are getting on on the PF. 


Tips:  Keep the finger-nails short and wear sturdy - non porous gardening gloves when gardening, or handling soil. 


When growing your own vegies, definitely wash them thoroughly, in fact probably several times. 


Keep herbal anti-parasitic tablets handy! 

The best of the Independent Games Festival ACMI

Today my son and I were at the above festival at ACMI Melbourne which showcased (supposedly) some of the best of indie electronic game design. My 13 year old liked some of the games, and I was particularly interested in 3 (for obvious reasons).  


One was called Fez, one Botanicula, and one Lume.   These three were particularly interesting for their eco-digitilization inspiration and content.


Have written much more on this at my other blog which is located at http://www.converseconserve.com  where I have a number of posts on eco-creativity and related topics.

Source of wood in domestic use

http://grist.org/living/ikea-wont-tell-where-it-gets-its-wood-and-congress-is-about-to-give-it-a-pass/


This is a very interesting link to the issue of how chain of custody in wood supplies keeps us environmentalists guessing.


Not that the wood is necessarily being used in landscaping but reflects the generalised issue with timber.

Are greenies becoming too extreme?

http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2012/jun/17/ethical-living-eating-honey-lucy-siegle


Here is a link to the Guardian, and the question by a vegan is whether it's okay to eat honey?


I read with disbelief the opening suggestion that aside from dairy food, unsustainable fish or meat, we are meant to give up honey as well!


My worry is that vegans are leading the way in showing environmental causes as a general pain in the proverbial for the masses.  I worry that such extremism is doing some harm to our environmental causes.


As my interest which is how we portray ourselves in the media, and how green issues are promoted, this is something seriously greenies as a group at large need to 'masticate' over.  How extreme do we want to appear? These are issues I discuss in my book - Green Spin - Promoting the Green Message, now out  on Amazon as a Kindle, and for loan (the more environmentally friendly versions.)

Vegies and fruit suppliers

Wow, was reading in the Age this week that of the producers of vegetables grown in Australia that the main supermarkets source their vegies from only 7-8 suppliers. Won't quote the source as am speaking in really general terms here.

Of course the two largest supermarket chains are the main green grocery suppliers in this country. This means that if we allow this green grocery monopoly to prevail, this could have huge implications for the types of vegies and fruit available in this country, as those few growers will have huge control over the seeds that are chosen and essentially over what we eat.

Broad acre farming is already a worrying thing, but this means bio-diversity is at stake here (pardon the pun .. garden stake!).
Let's remember the smaller grocers, and avoid doing alll our grocery shopping from the larger stores. What I personally do is mix it up. I don't doubt that there are some products you can only get from supermarkets!

Cartoon depicting weather

Cartoon by my friend Tessa Mahy, illustrator and
masseuse extraordinaire

Trees and Income Equality

http://www.treehugger.com/economics/how-spot-income-inequality-space-look-trees.html

Interesting article.

I posted a comment.

Good links on weeds

http://www.theage.com.au/environment/water-issues/it-never-rains-but-it-spores-as-weeds-multiply-20120510-1yfno.html


What we need to remember is that weeds take out moisture from soil, take out nutrients which other plants need, compete for sunlight, and don't quote me on this, but I'm kind of guessing they could potentially affect the gene bank of some plants.


They therefore affect bio-diversity and can be catastrophic to crops.


http://www.weeds.gov.au/weeds/why/impact.html


This has more on how weeds can affect grazing animals.

Sustainability and the Economy

It's not all joyful news out there in the economy as we know right now. People are just not wanting to spend.

Times can be even tougher if you want to be a sustainable practitioner. But it all depends on the pitch we put on it.

The best we can say is keep it small and simple in terms of the hard scapes, as these are the dearer option.

