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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Sunday 25 December 2011

All seasons greetings in a christmas day

5000 calls for emergency assistance later
Well, I got my wish for a white christmas (see last blog), but perhaps I should have wished for something else.   I was thinking how nice it would be to be in the northern hemisphere having a white Christmas.  The first photo shows we did have a white landscape in part, thanks to some severe winds 30 celcius plus hailstones.  Now, I don't get how these hailstones didn't melt when they hit the ground. Shows the lightening force with which they sprang from the sky.   And the next photo is a section of my front garden, showing what an eerie light these Christmas storms brought with them. Ten kms north, there was a twister heading their way.  Speaking of which the Northern Territory is being lashed by floods and Cyclone Grant. This is the season not only to be merry but to have your wits about you for cyclones, fires, rips at the beach, sharks, jelly-fish, snakes, poisonous spiders ... The Gold Coast has been closed due to high waves.  In Australia, we really do get the whole kitten kaboodle, for seasonal malaises. My next research project will be to see how the latest fad - outdoor rooms bear up with hail stones, heavy torrents, winds and other extreme events. 

This photo doesn't do justice to the eerie light brought on by
the storm in between 3 hailstone onslaughts. 

Saturday 24 December 2011

Dreaming of a non-arid christmas

It's late December, and low to mid 30s celcius time. The other day, 49 degrees celcius was reached, although I forgot which region.  

This is what Christmas in Australia is all about. Pretend snow, Agapanthus, white xmas trees and lights a flashing, too much food at lunches on days we refer to as 'stinkers' or 'scorchers'.

Christmas in Australia certainly beats being in the Maldives, the Phillipines, Africa,  Christchurch, NZ (repeat earthquakes!), Northern Japan, and most of the rest of the world, at the moment.

Also, the caterpillar which crawled out of the the corn which I placed under the Christmas tree is living proof that organic farming is critter friendly! See photos of caterpillar wishing everyone a merry Christmas.





Our cockatiels were enjoying a good soaking with the spray bottle.

Thursday 15 December 2011

Land-clearing national issue

Two of our more serious environmental issues affecting land-management in Australia, are land-clearing and weeds (both listed ie declared and environmental - not yet declared).   Some might even go so far as to say that Outdoor Rooms are a type of land-clearing, on the domestic scale. Perhaps this is a tad extreme, and we greenies have to avoid being too extreme.

But on the technical level, we can be mindful of what potentially gets cleared or disturbed when you build an outdoor room:
  1. Top-soil -  see post of 31st October
  2. Trees and plants
  3. Biodiversity 
  4. Potential for a carbon sink - see post of 7th September
  5. Potential for cleaning of ground-water and storm-water - see post of 16th September
  6. Rain-forests if imported illegal timber is used - see post of 8th October. 
Also, building outdoors can sit oddly with ol'fashioned gardening principles for biodiversity and 'martha gardner' (pardon the pun) type remedies.  I can't see antidotes against pests, snail and slugs such as crushed up eggshells, beer traps, coffee grains, twigs for small reptiles being used around the  built up garden.  But maybe, I stand to be corrected.
Outdoor rooms are definitely all about being tidy, and minimalist to match the latest stream-lined architectural style.  

Wednesday 14 December 2011

Landscape that a webpage forgot.

          LISTS, LISTS, LISTS ON ENVIRONMENTAL BLOGS.  
    When reading material on the internet, it does seem as though landscapes and gardens get forgotten when reading serious environmental matters.  Next time you go to a website on global green issues, see if you can find anything about landscaping and what we do to the space outside our homes.   This really is something that gets forgotten, unless you happen to click on the topics themselves.
  • For example, see this list from www.abc.net.au/environment/ 

ALL
·         CLIMATE CHANGE
·         ENERGY
·         FOOD
·         FORESTS
·         GREEN BUSINESS
·         GREEN LIVING
·         HEALTH
·         LAND MANAGEMENT
·         MURRAY DARLING BASIN
·         NATURE
·         OCEANS & REEFS
·         POLLUTION
·         TRANSPORT
·         WASTE
·         WATER
·         WEATHER

A John Ruskin Quote - However, Plants are Not Made Equal

Agies seeding themselves, and in the
front garden, too! 
Being thus prepared for us in all ways, and made beautiful, and good for food, and for building,
and for instruments of our hands, this race of plants, deserving boundless affection and
admiration from us, becomes, in proportion to their obtaining it, a nearly perfect test of our
being in right temper of mind and way of life; so that no one can be far wrong in either who
loves trees enough, and everyone is assuredly wrong in both who does not love them,
if his life has brought them in his way."

