From Little Things, Big Things Grow

In summary...

2009-03-03T00:40:00.000-08:00

I haven't been blogging much lately, mostly because I've been so damn busy (isn't that always why people don't blog). I can't believe it's March, the months have flown by in a rush of magazine production and Melbourne International Comedy Festival preparation, birthdays, births and puppy care. Quick summary:

I finished my first edition of Green magazine, which is a solid edition. It doesn't shine, it's not exceptional, but it went a long way towards meeting my early aims for the adaption of its current form and it certainly is on the right path for where I want to take it. Low-lights include rather sticky management issues, which are currently playing out. My continued role as editor hangs on finding mutual agreement on process and protocol. At the moment I'm not sure if I'd be relieved or disappointed if we could work it all out. Time will tell.
Scout Finch is both a delight and a devil. She's just like her namesake; curious, happy and mischievous. She's a great addition to our little family and so far Hound Dog has taken to her well enough. I always thought I'd be a crazy cat lady but what's the equivalent for crazy dog people?
Another of my friends has had a baby, a wee little girl, who I'm looking forward to meeting next week. I'm currently doing all the cooking and freezing of food to take to her, which makes me feel like I can help in some small way. The photo of her I have seen shows her as a cute little thing, which is disappointing. I'm excited about someone I know having an ugly baby. I keep telling people I want them to have an ugly baby so I can finally have the chance to tell someone they have an ugly baby, but no dice.
I'm publishing another version of The Pun for Melbourne International Comedy Festival. After my life exploding into one giant ball of horror on the first day of MICF the last time we published The Pun (resulting in many tears and heartache for too many people), we're taking a pared back approach which has me almost looking forward to the festival. Right now we have our sponsors secured, our publishing plan set and are just getting to the fun (read: nightmare) bit of arranging all reviews. Young writers and creative types interested in reviewing should leave a comment with their email address. I'll put you on our writers email list.
I had my birthday in January, a very quiet affair (last year I spent it in bed, so getting up was an achievement). Tradition sees my Mum, Dad, Himself and I have dinner on the birthday itself, which didn't happen. My parents were still in Cuba so I sulked at missing my mum. A few days later himself took me for a perfect day; lunch in a cute cafe, op-shop wandering, a country drive, an afternoon staring at bats (and other things, but they hardly compared) at Healsville Sanctuary, driving home via my favourite winery (two bottles... I was restrained, really), picking up a few bits and pieces from my parents house and coming home to find artwork I really had started to believe got lost in our move. Heaven (yes, I'm aware I'm officially old and boring, but seriously... I made it out of bed).
Himself is back in the swing of parliamentary life. He's too-ing and fro-ing from Canberra at alarming speeds, but is happy as always at his Very Busy Job.

I suppose that's it really, though it doesn't seem like much in print. Given my CFS though, that's an impressive list of things to juggle. A year ago, when I could hardly get out of bed, managing a contract for another magazine would have seemed laughable. Now it's an aspect of my life I take for granted.

Abandon eco-ship!

2009-02-14T04:05:00.000-08:00

I've talked before about my vice when it comes to sustainability and environmental credentials. I just can't help myself when it comes to my bad transport habits. Unfortunately, it seems I've discovered another vice, one which I cannot see a way to overcome. I'm phobic about two kinds of bugs. Spiders and cockroaches. I aim to have a chemical-friendly home. One where toxins, especially artificial ones, are kept to a minimum. I employ natural bug catching methods and try to allow all bugs to live in equilibrium. I know that everything, in moderation, is good for the ecosystem of my home and garden.

Unfortunately, this heat-wave of epic proportions (and generally very dry summer) has lead to an influx of spiders in my home. Now, I'm not exaggerating when I say I'm phobic. I had a spider crawl up on to my pillow just as I was laying down for the night last time Himself was away. I almost threw up as I realised a) it would have been in my hair in a few seconds had I not spotted it at the last minute and pulled my head away, and b) Himself was away and I would have to deal with this spider myself. I used my 'plant based' bug spray, left the room and didn't go back in until Himself arrived home... a week later. I slept on the couch the entire week.