Go for more complexity when it comes to the softscapes (different types of mulches, sticks, rocks, plants) to create more habitats. Have some low growing ground-covers, some medium bushes, some larger shrubs, and some prickly ones (the birds love these). My philosophy is that you can stagger your planting, so the expense doesn't have to be such a shock.  The benefit is that you let your larger plants get a bit of a 'kick-on'.

Look around for plants on-line, if you want to save some money.  Cuttings and propagating from seed can be another great way to save. Your local nursery will be able to give you help. Plus there's heaps of advice on-line.

Small Decks and Sustainability

This is a comment I made earlier this year, in response to an article about building up your decking area outdoors. There are lots of factors to bear in mind, with small gardens and decks, bio-diversity - do we leave room for more than one genus of animal, plant, insect (to mimick natural systems and keep pests under control), urban run-off (having porous surfaces that enable bio-filtration, replenishing of ground-water), trees for shading/wind-breaks/lowering heat-island effect, and space for growing produce/composting.

Watch out for Outdoor Room fads and consider how well these cope with extreme weather events. Timber has lowest carbon foot-print of all decking materials (and C02 sequestration makes it practically carbon neutral except for finishing and maintenance inputs) but the source of all materials must not come from active habitats. Buy locally if you can because decking timber is a top main cause for prize rain-forest destruction next to paper, and palm-oil in countries where chain of custody, forest stewardship may not exist. Natural turf is a fantastic carbon sink, and lawn is child-play friendly. Nicolle Kuna Sustainable Landscape Designer and Blogger

A selection of gardens and jobs

First concept. The portulacas are not long-living
plants, so these lasted only a couple of seasons.

Second concept, started to think
about planting vegetables amongst
the ornamentals drought-resistant
plants. 

Remember that garden designs can evolve.
Just as the worms continue to turn the soil, we continue to
turn over new ideas, for more long-lived planting.  At this
point, the only plants being regularly watered are the vegies
and herbs.

Green Roof Initial stages

Green Roof with water proof layer, filter layer,
and planting media (scoria, wood chips, and sand)

Attaching the drainage layer to the green roof. 

Hessian sack with planting media being encased inside
chicken wire. 

Hessian vertical planter ready for hanging
on a balcony or in small court-yard garden.
These are used in third-world countries where
poor sanitation means suitable sites
for produce planting are at a
premium. 

Algal bloom waterways campaign growing

Glad, as I said in a recent post, to hear that the connection between land use and our waterways is becoming better understood.

Over recent months I have been writing letters in to newspapers, and on other blogs hoping that this issue will get in to the spot-light.

Here is one of the submissions I wrote to the Age, and sometime later an article was done on this.  So hopefully  annoying the Editor or the environmental editor did make a difference.

Like land – like local landscapes.        

Most of us tend to think of private landscapes, public landscapes or rural landscapes, as though these are separate, distinct and different. “One is out in my backyard, one is shared, and the last one is lurking out there in the wild, somewhere.”  With land-management issues, like weeds, and land-clearing, we city-dwellers tend to think, 'Oh, that only happens on the land.’

In fact, we all live on the land, and all land zonings have a lot in common.  Our landscapes are teeming with natural and man-made biological processes which may be in need of some taming! 

Take the blue-green algae outbreak in Lake Burley Griffin (ACT) which is preventing locals from swimming (Canberra Times, 7 January, 2012).   Algal blooms (or cyanobacteria) are caused by too many nutrients and contaminants entering our waterways from both agricultural land and private land.   Elements contributing to these algae consist of phosphorus, nitrogen, animal and human effluent and other pathogens.   Nutrients sound generally nourishing and positive (!), but as with anything an over-dose of any nutrient can make humans, wild-life and our land extremely ill.  Algicides can’t be used to eradicate the algal blooms, because they are also harmful to other (beneficial) organisms and animals in the water-ways.

Right now these blue-green algal blooms are multiplying in the Gippsland Lakes (Vic), Goulburn Murray region, and are found at different times in much of Australian waterways.