-   John Ruskin, 1819-1900, Modern Painters VI  


That quote pretty much captures it all.

But there is one thing I should add that all plants and trees are not made equal.  Noxious and environmental weeds are our second largest ecological issue in this country, after land-clearing. 

On one of my more dangerous landscaping jobs this week which involved a piece of metal getting wedged in my eye along with a smidgeon of rust, I did still spy a goodly number of Agapanthus (Agapanthus praecox spp. orientalis) spreading about the eastern and inner suburbs of Melbourne (and coastally, too). It is a real takeover bid in public and private places. What I don't like is how they dwarf a lot of the native shrubs and really look quite silly protruding out of otherwise quite tame garden beds.  It's important to dead head them ie remove the flowers before the seeds disperse.

Over the holidays, I will send some letters to councils and local papers about this.  In the meantime, check out this list of well-known weeds.

http://www.gregsindigenouslandscapes.com.au/Environmental%20Weeds.htm

Friday 2 December 2011

Tricky course finally finished.

Well, a bunch of us finished our Sustainable Landscape Design course this week, and we are all pretty proud, as out of 45 people starting across two streams,  two and a half years ago, apparently only 16 of us have got through.  Apparently the course is one of its kind in the world, with a similar title anyway. It was a great exercise in getting your head around designing on the computer, dropping all those bad gardening and landscaping habits and just coming to appreciate what we have around us and how divine and precious it is.  It seemed apt tonight when I went out in to my garden and found about 10 tomatoes on my vines. They've come a bit early this year, thanks to all the rain.

And, what a fantastic bunch of people we've met over the last two years, and have to thank  them for being so inspiring and knowledgeable, Frances, Mim,  Brad, Stu, James, Kerry, Helen,  Gary, (Swinburne teachers) and Bruce, Tracey, Ryan, and all the fantastic staff at Sustainable Gardening Australia (my volunteer job).  I also have to thank Andrew for his help when I was struggling with getting my head around some complex building aspects, and without whose help the green roof would most certainly not have got up so smoothly.  I also have to thank my family, especially my son, Sebastian for putting up with the infernal tirades at the Vectorworks software programme (oh, and the vodka helped too).

Tuesday 15 November 2011

Roof garden on chook shed is progressing .. See blog 28/6/11

Roof garden on Chook Shed cost less than AUD $100
Planted in 3 cm of substratum, instead of the standard 5cm plus

Thursday 10 November 2011

Green The Film

When building an Outdoor Room, ask yourself where is your timber coming from -  watch http://www.greenthefilm.com/ before you decide to use timber from native forests overseas.  As you lounge in your outdoor setting, the lovely orang-utans are languishing and perishing.  


Q,R, S, T, U, V etc Sustainability Alphabet Soup

Decided to refer to this as a Sustainability alphabet soup.  Dot-points. We greenies have a tendency to be too long-winded in what we say!  A person designing their Outdoor Room or Garden can mull over this alphabet soup before making any decisions.  

Q is for ...... err .... Queen Elizabeth, and her family who are avid produce gardeners
R is for Resources -  always check the Source, Rainforest source (A big no no), Reclaimed or recycled source, Roof Gardens.
S is for Soil erosion and Salinity, Shade Trees, Stormwater discharge and the impacts
T is for Top-soil (all the vital living beings within it) and Towns in Transition (Totnes, UK!)
U is for Urban Heat Island Effect
V is for Vertical Gardening (Produce, Ornamental, air-cooling, indoor or outdoors, horticultural therapy)
W is for WSUD (water sensitive urban design), Wind-breaks, Waste (from building works), Worm wee, and Worms.
X  is for ....  err ... help.  
Y is for ... Yard ...  have to come back to that one, too.
Z is for Zoning in the garden eg hydrozoning, plant-stacking (shade for plants)

Thursday 3 November 2011

J, K, L, M, N, 0, P ... sustainability alphabet

J is Juice, Jams/chutneys from your produce patch or balcony
K is for kool kid-friendly kitchen gardens
L is for Leacheate (Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs), herbicides, timber finishes, chemical pesticides, high nutrient fertilisers, vehicle residues etc)
M is for Merbau/Kwila and other habitat significant exotic timber species (to be avoided!)
N is for Native Hedging and native formal design (Oui ... c'est tres possible)
O is for Organic fertiliser, Organic soil, Orangutans ('Orrible Merbau decking!).
P is for Pollination,  Pebbles and Paving (glare/heat factor, active waterway source:?) and Perfectly 'ppropriate Permeable Surfaces (permeable paving, porous concrete etc).