To my horror, last night I also realised that I had a bigger problem. First, when putting the compost bin back under the sink, a cockroach dropped from the underside of the cupboard almost on my hand. I flipped out. The idea that there are cockroaches in my home makes me want to scrub it down with bleach, top to bottom. And here is where I abandon the eco-friendly ship. I got the chemical bug spray, sprayed the sh*t out of the thing, then sprayed the whole under-sink area, under the dishwasher and the bottom of the cabinets. Then it got worse. Apparently the spray lead to a mass mutiny of wherever the hideous things were living. Two babies came out. Then later in the night, I found another big one in the area. By that stage, not only had I abandoned The Nest eco-ship, I'd started swimming for shore. Thank god Himself was coming home today, or I think I'd have had to go stay with friends. The issue was not helped when, as I returned some clothes to a cupboard in our bedroom, a spider wandered out from a dark corner of the shelves.

Luckily for me, Himself arrived back today and cleaned the entire area from top to bottom. I couldn't put my hands into the spaces, convinced an army of cockroaches was going to swarm me. So now comes the real test. How do I handle this? What do I do to make myself feel safe, clean and happy in my home... and not coat my whole house in the chemicals I hate so much? Unfortunately I think the chemicals will win out in this situation. This is how you know the difference between a dislike/distaste of something and a phobia; a phobia will lead you to abandon even your closest held principles in order for you to get past it mentally.

Little Things #5

2009-02-11T03:00:00.000-08:00

There has been a bit of a break in my posts. I've been madly rushing to finish my first edition as editor of Green magazine, which went off to the printers today.

My poor garden seemed to survive the heatwave with only a few casualties (one being the lawn), so I'm pleased. It remains to be seen whether some of the plants will perk back up again with some more wet weather, but I've got my fingers crossed.

My latest Little Thing is part of my preparation for the autumn/winter soil work I want to do in our front yard. After trying to plant a Flame Tree in the front, the true extent of the soil compaction became obvious. It is rock hard. Compacted seems like too soft a word, given how dense this soil is. It will take a lot of sweat and hard work to get it in any kind of condition for future planting, let alone to nurture the plants already struggling.

So this week saw another visit to the nursery, where I picked up some Ground Breaker. This is only step one in the plan to get the soil into better shape. If we manage to work the Ground Breaker in over the next few weeks, we can then plan to work in some Gypsum in early autumn and see how that develops as we head into winter. Perhaps by spring we might be able to encourage positive growth from the existing garden and see what might be suitable for planting.

Himself didn't want to worry about the front yard at all until we were further along with our plans for the back, but I argued that if we don't do something about the soil now we will be delayed if/when we turn our attention to the front. We seem to have agreed that we will work on the soil, but hold off putting any extra topsoil and/or plantings out there.

It's a slow learning curve here at The Nest, but we're keen to keep improving all aspects of our home. Getting soil healthy means getting plants healthy. It also means improving the water-retaining properties of our soil (which seems to let rain just wash straight off it and into the storm-water drain) and allowing us to plant further shade and wildlife-habitat vegetation. Slowly we're taking steps in the right direction.

Gardeners assistance for Victorian bushfire regions

2009-02-11T02:39:00.000-08:00

I'm not a huge advocate of blogs on newspaper sites such as The Age. I think a the majority of 'blogs' by newspapers are a marketing tool, not in the community spirit which I so enjoy in the rest of the blogosphere. Their two hideous male/female relationship and dating blogs make me positively ill, they are so sexist, misogynistic and inane.

Having said that, there are gems to be found. I love Who's Your Daddy, and have recently become a fan of Pottering By. They are both personal, informative, on-topic and engaging. Here, I wanted to reproduce a section from a very timely post by Denise Gadd:

A survivor of the Canberra bushfires, Liz Tilley, gave some terrific tips to crikey.com.au on how to provide relief for victims of last weekend's devastation.
One thing she suggested was to grow something. "Those that remain, and those that decide to rebuild, face a blackened, denuded landscape," she wrote."If you live in within reasonable distance of the bushfire area, pot some some seedlings and start growing some vegetation to help rejuvenate the gardens that were lost. Contact your local nursery, land care or conservation group to see what vegetation is drought resistant and/or native to the area.