Many of us don’t realise that building up our gardens (commonly referred to as ‘the outdoor room’) and urban landscapes do mean more stormwater run off to creeks.  Our activities in our backyards have huge consequences as nutrients, animal matter, sewerage over-flows, hydrocarbons enter our creeks and make their way to the sea. It may not be surprising that Melbourne beaches got a ‘fair’ rating recently, which isn’t wonderful news for local tourism or for marine life.  

Most people don’t take an interest in the contents of our drains.  But, most of us do like gardens, wildlife, and dangling our feet in the sea! These are some steps we can take to reduce the detriment to our wildlife and marine life, and they really aren’t that difficult. As a minimum, we should:

Allow for more porous surfaces in our gardens so that more stormwater is absorbed  and less water gets flushed away down drains. Outdoor rooms should be downsized, as these tend to involve hard, non-permeable areas with increased urban run-off to drains.

·       
          Avoid using chemical fertilisers on our gardens and lawns (look for organic, seaweed solutions). Pesticides may be avoided if we practice companion planting, and mix up the species a bit more, and increase bio-diversity.

·       
          Pick up pets’ droppings

If we are real devotees, we can :

·         

      Chose landscapers that practice or are certified as sustainable landscape designers (who practice erosion, contamination and sedimentary control). (Eg SGA's ECLIPS programme). 

·        

      Chose organic food or grow our own, as chemicals in farming are leaching out and affecting our eco-systems and ground-water.

·        

      Buy food from community markets selling locally produced food, where broad-acre farming is less likely to be practiced.  

·        

      If possible, incorporate a rain-garden (inground or above ground) and plant plants with bio-filtration functions (cleaning out hydrocarbons, nutrients, sediment).

Many farmers and land-managers are already setting up the necessary safeguards. These are just some of the things farmers can do to protect our waterways:

·       Ensure buffer zones are placed (10m wide) each side of farming land to reduce run-off to local waterways.

·        

      Ensure these buffer zones (natural vegetation) are preserved and managed to avoid erosion and loss of vegetation in times of drought.

·        

      Restrict farming stock from grazing near creeks and tributaries as grazing can cause erosion to river banks and mean contamination of waterway

      

      Control the use of agricultural chemicals and restrict their use well away from waterways and buffer zones. 

Well-considered approaches in relation to our urban backyard management and farm-land are needed. 


This means a multi-disciplinary team of government personnel, town-planners, WSUD experts, horticulturalists, land-managers coming together to address common problems like top-soil disturbance, contamination and bio-diversity threats which affect us what-ever type of land we inhabit.

Nicolle Kuna is a Melbourne blogger, web-site writer and project worker and someone who likes to drone on about drains and be loquacious about landscapes (since completing her qualification in Sustainable Landscape Design).  She has a blogspot: BloomingandBold.Blogspot.com.  In her previous life, she campaigned with the Australian Democrats (House of Reps) on environmental issues, was a lawyer, and author of Common-Sense Law, Hybrid Publishers. 

Macedon Ranges Inspiration

Some shots from Macedon Ranges

Recently, a couple of us were working up in the Macedon Ranges. We are going to be recommending indigenous plants for a rural property. 

The range of indigenous plants is simply huge, and very important to know these because soil and weather conditions vary so much from region to region.  

On a farming or rural property, just as with private urban landscaping, it's ideal if we can think about  bio-diversity. Key points for habitat creation and maintenance are:  switch to organic fertilizers,  more benign pesticides to protect the local critters.  Remember, without the critters, there can be no habitats! Birds and reptiles need somewhere to forage and nest, so single stemmed plantings aren’t so ideal. Go for some bushy shrubs, prickly trees (eg Hakeas), exposed rocks for reptiles, nesting boxes in tall trees.    Rather than a planting area which is immaculate, leave around leaf litter, mulches (worms, beetles),  hollowed trunks, and twigs for small creatures to shade themselves under.  Grasses and nectar plants also attract caterpillars and butterflies.      