Readers feel free to add more in the comment box.  Merci beaucoup.

Tuesday 1 November 2011

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!

Saturday 24 September 2011

A burst of sunshine in the house

Another Andrew creation.  Cut flowers are a great  feature of
authentic gardens. 

And let's not forget the Wind! ........ Hiss!

Last week, we had one of those blistering barnacles of a windy week, and people I know were cursing, that's climate change, and what's it going to do to our gardens etc.

This is another thing to consider when we take away the garden and start installing something akin to an outdoor room.  How well are screens, structures secured down? In a mighty storm, are we better off having a well pruned garden  and trees with deep roots that can bend and sway, or man-made structures that might, if not installed correctly, break apart and wreak havoc in peak storm events. Then there is the permeability and heat island benefits of having planted up gardens with large porous areas.

This is where arborists come in in advising us about suitable trees.  Methinks in years to come, this profession will earn a more hallowed reputation than before.

Monday 19 September 2011

A cynical poem for gardens

Getting dirt under our nails
bothers our tidy minds
as do the bric a brac, cupboards jam-packed with jam jars
that don't match
because our shiny home so bright
we see our reflection in
shows up the dirt on our sheeny boots.

So we pack away the tired old things,
the objets that don't match
we bury the soil,
bury the bugs,
tramp down the worms,
scare away the bees
that need the trees,
that feed our afternoon teas.

We uproot the shrubs and put in a cordyline or three.
It is a  local environment take over bid
No habitat is thine
but an tidy outdoor room
where one might dine
gas heater, and all
and a silver spoon or two
(to see our reflections in.)

Friday 16 September 2011

And another great picture by Andrew

A desert landscape, after all this talk about drought and ground water .... does seem apt.

Thanks again to Andrew, for contributing a photograph of another one of your works.

Bore Water not so boring after all

Being naughty blogging during my online classroom about sustainable water use. A lot of this we have covered in water sensitive urban design, aka WSUD.

My teacher is talking about bore water, golf courses (clear-felling of vegetation), high salinity in our soil, and all the things that interfere with our water table.  One of the things affecting our ground water, in Melbourne is surprise, surprise ... the increase in urban impervious surfaces.  And one of the culprits,  sorry to say,  is the building of extensive outdoor structures which often (though not always) consist of surfaces which repel storm- water (also known as non-permeable surfaces). What happens is rain-water gushes off concrete, paving and decking and in to drains, creeks, eventually polluting our seas (fats, acids, contaminants, pathogens, hydrocarbons, nutrient load. Oh, when will she stop bleeting on, I hear you reply!).   What our groundwater needs is more permeable surfaces : recharging or replenishing - not vast amounts of water being flushed down our drains!  A major ground water complaint is the problem with house cracking and doors shifting which I know so well in my house, with the attendant expenses and security problems which ensue (doors/windows not closing properly).

Remember: it is the extensive garden with its vegetation and soils, which filters the rain-water, and replenishes the water table.

Our teacher reminded us that we have to be careful with how much water we harvest in rainwater tanks, and what water harvesting can do to our water table, especially if large volumes of water get stored over time, rather than being discharged back on to the soil.

So one day I will finish writing the A to Z of all the reasons not to build up our outdoor garden areas.
It appears we have most of the letters covered already.   (See previous blogs.)

And who would have thought ground water could be so interesting.   http://www.toplinenursery.com/images/sal_water_cy2.jpg This is an interesting link.

Saturday 10 September 2011

Talking to friends recently

        After the dinner I felt like sharing some photos from
              NYC evoking lounge room with glamorous cushions!
Hope to get back one day! 
I got talking with some people at a dinner I had recently, that it might be time we slowed down pushing the whole sustainability band-wagon, as a purely green related 'stunt' and instead promoted the cause under some other banner, eg economics, health etcetera.

I do have to say that bleary eyed and under the influence of alcohol, they looked back at me blankly, and abit askance.

I have long been interested in the way we market the campaign to the public, and ways of making greenie lifestyles more appealing.

Perhaps folks will be more interested to change behaviour if it's promoted to help them get fitter, or to slim down, or help save them money.  I note that all of these benefits go with gardening, and lowering your carbon footprint in the garden (as decks, paved areas and the like do cost a packet).