"In Canberra, a very successful Garden Regeneration Scheme was set-up by volunteers and in the two-year period after the fires, they helped many, many people re-landscape their gardens. To see green, to see new growth, when we returned was not only beautiful but gave us hope that we too could recover."

This is a fantastic idea. It's a long-term way to offer real assistance to the people and the environment that have been destroyed. It's practical, takes advantage of many of our own skills and abilities and offers a simple way to approach both environmental and personal struggles.

I grew up in the areas surrounding these fires. In my younger years I went to school in Whittlesea, I have family in Kilmore, I grew up minutes from St Andrews and Kinglake. My family are all safe, which makes us very lucky. To say it feels awful to watch familiar surroundings go up in flames seems trite, given what others are experiencing. It is horrible for the people directly involved, and it will be for a lot longer than the current media fascination will continue. To consider doing something this direct gives me hope that we can help long after the blood drives are over and the camera crews have gone home.

Little Things #4

2009-01-28T03:34:00.000-08:00

We're about to get hit with one of the harshest weeks of sun and heat in history. We're talking multiple days of over 40 degrees Celsius. You should know, I'm not a summer person. This is pretty much my definition of hell (no pun intended). I love cold, blustery, stormy winters. In the cold weather you can rug up. In the heat, you need ice and artificial cold air and lots of water. This week is going to be horrid for me.

When trying to think of my Little Thing for the week, I realised there is actually two things we've done to prepare for the heat hitting The Nest. Firstly, we've pulled down our nanna blinds on the outside of the house. You know the ones. Striped canvas? They always remind me of Burwood or Ashburton; the suburbs where grandmas outnumber first home buyers. Well ours are down for the week. The Nest will be a dark, shadowy den for us to retreat into. There won't be much relief from the heat at night, so we'll just leave them down night and day, rather than lifting them and opening windows to let cool air in.

The second Little Thing for the week is making a concerted effort to keep refiling small containers and bowls in the shady parts of the garden for the local birds. We've been pleased to see so many native birds in our garden so far, and in the heat they need regular sources of fresh, cool water. Considering we'll be keeping the dogs inside in the cool most of the week, we can even put the water down closer to (or on) the ground so they are easier to fill and keep an eye on. I sure don't want to see a version of this in my backyard.

Heatwave

2009-01-19T13:43:00.000-08:00

Oh my poor little garden. It's just hit 40 degrees here in Melbourne, and the wilting is in full swing. The leeks and spring onions are very sad, but that tomato plant is just soldiering on. I can't wait for the wind and the sun to take a hike so I can get out there and put some water into the dry soil.

Equally frustrating, my puppy has decided that the yummiest thing on earth is the pea-straw currently mulching my plants. Evil little thing, she is. Lucky that after she's done ruining the garden she gets all cute like this.

My vice

2009-01-19T00:50:00.000-08:00

There are some areas which, no matter how green you want to be, are challenges. I have one area of my life where I struggle every day. And it's a struggle I'm not winning. My kryptonite is my car. I find it near impossible to take public transport, and even to avoid using the car for short trips. In part I have a good reason for this; I have Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (which I talk about more on my other blog).

CFS drains your energy to the point where getting up to get a glass of water seems impossible. It saps your energy when you least expect it, means the window of opportunity to get things done is tiny and/or unpredictable. It takes constant management, which makes me nervous. When I go shopping or visit friends I want to spend my available energy on the most productive thing. I don't want to negotiate walking to the tram or train both ways and doing the actual travel. My car is a safe zone for me. I can go somewhere directly, do what I need to, and if I feel terrible or I need to sleep I can get back into my car and be in my own environment. I can sleep, or read, or go straight back home. I don't have to worry about talking to people or falling asleep in public.