Very distractible month

Very pleased to see more journalists addressing the algal bloom issue,

Great stuff.  See my tweet of yesterday and go to the link on there.

Otherwise, have been distracted this month, as my book, Green Spin - Promoting the Green Message is all approved by Create Space/Amazon, and just now am waiting on the proof to come in the mail.  It will be available for sale on $12.99 (13 isn't such an unlucky number I hope).  Then it will be released as a kindle book.

Then I am also doing a new edition of my first book, Common Sense Law which I also intend to self-publish.

The new age of self-publishing is a very free one, compared with what I've experienced before.

Garden Show fever

The Melbourne International Flower and Garden Show kicked off today with a real bang. Actually there was an air of triumphance about it.

Cactuses growing inside dessert dishes - Yay, Ross

Lots of examples of sustainability and gardening exultation. The possums had been dive bombing and having a good masticate by the looks of things on our Sustainable Gardening Australia silverbeet, beetroot and chard (bio-diversity themed) display. Fantastic garden walls vegetated doubling as rain-water tanks, and tonnes of vertical gardens sprouting with herbs and flowers.  The promenade with outdoor sculpture was really inspiring.

Actually I feel really bad as one of our study mates asked us for help with his entry as a finalist in the Student Category of the Show, (see top 4 photo images) but low and behold, despite most of us being too busy to help, he won the Gold Medal. Top stuff, Ross Uebergang. I always called Ross 'Mighty Multi-Media Man' as Ross' work always stood out with his incredible 3-dimensional designs, now realised here in real 3D.

Have been a bit busy these last few weeks to post anything on this blog, finalising my book - Green Spin - Promoting the Green Message, and the cover is finally coming along, thanks to a wonderful artist friend.

Ross' winning design

One of SGA's displays - gorgeous

No worries - reverse the flood flurries

Crazy weather means we have states all over Australia waiting for levies to break and rivers to overflow.  I heard something about 75 per cent of New South Wales, including Sydney is affected.

One turf grower was asked by the journalist (a little naively me-thinks) doesn't the rain bring you more top-soil. It seemed to be implied in her question, doesn't the rain improve growing conditions? No, was his unsurprising reply.  The rain brings more sand deposits than top-soil.  Are we people so not in touch with our earth, that we don't know floods destroy crops? Was she trying to put a positive spin on floods?

Ironically, this is a strong reason to get in to growing vegies and other produce around your property, to help absorb the heavy rains, which these mad weather patterns are bringing so they don't rush down the drains, in to rivers which then end up overflowing.

The List Goes On (not at all a listless list)

http://www.treehugger.com/lawn-garden/discover-benefits-plants-reducing-crime-and-preventing-zombie-attacks.html

Here is a list that shows some other benefits that plants can achieve, apart from the other benefits I've listed throughout my blog (especially the first post).

Now I know a lot of you out there are concerned about zombies, so read on.

Arty SGA

I attended a fantastic fund-raiser last night for Sustainable Gardening Australia. It's a wonderful organisation and the website is very extensive, with no end of topics, information pages and factsheets on sustainable gardening.

Some performance art at fund-raiser -  there were these paper mache sculptures of skyscrapers (attached to two men crouched below sand-pit tables), and when the haunting music started, slowly came to life,  uprooting the soily buildings from the sand-pit and wearing monster masks, proceeded to scare the crowd with their moans and roars, dispersing soil everywhere.  The cantankerous monsters obviously represented the earth, having a good whinge at us humans.

I thought with all the art I have posted on this blogspot, I should have a dedication to all artists who help us to give the earth the good press it deserves.  So I thought it was time I posted this painting, by Andrew Ioannidis again.  Bellisima!

Today we will deal with the letter 'W'

UK is facing its most diabolical drought in many decades. Sent a tweet just now on this topic.