And so saying, in my spare wee hours of the night, I have set up a website called www.converseconserve.com   It's a place where we can share ideas about promoting sustainability. Green marketing from a different angle.

Wednesday 7 September 2011

Trees and CO2 Recapture

I went on to Green fleet and this is a very helpful site.  http://www.greenfleet.com.au re trees and C02 sequestration.

I entered my car use and came up with 1.84 tonnes (as compared with 4.3 tonnes for average car in Australia).   To offset these emissions, Green Fleet would plant 7 native trees.  So each native tree would be worth around 0.25 tonnes per year of uptake.

Note: a tree need only reach a height of 2m to be considered for carbon recapture.  Never forget the savings a tree can give you if placed properly for shade.

Green Fleet say their aim is to recapture 268 tonnes of C02e per hectare with 750 to 1200 stems planted per hectare.

And I make a true declaration that I do not have a conflict of interest in writing this blog, as I am not an investor or associate of Green Fleet.  Merely grateful for the information I found there.

Trees as Carbon Sinks - HELP!

Still looking for information on trees as carbon sinks.

So far the articles I have come across have not been that helpful.

Methinks will need to write around pleading for assistance with this one.

Thursday 1 September 2011

One more reason for the bee in the bonnet

Another reason for having a bee in my bonnet about outdoor rooms (especially those which occupy most of the garden!) is :

Their COST. An outdoor room can cost in the order of $50,000 to $80,000.

Bearing some resemblance to bee in bonnet
Now in these days of housing unaffordability in Australia where prices are at an all time high, we must consider whether it is economically sustainable to invest further in our homes.  How sustainable is it to to add value to house prices, when prices are levelling out and in some areas coming down? (And you can take it from me, as one of my jobs is a facilitator of financial literacy workshops!)

Householders need to look at whether they will ever recoup the investment of an outdoor room, especially in areas where prices are already overly-inflated.

For more reasons, for my 'bee in the bonnet' pardon the pun, go to my first blog of 22/6/11.

Tuesday 30 August 2011

Strange association

Just got off the phone from my son's paternal grandmother and she is well into her 70's and just played 18 holes of golf, then went shopping and also took the dog for a walk all in the one afternoon.   I nearly fell off my chair!

Zing in 2 spring
There is something to be said for doing all your own home maintenance and strange about how looking after your local environment means you are looking after YOURSELF TOO.  

Speaking of which here are some more little catch-phrases we could use in this campaign. 

Nature needs nurturing by ourselves, using our better nature.    

Got a bee in my bonnet about outdoor rooms but the bonnets are just not flattering to the bees, I'm afraid. 

Looking after trees. Now that is a good deed.

I plan to research how much carbon is sequestered by having large trees on your property.  

Monday 29 August 2011

Thanks Andrew for your pollination creation

Wow what a lovely picture precedes this.   Done by a man whose varied art works are literally and liberally distributed across Melbourne.   Definitely a man of many talents.  Hopefully from time to time there will be more postings of his art.

I saw a very interesting article by Carolyn Ireland, from the Globe and Mail (24/8/11), entitled The Urban Rethink - Goodbye Gardens - Hello Outdoor Rooms.  This is from a Canadian newspaper.   The Outdoor Room is taking over the world, or one would think from the title.  You can see one of my comments on that site.

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/life/home-and-garden/architecture/architecture-features/the-urban-rethink-goodbye-gardens-hello-outdoor-rooms/article2141654/

We need to be posting our reactions before the entire globe gets reduced to concrete and potential rubble.




A pollination creation

Thought I would put a painting up I did in acrylics.

Did this about 20 years ago.

Think it tells a story of what this blog is about. Over and out, Andy


Tuesday 23 August 2011

Two years till new government ... what then?

We have two years to see what the Gillard government and the Greens can do with their range of environmental measures.

In two years, if there is a change of government the word 'sustainability' will not be so fashionable.  We might need to start talking more personal benefits such as health and budget if we want to raise the benefits of a true blue garden.  Strangely enough, it often goes hand in hand, that promoting sustainability and health and hip pocket go together.   It is all about prevention.

The Liberals will be all about promoting the building up big of outdoor spaces, as this involves more expenditure and is a great boon for industry.  Industry thrives om fashions.   The landscaping industry is a trillion dollar industry, so a lot of people are keen to see the growth of built up outdoors, rather than a few cubic metres of three way (soil) mix and some plants.