In truth though, I've always loved my car. Living out of the city most of my life meant that I got my license the day I turned 18. I drove to uni on the other side of town, I was the designated driver for nights out and I loved that freedom. Since then my car has been a second home. I've literally lived out of the back of it for weeks at a time when I was crashing on couches during various festivals. I associate my car with independence, and that's hard to let go of.

Little Things #3

2009-01-18T09:09:00.000-08:00

Himself is home on holidays at the moment, but for much of the year he travels for his job. When he's away I like to feel secure at home by myself, without being too paranoid. When we first moved here he was home for one week, then away for three. Being in a new house, where you don't know the regular noises, or even how to feel your way around in the dark, it's easy to get spooked. Luckily my Hound Dog was on hand to keep me company, but guard dog he is not.

In order to feel comfortable in The Nest, I tried to follow many of the recommendations that the police and Neighbourhood Watch make for home safety. We invested in some basic home security measures, but many of the other ideas were at odds with my aims of low impact living. I wasn't happy at the idea of leaving external lights on during the night, but the one sensor light we have was a high wattage globe. I wanted to leave internal lights on during the night so I wouldn't have to fumble around in the dark, but my energy efficient bedside lamp hadn't been found yet (don't you love moving?). For those weeks my energy usage was higher than I would have liked, despite installing a solar sensor light (which required no extra wiring or connection to the internal electrics) to the side of the house.

That solar sensor light was weak and pretty ineffective. That's what I get for selecting something based on price. Since then we've gone back on the hunt for a more effective solution, and found a fantastic solar sensor light. It's still got that white/blue light, rather than a harsh yellow CFL, but it illuminates a large area and gets adequate daily charge to keep going all night. After finding one that worked, we've gone back and purchased a few for the key positions around our property that an intruder would gain entry through. According to the home safety experts, the aim of the lights is to take away any cover and shadows which allow intruders to make their way into your property. Now we have a completely carbon neutral, sustainable way to meet that aim. I don't have to worry about using energy-hungry lights to keep me feeling secure. One more little thing...

Little Things #2

2009-01-11T14:31:00.000-08:00

This little beauty is Kennedia Prostrata (Running Postman). I have recently enlisted the (apparently very rare!) white and lime version of K.P. in my ongoing fight to keep the heat off our back wall. With the mass of concrete leading up to the back door of the house, along with the hot afternoon summer sun, we're baking. Our kitchen, located at the rear of the house, suffers the most during hot days. As the water pipes also run along the walls, they heat up beyond belief. The cold water comes out somewhere between tepid and boiling.

So here is the solution. There are now a pair of long pots at the base of the wall, which house a trellis with tiny tendrils of Running Postman stretching up. The plants are fast growers, so hopefully before next year's heat hits us they will have climbed up the wall. The trellis is set approx 400mm back from the wall to ensure that there is cool air trapped between the vine and the wall (which is the part that actually provides the insulating properties). Again, this is a great solution for renters, because you can detach the trellis from the wall and take full setup with you. Did you know it is estimated you can save 25-75% on household energy costs by planting trees and vines around your home? Keeping the sun off walls and windows is one of the most essential elements of passive heating and cooling systems.

That damn concrete

2009-01-11T05:43:00.000-08:00

Since we moved in here the giant slab of concrete over half our yard has gone from something I wanted to change eventually to something I need to change ASAP. Above you can see it in all its glory... although the photo is rather dulled.

There are plenty of reasons to hate this concrete. Firstly, contrary to the impression this photo gives, it is glaringly bright under the tiniest bit of sunlight. All day. Secondly, it's ugly. The two combined make it an unpleasant place to spend time in. A mass of one of the most unsustainable materials known to mankind is hardly welcome in a home desiring sustainability. Thirdly, as we discovered at the first storm, all rainfall from the top of our property flows straight down onto this concrete, gathers in the lowest corner and gushes down the driveway like a waterfall. Straight into the storm-water drain. That's incredibly bad, environmentally. The water doesn't penetrate into a porous surface, where it might add to the water table or nourish something living.

