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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Thursday 31 May 2012

Friday 25 May 2012

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.

Thursday 24 May 2012

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.


Monday 14 May 2012

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

Sunday 6 May 2012

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.