So come, two years time, I hope this blog will have had some impact! I truly do.

Thursday 18 August 2011

Trees clean out more than just the air

Thanks go to my friend Alan M for this great shot!!
Regrowth after the Black Saturday
fires - 46 degree celcius
day with winds we won't forget
I drove down past the Otway Ranges, running some workshops (one of the jobs I do) earlier this week, and I have to say our timber and dairy country down that way is really to die for.  With all this rain, it was so lush and idyllic.

On my return I feel so reinvigorated (and my walks weren't very long!) There really is something in the air out that way that cleans you out. Actually, the atmosphere reminded me of a Twin Peaks film, minus the log lady and the owls.

Highly recommended.   The air just isn't like anything we get in the city. Please note that the photo isn't actually a shot of the Otways, but from Kinglake.

Friday 12 August 2011

Recapping why Gardens vs extensive built structures

Summary of why gardens are golden:
  • filtration function - ground-water, storm-water and CO2 sink
  • oxygen giving benefits
  • soil and environmental health -  gardens protect top-soil and ground water: help avoid compaction, erosion, contamination
  • birds, beetles, bees, ants and bees play an important role in  the biosphere
  • shade, urban heat island, wind-break benefits
  • productive benefits (eggs via chooks, growing vegetables, fruit)
  • reduced need for resources from old growth habitats, and reduced waste compared with outdoor structures  
  • non C02 intensive, provided lawns and hedges are kept small  (large hedges require oil powered machinery to maintain).
  • horticulture therapy - connectedness to nature, the cycle of life and the seasons
  • fitness benefits and Vitamin D!
  • cost-effectiveness - outdoor structures come at a high price

 These benefits are all potentially lost when extensive outdoor structures are built and substantially replace the garden.

 Tips for building Outdoor Spaces sustainably
  •  Build small rather than big.  
  • Ask yourself: Is your Outdoor Room going to substantially do away with a garden?  See first half of this blog as to why gardens are vital!
  • Opt for permeable surfaces over non-permeables.  
  • Don't build if the product is sourced from existing habitats, eg sourced from coupes illegally logged or active waterways
  • Think about the economics, before you act.  Are you investing in a fad?   
  • Chose plants that attract pollinators.
  • Protect, nourish (with compost) and conserve the top-soil (sediment control/erosion/soil biota).      

Wednesday 10 August 2011

Not on the tomatoes!

I was having a chat with Nicolle about how it was almost spring and time to get out to do some fertilising. Well, up went the eyebrows! I brought out my two bottles of fertiliser and the finger went up in the air (swish swish). To my usual expectation I got the third degree about a product I had bought and had plenty of faith in. I also got out one with 'Seasol' written on it. After being educated on the impact these products can have on the environment I told her I'll be using the organic one on the vegie beds and only putting the chemical one on the hanging baskets which drain over the deck and concrete.  Signing off, Andrew


Tuesday 2 August 2011

to Honourable Joe Ludwig, Minister for Agriculture.

I sent off a generic letter to Hon. Joe Ludwig, the Minister for Agriculture (via one of the many environmental lobbying groups that come in to my Inbox) adding, one heading:   

Let's slow down the promotion of outdoor rooms which substantially replace gardens. 

When you visit those outdoor room sites, you have to ask yourself how much of the timberused is from a non-sustainable source (a stand of trees hundreds or even thousands of years old, habitat and bio-diversity rich (orangutans), which will take untold generations to regenerate). 

In 2007 and 2010 the Labour Govt made election promises to ban illegal timber imports. The Draft legislation before the Parliament includes 5 years jail for those who overstep the ban.

In a letter to Mr Ludwig, we ask him to include an obligation that importers declare information about the nature of their products.  (After all, without knowing more about the timber itself, how can these laws be enforced?)

Lack of legal chain of custody is the main problem.  The only statistics that we could find are from Wikipedia, which are mostly 7 years old.  ( It isn't surprising how difficult it is to get a figure, given that the activity is hidden!)


A joint UK-Indonesian study of the timber industry in Indonesia in 1998 suggested that about 40% of timber throughput was illegal, with a value in excess of $365 million. More recent estimates, comparing legal harvesting against known domestic consumption plus exports, suggest that 88% of logging in the country is illegal in some way. Malaysia is the key transit country for illegal wood products from Indonesia.  Profiting from plunder. How Malaysia Smuggles Endangered Wood,   2004

Source: Wikipedia, visited 1 August, 2011.