Currently we're attempting to find a solution to either get rid of the concrete, or lay something over the top which may solve at least some of the issues we have. It seems like such a waste to pull up concrete which was poured not long before we got here. On the other hand, it's just impractical, and the longer its there the more damage it does environmentally. I'm researching everything from pavers to decking. So far porous pavers such as terracotta, natural stone or something similar seem to be the way to go. We can plant creepers between the pavers and look at a way to redirect some of the off-flow of water which is a problem right now. Probably the main consideration will be what materials we can reclaim.

The basics

2009-01-09T22:31:00.000-08:00

There are some things I take completely for granted in my lifestyle. I don't consider them part of the challenge in my life toward becoming greener. They're just routine, the things I think everyone does. And then reality checks in. Not everybody does these things, and it shocks me. I understand that environmental issues are central to my life, and not necessarily to other people. But am I right in assuming that its a reasonable expectation we should all do the little things?

To me, the little things are recycling our bottles, papers and cans. Or avoiding plastic bags for small items at a minimum, let alone bringing your own bags to shop. And turning off lights when you leave a room. That's it. That's pretty much what I consider the responsibility of all of us. Not a long list. And yet there are people who don't do these things. I'm related to some of them.

Just when I feel like there is a movement of like-minded people finding new ways to tackle our environmental issues, it becomes apparent that we are a minority. Quite often this community is preaching to the converted; it's the same people over and over again who are discussing or confronting our environmental future. It's discouraging. Then I remember where I was about five years ago. I recycled, but other than that I wasn't aware of most issues of to do with the environment or sustainability. That changed because I was slowly educated. I read more, and the more I listened the more concerns I had. I started to realise the depth of the issues, and how little action was being taken by our government (or any other).

It was by tapping in to those communities that I found the drive to keep finding more information, and to take action in my own life. I don't do what I do for anyone else. I don't do it because I think it will convert people to my way of thinking, or to instruct anyone else how they should live. I'm the editor of a green publication, I blog about green issues, I'm politically active in green politics and I attempt to live green. It's my passion. But I do hope that if someone is in the position I was in, starting to get information or become interested in environmentalism or sustainability, that the same sense of community might draw them in like it did for me. When I wanted to find out about water conservation, or organic produce, there was always somewhere to get that information, or activists who are working on the issue. It's important that we keep developing our knowledge and finding solutions. That when people want to find information, it's there.

Composty Goodness

2009-01-07T04:59:00.000-08:00

We have two composting systems here at The Nest. The first, which I've already mentioned, is the wormy abode (which houses Wallythefirst through to Wallythetwothousandth). This is what it looked like when we gave them all their first meal:

The other system is a traditional compost bin. There are a couple of reasons we have two. Firstly, when establishing the worm farm we knew it would take quite some time to kick in. Then I discovered that our 'green' bin differs from the green bin I'm used to. In my old council you were able to add kitchen scraps, garden refuse etc which they would collect and make compost with. Here, the green bin (which we pay extra for) is only for leaves, small branch offcuts and expired flowers. When establishing a worm farm you can't overfeed your worms or the bin will rot and smell. All those Wallyworms don't like rotting food. Which was all the encouragement I needed to get myself a compost bin. With a compost bin you can add all the material you like, as fast as you like (as long as you get the balance right).

With two bins, it also means we can use one to compost our dog poo, which worms are entirely happy to do as long as you keep an eye on them and keep their environment under control. We can still use the compost from the worm bin on the garden, just not on any of our edible plants. It's not considered safe, considering the many bacteria that can exist at any point in the meat-eating-doggie-cycle. Having the second compost bin means we can use that for the food-related plants or wherever we like.

I'm pleased with how they are both doing so far. The worms seem content enough. I was worried about transitioning them from a mixed diet to a predominantly-poo diet, but they're still happily wriggling away (and multiplying), so that's all good. The compost bin seems to be growing nicely, too. We have placed it down the front right hand side of the house, essentially in the front yard (although tucked away). Our yard is pretty open out the back and there was really nowhere to hide it. Space is a premium and I didn't want to waste any of it there. It's actually turned out pretty convenient to have it there; it's easy to take scraps from the house, we don't use that space otherwise and of course we're not noticing any smells or anything.

