Persevering

Will we persevere with our gardens as the drought intensifies? For those of us for whom green things are a passion this seems like a no brainer but I did have to sit back and really consider that question as we progress through spring. Already the weather is very warm and the soil is drier than dry for so many of us.  Some of my plants are already showing signs of dry stress. Even though these plants are as hardy as all get up they are not actually desert plants and desert conditions are what we seem to be facing right now. So I had to think, will I actually spend the time and possibly money to keep these plants alive until the rains come? Will I buy in water if I have to? The answer had to be yes. I either keep the garden alive until it is mature enough to do it itself or I have no garden. So last weekend I watered for the first time since last summer. The ground was bone dry.

So what makes us persevere as gardeners in such harsh conditions? For me I think it is about the delight of seeing nature triumph. With the growing plants come a growing number of birds in my garden. Did I make a difference? Sure I did. And I’m hoping to make a difference for a good many years yet. There seems to be a growing tide of people concerned for our environment and I want to be in good company with those people, caring for this precious world we are blessed to reside on for a while. The intricacies of the plant, bird, and animal life excite me. I recently watched a documentary about Leila Jeffreys. She takes the most gorgeous photographs of birds. https://www.leilajeffreys.com/

I’m also excited to see a number of councils around Australia are encouraging people to plant native plants in their gardens to create backyard habitat. As we play our little part in such schemes we start to create corridors or links between one natural bushland area and another which in turn helps to maintain ecological connectivity. See http://www.lanecove.nsw.gov.au/Environment/NaturalEnvironment/Pages/BackyardHabitatProgram.aspx and https://www.lakemac.com.au/page.aspx?&pid=1778&vid=28

In Canberra, as I have previously mentioned, the Weedswap program has been running for a number of years. IDP Nursery will be sending several hundred plants to this program on the 2nd and 3rd November to be swapped for weed species. https://www.environment.act.gov.au/parks-conservation/plants-and-animals/Biosecurity/invasive-plants

Don’t forget also the ANPS plant sale on at the National Botanic Gardens this Saturday and check our website because I have added a few new plants.

Lets continue then to plant native plants to leave a lasting legacy of lovely gardens full of birds, bees and lizards. I am encouraged that there are so many of you out there who care about our local fauna and flora so lets stick together and encourage each other while the going is tough.