Saturday 30 July 2011

Gardening and horti therapy

Just did an hour of gardening and mowing with the hand-mower. On these chilly days, it certainly pays to be active.
So I started thinking about all the different muscles you use when you garden.

There's the bending over and pulling the weed out muscles, and the pushing the mower propellant bits, and the dragging the rake doosy whatsits and the pulling the green bin thing em a jigs,  the carrying the mulch and tonnes of other jobs that need energy and muscle power.   And your brain wafts off in to vague out land, which has got to be good for you.      

On the topic of horticultural therapy, here is a photo of my favourite pet, Nibbles the cockatiel enjoying his freedom, before he decided it was time to come home for lunch.    The bird eagerly alighted on my hand, when I found him tired and hungry, masticating on a pile of woodchips, in the next door's front garden.  Tis an intelligent bird who knows where his bread is buttered.

Sorry, but taken with a less than ideal mobile phone camera.
Birds aren't noted for staying still!

Wednesday 27 July 2011

One more list

Wow, I'm really on a roll. This is my second blog for today! And this is another list to add to the last one. Oh dear, us greenies really love our lists don't we!

When keeping it real in the garden, I suggest you always bear in mind these dot points:
  1. Air/Plant/Soil Protection (Contamination, Erosion, Compaction)
  2. Stormwater (diverting away from drains to raingarden, standard garden, rainwater tank)
  3. Biodegradability and reusability and recyclability of materials to avoid waste
  4. Reduction in use of resources overall
  5. Shade/Wind/Ventilation/Heat Island effect - permaculture aspects
  6. Maintenance and overall social sustainability 
  7. Companion planting (like conditions for like), appropriateness and longevity of plants
  8. Do plants require fertilisation, pest treatment at regular intervals etc?
  9. Habitats, habitats, habitats 
  10. Watch out for environmental weeds which are our second most serious problem, aside from land-clearing. 
And that's all I can think of today.

Tuesday 26 July 2011

Some Googling or Doodling Ideas about the Real Outdoors

On the topic of the real outdoors, I thought I would share what are some topics we can google, doodle or brood upon.

Now the first ones to be doodled over are:

Habitat Plantings/Bog Gardens/ Exotics - Natives - Indigenous Plants  
These all are supportive of biodiversity and thus wild-life conservation.

Productive Planting
Try fruit trees on your nature strip, provided there's not alot of pollution on your street.  Vegie plants can look artistic interspersed with sedums, marigolds, echiums, and plants with mixed colours and foliage.  Never forget your companion planting guide.  Sustainable Gardening Australia's website and booklets for sale, are very useful for this topic. Also, check out Van Leuwen Green's website - talk about a wonderland vegie garden.

Raingardens, Wetlands, Swales, Buffer Strips (in addition to Rain Water Tanks)  
These all act as stormwater purifiers or water diverters so these can occur.

Permeable Paving  Surfaces
Stepping stones, ground covers, crazy and random paving, Lilydale or Dromana topping (fine gravelly surface which does need topping up) plus commercially made permeable surfaces which can support car-parks, driveways and general pedestrian areas.  These divert 'stinky stormwater' away from the drains and the house and also perform a filtering role too.


Roof Gardens and Vertical Walls
On a previous posting I mentioned putting in a roof garden on my small chicken shed, as experimentation.  I am going to have to do some more work and not to worry, as nothing will be wasted ... err... the weed mat can be used in the garden, and I will replace it with a more effective filter layer.  I will also need to attach another waterproofing layer.  You cannot neglect the waterproofing on a green roof.  The poor chook doesn't like the plip plopping drips in front of her nesting box ... no sirree.  Just as well I started small!

Lawn and lawn substitutes such as ground covers
Poor old lawn can get bad-press.  The fact is having a lawned or ground-covered area is much more beneficial for the planet than a decking.  A small area can be hand-mowed and you can keep it small and go for some other permeable areas mentioned above, such as cobblestones and grass interspersed.


So sustainable landscaping can mean lots of options apart from the standard lawn and border planting set-up.

Don't forget the slogan:  Out with the Outdoor Room and In with the Real.  As Ali G would say, let's keep it real.

Sunday 24 July 2011

Any room for orangutans with the outdoor room?