Bats!

2009-01-07T01:31:00.000-08:00

I love bats. They are, hands down, my favourite animal. This probably stems from my obsession with Batman, but has developed into a full blown fascination with the little critters.

On my trip to Vietnam last year I was thrilled to sit, alone, in a cave, with thousands of bats flitting around in the huge expanse above me. All these tiny little black dots? Yup, they're bats. Including that one on the right, flying in to nest with the others. That seething mass towards the top left? A seething mass of bats. It was one of the best moments of my trip, easily.

After explaining this, you might start to understand how excited I was when I spotted a bat flying over my house last month. I lost my shit. Himself was away in Canberra, so I had to be content trying to explain to Hound Dog my exuberance at the sight of the beautiful thing in the sky. As was to be expected, he gave me the usual 'whatever, lady' look and trotted off to sniff for more exciting things on the ground. In every place I've lived there have always been bats. Where I grew up, in Eltham, there were so many bats that one even nested under the eaves of our house by the door for a while. In Collingwood I spent countless hours watching the mass migrations of bats from one side of the city to the other. It's a form of meditation for me. When we moved to The Nest here in the northern suburbs, I didn't think we'd get bats. The large parks are too few and far between. I'm so pleased to be proven wrong.

One of my aims for this year is to put some bat boxes around The Nest to encourage the bats to come live in my yard. That would be so damn exciting. I found some boxes at Bulleen Art and Garden. As an aside, you should really go there... BAAG is an awesome nursery, with a huge focus on native, indigenous and sustainable gardening. I'm also biased because I dated the owner's son growing up, and their mud-brick Eltham house, surrounded by native gardens and all the family member's artwork, is a template of my fantasy home. That aside, they're a Certified Sustainable Garden Centre and as well as stocking sustainable products they offer expert advice and support, too. But back to the bat boxes; the BAAG ones are (I think) the ones made at La Trobe University. La Trobe's are cheaper when you just buy them direct (which makes sense), but still cost around $50.

I know myself, and I won't be satisfied to just have one box. I'll want a few to dot around. It's actually recommended that you do this anyway, because you should put a few boxes in differing orientations and spots so that the little critters can move around according to the weather conditions. So I'm currently searching for the most comprehensive instructions on how to build boxes, as well as the information on which bats are most commonly found in our area (so we build the right box to start with). I'll let you know what information I dig up...

Little Thing #1

2009-01-04T11:50:00.000-08:00

In my plan to make The Nest as sustainable as possible, I'm challenging myself to do one Little Thing per week. Just one. If I can keep improving with one conscious change per week, that adds up to 52 in just one year. That's a huge potential for lots of areas in my garden and home. First change?

The Draft Stoppa

This is an Australian invention. Go Aussies! It's so damn simple, as the best ideas often are, but makes a large difference. It works like so:

Containing a set of balanced flaps which open when the fan is turned on and close under their own weight when the fan is turned off, this product is aimed at reducing energy costs by preventing hot or cold air from entering the home via the ceiling exhaust fan.

Considering the significant heating/cooling losses in our homes through drafts, a simple solution, one that even renters can install and take with them from house to house, is vital. Most exhaust fans circulate the air they pull out of our homes into the roof space above us. In order to do so, the fan must be open to provide a flow of air, which usually means that heat and cold can travel through this hole easily. Draft Stoppa goes over this hole, stopping the transfer of hot and cold air. When the fan is switched on it raises the top two flaps, which then allows the fan to work as per usual. Once the fan is off again, the flaps drop, closing up the hole once more.

Himself was kind enough to venture up into our roof space and install the Draft Stoppa for our bathroom (which is the only exhaust fan we have). It's difficult to say that this is something which you can immediately tell the difference with for us, given we've only been in the house a short time. We don't have a comparison to measure it with from last summer, or winter. What I have noticed already is that there is less dust and particles of dirt in the bathroom, so obviously the roof has been blocked off from the space below.