Wicker beds are just one way of dealing with drought, as the technique actually encourages a kind of reverse absorption, going against gravity, I believe.  Wicker beds are something to be researched as I personally have never dealt with them so the Sustainable Gardening Australia website is one to look up.

But on another 'w' topic, I got a call from one of the councils about weeds, and they said they are having more difficulty with chilean needle grass, as this one is harder to detect than the one I have been banging on about ad nauseum.  (Us greenies do get a bit nauseatingly repetitive, don't we!)

So just to bore the reader a tad more, the next weed I will raise is the very lofty and weedy Desert ash (Fraxinus angustifolia subsp.angustifolia).  Now I only realised at the beginning of my course a couple of years back that this is a naturalised envrionmental weed.  It pops up all over my area, and it has a habit of popping up just next to a fence, or a house and if it gets tall enough it will start to uproot your house.  Thrice it has popped up in very awkward positions around  my home.  The trouble is it can grow to literally a height of a 3 storey building, it grows really quickly in all the rain we've been having, and it involves so much maintenance.   The one on my boundary with the neighbours is lifting up the concrete path next to the fence.  I am happy my neighbours love it as it gives them tonnes of shade on the north western side. However, for me it's not so lovely.

I will attach a photo when next it is light!  Perhaps one of my next topics will be non-weedy trees, that don't take so much maintenance.

On another note, the thing I really love about summer is the sound of the cicadas, or is it crickets.  Anyway they make a great noise that lulls you off to sleep.

From this ...

To this !

Another bee in bonnet

Agie self-seeding in garden.  Oops, using this photo a 2nd time!

New Zealand Councils are taking action on the Agapanthus weed, so this one is obviously taking over 'the world'.   The common tall variety with blue or white flowers Agapanthus praecox spp orientalis seeds March to May, so we are almost there.   Stop them self-seeding. Time to dead-head has arrived!

Let's stop Agie imperialism, me-hearties.

Here are some interesting links:


http://www.yarraranges.vic.gov.au/files/5d70dc8b-8442-4a72-8548-9d2700dd7471/Agapanthus.pdf


http://www.homelife.com.au/garden/plants/agapanthus,5304

Beachside

http://news.domain.com.au/domain/real-estate-news/beachside-gardens-need-careful-planning-20120127-1qk5o.html

Here is a link to some comments I made on an article on beachside gardens, and a few coastal issues which mirror the problems we are having in the city, somewhat.

Will write to councils that agapanthus need to be deadheaded, to stop seed spread, pretty promptly.

Sustainable Gardening Design - What is it?

To build or not to build. That is the question.  In my meanderings I came upon some 'outdoor space' videos, where the broadcaster talks up building walls with hedges.  These can be quite good for biodiversity, especially if it's a hedge which attracts pollinators. I was very happy to see this.

Bio-diversity is becoming the buzz word!  This means what we have outdoors should aim to restore the natural balance, and retain symbiotic relationships that all living things have with each other.

Build if you must, but what is de rigeur is:

(1) For those who don't have much space, go for a crazy paving or a  mixed paving and planting area, which can look smart (or rustic) depending on the types of pavers used.  Then have some planters around and trellises for vertical gardening (beans, snow peas, tomatoes), or espaliered fruit trees along fences or plant vines over a pergola for shade.

(2) Allowing for water absorption on-site, and trees

Water can stay on site due to vegetative bio-mass or it can run-off to stormwater pipes (due to hard surfaces, water being deviated from roofs to drains). Run-off causes contamination which also causes algal blooms in our waterways (fertilisers contain nutrients that end up contaminating our rivers, lakes, and ground-water.) (Think Gippsland Lakes - crustacean industry is in the doldrums because of cyanobacteria in the blooms.  Broad acre farming has responsibility in this too, but this is the food most of us eat.) Use organic fertilisers and benign soaps for cleaning surfaces outdoors.  Lawn can capture a lot of run-off too.