You open a glossy magazine or real estate pages what you typically see is lots of greys, tans, and neutral facades with their mono textural renders, and perhaps one facing has some shingling or lattice like detailing added to create visual interest to break the monotone look. So you take a walk through the interior with its chrome finishes sparkling in all directions. The first thing I notice is how extremely neat and uncluttered it all is. Next observation: why not study where the light falls to decide whether the home is 5 or 6 star rating.  Then, you get to the outside and the first thing you think is- Geeh Whiz, the Outdoors are as tidy as the Indoors.  In this modern world with outsourced cleaners and everything done for us, it's not surprising that the view outside is as controlled and contrived as the one inside.  Everything is so shiny looking, every where you look.  You'd be surprised to see any bird droppings anywhere.

So, next, the eye alights on the timber which sprawls in all directions.  Methinks the decking might be spotted gum, red iron bark, sugar gum or locally milled blackbutt. They are meant to be sourced from sustainable sources from within Victoria, or perhaps another Australian state. This could mean reclaimed timber from farms, recycled from industry or sourced from a plantation. What else do these timbers have in common? They come at a premium price, approximately two to three times the price of timber sourced from the third world (in most cases from an old growth forest). Meanwhile the ongoing push is to install outdoor screening, walls, flooring, and other structures.

Now can the reader see the problem that presents itself?  Unless prices of sustainable wood can come down significantly what are we going to see? I leave it to the reader to decide whether we can afford to keep promoting outdoor rooms at the rate we are doing, and what might be the offshoot of speaking of outdoor rooms as sustainable. I don't know the word that means the opposite of serendipitous. Unexpected bad
result. Often a well intentioned marketing campaign ends up having the opposite result.  It's only the big name promoters with their big name clients who can afford to use these 'safe' timbers on a large scale.

Next up will try to source figures of how much habitat supporting merbau and other old growth timbers are getting in to the country compared with five to ten years ago. Watch out lovely orangutans, the Outdoor Room installers are moving in.

Friday 22 July 2011

Up the Beanstalk - Put A Second Story on Earth?

Reading 'Cradle to Cradle' (highly recommended bestseller by M Braungart & WMcDonough)  and their section on the role of Ants in making the world a better place reminds one that without a living eco-system how can the Bees and Butterflies and Ants do their jobs of keeping living things in production, how can Beetles do their clean up jobs, how can Ants eat dead things, and do their job of growing important fungi, how can Worms till the soil, feed the Birds, who are also pollinators, and seed distributors?  These vital little critters need soil, gardens to do all of this.  This hearkens one to the question : why are the proponents of the Outdoor Room so keen to downsize nature in our already built up cities?  I think if they had their way they would build a second floor on to earth, and construct a fake bean stalk to get us there.

Saturday 16 July 2011

Tips for Avoiding Common Eco Garden Errors

These are a few little tips which can help contribute to healthier gardens and world :
  • Bring in new top-soil only if absolutely necessary. Better to use what's on site, or raise the garden bed using compost or a three way mix but make sure it has compost built in to it. Remember, it's the living critters in your garden which help with nutrient uptake, not the empty top-soil.  Soil that's already on site is precious. 
  • Avoiding digging unnecessarily in the garden (releases carbon sequestered in the top-soil, so unnecessary digging is a big no no.)  Also see my first post about gardening, over hard-scaping.
  • Remove large items like cars, green refuse bins from the garden to avoid soil compaction. 
  • Using a more eco-easy weed-killer like glyphosphate on your weeds a couple of days after it rains or after you've water (don't waste your time on the lifeless drought-tormented plant as it won't be very receptive).
  • Using the weed-killer on the plant while the weed is still young (make sure it's applied to the leaves and stems)   

  • Do investigate a plant to check if it has weedy tendencies before planting.  Remove weed trees like common desert ash and plant one which isn't prone to spreading to other properties.  Remove the seeds and flower heads from plants eg mint, agapanthus before they can spread. Weeds         are  one  of  Australia's  biggest environmental  problems aside  from  land-clearing!
  •  Fertilise only when you have to and only use organics, if you can.Google what fertilisers do to our creeks, ground-water and seas.
  • Finally research sediment control when doing new landscaping. Try to avoid sediments, chemical fertilisers and pollution getting in to drains.  Use sediment control sausage bags which stop these draining away to the wrong places eg your vegie garden beds, and lay down protective plastic in key posies etc.          
         PS The picture was taken at lovely Mt Macedon 2010.