What our soil provides

2009-01-03T06:02:00.000-08:00

Our first teeny-tiny crop!

This tomato plant was left for us by the previous owners (very nice of them). It took us by surprise at how fast it grew, but we weren't sure how much fruit we would get from it considering we planted it without doing much soil prep (we were a little preoccupied trying to unpack all of our crap!).

Since this photo we've had quite a few more little bowls filled. Considering our rather haphazard approach to the veggie patch this year I won't be weighing and keeping track of exactly what the plot yields, but I plan to do that once we get organised. I'd like to have some idea of what does well and what we can expect from the plants, so that we can refine and improve what we do each season.

Taking stock

2009-01-03T03:09:00.000-08:00

Plants. I love plants.

Not long after we moved in I convinced Himself we should take a visit to CERES, home of all things wonderful, just to "check out" the indigenous and native plants at the nursery. Originally we weren't planning to do anything to the garden until after the summer, especially because we don't have any grey water collection in place to help us water. That lasted, oh, about .0002 seconds.

Of course, inches inside the gate of our visit to the CERES nursery I had a small collection of plants ready to take home. I convinced myself that if we were going to plant tube stock (which we have to given we just don't have the money for anything more established) we should do it as soon as possible. Shade (and privacy coverage from the neighbours) is one of our highest priorities, so I wanted to get those little shoots big and strong before next summer. That was my excuse, anyhow... in truth, I'm just in love with all the native plants they have.

So we came home with a few bits and bobs. And since then, I've been back and gotten a few more. And I've also been to my favourite nursery, Bulleen Art and Garden, and picked up a small (ha!) collection from there, too. Here are the natives we've planted in the gardens since we got here:

Alpine Mintbush (Prostantnera cuneata)
Austral Storks Bill (Pelorgonium australe) x 3 Blue Devil (Eryngium ovinum) Carpobrotus modestus x 4 Chocolate Lily (Arthropodium Strictum) x 3
Didgery Sticks (Baloskion pallens)
Green Dragon Kangaroo Paw (Anigozanthos)
Grey Mist (Atriplex cinerea)
Hop Goodenia (Goodenia ovata)
Illawarra Flame Tree (Brachychiton acerifolius)
Lemon Supreme (Grevillea)
Lime Tuff (Lomandra) x 2
Little Snowman (Eucalyptus pauciflora 'Frosty')
Melissa Anne (Alyogyne hakeifolia)
Myoporum Parvifolium – Broad Leaf Form
Myoporum Parvifolium – Purpurea
Native Violet (Viola hederacea) x 3
Phoenix (Ptilotus exaltatus)
Pultenea Pedunculata
Purple Flag (Patersonia occidentalis) x 3
Red Kangaroo Paw (Anigozanthos Ramboball)
Rosemary Grevillea (Grevillea rosmarinifolia)
Westringia fruticosa
Willow Myrrtle (Agnois flexuosa)

The ones in bold are indigenous to our local area (broadly). I blame CERES. It's their fault for growing such amazing local species and providing them so cheaply. I've also fallen for their worms, who came home to live with us in one of these little wormy abodes:

We named the worms Wallythefirst to Wallythetwothousandth. May they live long and prosper. And eat all the dog poo.

As for removing the plants which were unsuitable to the conditions in the garden, so far we've gone pretty easy. I refuse to water the totally unsuitable magnolias (I love magnolias, but they're against the wall of the house... what were they thinking? They can't grow there!), but they're still in the garden, struggling along on their own. We've pulled out are a pair of lavender bushes which were burnt even before summer began, and something else I can't remember... it had also fared pretty terribly, and considering how young it was (and the fact I was going to get rid of it anyway) so I decided it wasn't worth the water. The lavender has been re-potted for our neighbour, whose daughter loves lavender. The other one (which I couldn't remember) was dug out and put on the nature strip for someone to take. It was gone before the end of the day.