(3) Allow for a mix of  trees, bushes, herbaceous plants, grasses and ground-covers for carbon sequestration and shade and greater bio-diversity to attract different types of bees, butterflies, birds which are insect-eaters, nectar-eaters and seed-eaters.

(4) Leave sticks, hollow boughs lying around if you can, to encourage the bigger critters, who will help keep the pests down eg slugs, snails.

(5) Purchasing timber only when you know where it's coming from. If you are unsure where the timber is from, contact your local wildlife group or Green Peace - Good Wood Guide, Friends of the Earth web-site or such like who can give you sustainable sources to buy from. For eg it's better to use a treated pine for your decking and retreat it using an ACQ (less toxic) treatment than to cull Indonesian and Malaysian rain-forests of their rapidly disappearing hardwoods.

If taking down the timber means taking down endangered animals that is irreversible theft from nature! The trees can grow again, but the animals won't, if the parents are dying out.)

(6) Practice companion-planting in your produce garden.  Look up key-words like 'lure plants', crop-rotation, green manure.

Like Outdoor Rooms like Parking Lots

http://www.treehugger.com/urban-design/urban-depavers-return-parking-lot-land-nature.html

Posted a comment that Outdoor Rooms also need to be as permeable as possible for the same reasons as open landscapes.

Decking timber is no monkey business

Supply of timber decking is a key issue for this blogger.

Last month I read a very interesting article raising the issue of supply in the timber market for good local product.  From what I am hearing there is product there but we are paying a premium for hardwoods.

This begs the question again re affordability of decking timber that is able to be purchased in Australia which is durable and not deleterious to overseas native forests and habitats.  Merbau/Kwila the most popular decking timber is used in most cases, and this means wildlife habitats in Indonesia, New Guinea, etc are going to be wiped out, if we continue with cutting them down for paper, palm oil and timber.

Another reason for caution when building up and out, our outdoor spaces. Try to source suitable reclaimed timber, or some examples of hardwoods to try are Spotted Gum, Sugar Gum.  Actually, Spotted Gum has a much higher Janka rating than Merbau, so it would last longer.  The other benefit to Australian timbers is that the hues work harmoniously with our landscapes, and the exotic ones tend to look out of place.

Benefits of lawn aka fake turf

http://www.greenlivingonline.com/article/why-lawn-care-green

This is quite a good article on why lawn is actually very good for the earth.
I think lawn deserves to get better press.

The Sustainable Gardening Australia also has a good page entitled
Turf Wars which is hugely informative.

The landscape mimicks the land

Blue-green algae in Gippsland lakes and elsewhere are making havoc for local fishing, wild-life, and of course tourism.  Blue-green algae is caused by excess nutrients entering the waterways, due to sewerage run-off and over fertilisation. Our lands grow barren as we turn over crops without practicing traditional crop rotation, companion planting or other permaculture principles. Meanwhile birds and other pollinators head off to greener pastures.  Hence pests become a problem and the bad cycle continues with pesticide use on the rise and land and habitat degradation compounding as a result. The land needs a bit of a rest. 

Similar things are happening at the local urban level, in our back-yards as we are turning them in to mono-cultures resulting from more streamlined gardens, which means the pollinators don't have much to attract them.  Again off the birds and bees go to greener pastures. Urban run-off leaves little water left in the ground, with the water-table needing replenishing after years of drought.  Run-off to creeks, and oceans is on the increase as we continue to build up our back-yards. Fertilisers high with nutrients (phosphorus, nitrogent) leach in to the ground and flow off in to creeks which lead to the sea, again causing blue-green algae blooms, and making eco-systems sick.  I wonder if it is a coincidence that  our Melbourne metropolitan beaches are being rated as 'fair' .

Remember, that our back-yards, though seemingly just our private domain are also an extension of the wider land and our waterways, and we should be much more careful as to how we use them.