    Sunday 3 July 2011

    Arid designs can be pretty too

    Now, I do need a decent drink. 
    We’re about to go away for a short trip to Sydney and while half of the travelling party are busily watering the plants before we leave, not so,  in my winter wonderland of a sustainable garden, where there is very little to be done watering wise. I have to admit I’ve been really ignoring watering the celery!  And I have been known to neglect the peach tree, a heinous act because it produced the most divine fruit known to man, but that was before I started my sustainable landscape design course.   

    Aridity does not equal ugly! The trick is to select different colour tones and foliages to add visual interest that thrive on drought and neglect.  The plants hardly required fertilising (which can cause pollution to our ground-water and detriment to our creeks, acquatic life etc). So I have a few of all of these: Adenanthos sericeus (the beautiful Albany Woolly bush which can go to 3m), Ficinia nodosa (knobby club rushes, a rain garden plant to 1m),   Isopogon dubius  (not so dubious about the rose cone flowers), one Leptospermum petersonii (lemon scented tea tree to 3m), Libertia peregrinans (rhizomatous perennial),  Leucospermum patersonii (spreading bush with orange sunburst flowers) plus herbs such as basil, a silvery curry plant, vegies such as celery,  spring onions spinach and sprawling ground cover sedums that add gorgeous hues and cover spots where weeds would grow.  The Telopea corroboree (Waratah) is not doing too well as it's got singed by our 35 degree days too many times. The garden started off with a two tone mulch swirl reminiscent of an aboriginal painting with its contrasting earth tones, but with time the swirl has dissipated.   We chose mulch from a recycled timber source. Best to use the larger variety that doesn't blow away! 

    To avoid weeds, try a weed mat before planting, that degrades over time.  Wish I had used one, but over time the weeds are starting to slow down.  When weeding or spraying, wait a couple of days after the rain, when the roots are regaining their mojo.  Being wet, the roots will also dislodge easier. 


    Tuesday 28 June 2011

    My current passion


    One of my current passions is green roofs and vertical or living walls.

    Green roofs are all the rage in Europe.  The multiple environmental benefits are set out at Green Roofs Australia's website, which include great insulation for one Rhode island 5 year old hen.  Sadly her friend died one freezing night. You may not be aware but you probably have a partial green roof already, with lichen and moss growing on corrugated iron as I found on my very dilapidated garage, or on your terracotta tile roof.

    The reality is that in Melbourne, Australia our roofs are not generally equipped for intensive green roofs (as they are in Europe, UK, and some parts of the US), as our roofs are not constructed for snow.  But extensive roofs are possible in many cases.  The trick is to make sure the waterproofing layer is flawless.



    We recently built an extensive green roof on to my chicken shed.  It is preferable to overlook a small roof top garden, rather than a swathe of sheet metal.   It cost about $90 which consisted of a tin of waterproofer, some treated pine, nails, brackets, plastic drainage layer, weed mat as filter, and scoria, sand and wood chips for the planting medium.  I've planted mine up with sedum plants (a variety of colours) as per the photos.   

    Monday 27 June 2011

    Some are newer to blogging than I am

    I was with one of my followers last night who wanted to write this

    Interesting reading.  I had always thought about my garden as something that is aesthetic and hadn't thought about it from all those environmental angles.

    So I am posting this message on their behalf . I guess that makes me a 'ghost writer'. Better luck next time.

    Wednesday 22 June 2011

    Calling on all sustainable garden plotters

    New York Greening
    This is my latest bandwagon and am trying to galvanise fellow sustainability students and practitioners. 
    Let's have a think about why gardens are gorgeous, good and holy. 
    Gardens are Next to Godliness as they clean our air, they filter storm-water and groundwater, they give us oxygen, they are necessary for wildlife - habitats, pollination which are vital to our sustenance. They have minimal embedded energy. They are mostly child-play friendly. Gardens cool our environment, create shade, lower the urban heat island effect.  Provided the plants are hardy : drought/ flood tolerant, they mean minimal maintenance and can be long-lasting, easy on the pocket. Soft surfaces reduce water run-off substantially and ultimately the load on our stormwater systems, and ultimately our creeks, oceans. By developing a lawn and a garden these act as a carbon sink, and lower our demand for timber, quarried resources - especially those from unsustainable sources. (Compare outdoor rooms which use up resources like they are going out of fashion.)       
    Gardens - getting down and dirty - is good for you!  You find muscles you thought you didn't have any more. 
    So calling on all sustainable garden plotters, let's try to slow down the rapid expansion of the outdoor room, and the hardscaping of our landscapes, for all of the above reasons, and more.