So that's pretty much what we've done since October. Well, not including the vegetables and fruit... but I'll leave that for another day.

Day One

2009-01-01T12:00:00.000-08:00

Here's what The Nest looked like on day one, when we moved in. It was a lovely blank slate to start from. Plenty of space, some fully-grown trees to provide shade, polished floorboards, a small vegetable patch and a few natives in the back yard. That was only three or so months ago. There were a few things which stuck out that I knew from the day we started unpacking I wanted to change as soon as possible.

Front yard

Backyard

Obviously it looks different already. No trampoline or playhouse, and those lovely green bits creeping in from the right edge of the picture (the veggie patch in full bloom) were already harvested when we moved in, leaving a bare garden bed. Essentially, though, this is what we started with.

In the few short months since we moved in we've made lots of changes to the garden and the house, none of which have been huge projects. I'll try to put together a collection of posts which take stock of where we are now.

From Little Things, Big Things Grow...

2009-01-01T08:37:00.000-08:00

As a general rule, I believe that you should live the ethics you preach. If you see something in the wider world you don't believe is right, it's up to you to do what is within your power to change it. Now, that doesn't mean I think we should all go off and dedicate our lives to a greater cause and think we can solve a problem like third world debt single-handed. Just that when faced with a choice, we shouldn't automatically take the easy path if it conflicts with our wider ethics.

In my life, that manifests itself in wanting to change many things about my life as it currently stands. For the last five or so years, I've become increasingly preoccupied with living outside the nameless, faceless system of work, consumerism, conformity and profit before people. I grew up in a fairly typical middle class household. I was well provided for. I went to a religious (but relaxed) high school. I ate meat and two veg. I ate takeaway and fast food. I wasn't particularly interested in fashion or "it" items, but I was allowed to have them if I wanted. My family didn't discuss politics, ethics or world conflicts over dinner. We watched two news programs a night. Took holidays once a year. Lived in suburbia (albeit a green, hippy suburb). As an adult, I've found my passions lead me away from many aspects of that upbringing that I took for granted. I don't resent how I was raised, I just think I can live more responsibly as a global and local citizen.

These days I see things through fresh eyes. I don't consider recycling in the way I understood it in my parent's home, it's about more than throwing your milk cartons into the recycling bin. I still eat fast food, but it's a habit I want to break. I'm moving away from being a mindless consumer, showing more awareness for where the products I use come from and the implications of their whole-life cycle. My life is a work in progress. I'm moving towards habits that will sustain a healthier environment; for myself, my house, my local area, my country and my planet. I try not to get on my soap-box, but I am a victim of my own enthusiasm. I don't lecture anyone on their habits, but can be frequently found espousing the ease/joy/awesome-ness of sustainability. I want other people to find out what I have - you don't have to live in a hemp tent in order to live a more sustainable life. In tiny steps, you can make a difference.

As 2009 begins, I'm in an even better position than I have ever been to make larger changes. My partner and I are finally living on our own again, with free run of a small house and backyard. We are responsible for what we do with our small plot of land and our little house in the suburbs. I can finally stop talking about all the things I wish I could do if I had the time/space/privacy/money/control to live a more sustainable life.

I've already begun searching for resources to help me achieve my aims, and have been reading and researching furiously. From my little spot here in suburbia I want to create a sustainable home and garden. I know plenty about the theory of sustainability on larger scales; I know I should get myself a water tank, investigate a grey water system, install a solar water heater and solar panels on the roof. Unfortunately I just don't have the money to pay for such large measures right now. My partner has a full time job, but I work freelance, which means it's difficult to predict our income for the next 12 months. We can't spend money we don't have. Luckily, I'm also pretty clued up on the general sustainability issues that I can implement around our home. But how will it all work in practice?

That's what this blog is about. Connecting with a network of people and resources to keep me moving forward with my little patch. I'm a completely novice gardener, lack any handy instincts and have a poor track record at making long-lasting life changes. From little things, big things grow. I want my little things to add up to some big things. Here's hoping.