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READER PHOTOS! Nora's garden in Australia

comments (10) November 3rd, 2011 in blogs

Michelle Gervais, Associate Editor

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Photo: Courtesy of Nora Fernandes

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Today's photos are from Nora Fernandes in Melbourne, Australia. She says, "I had to remove my lawn due to water restrictions last year in Melbourne. I tried to create a place to inspire peacefulness and containment. I love to walk around in the garden early in the morning or just before sunset, and just look at the colours and textures. I sometimes use grey water for the garden, but most of the time, we just wait for rain. At first I thought I would lose all my plants but they seem to have survived! I am so looking forward to renewing some areas with ideas from your readers!" Thanks, Nora, for sharing photos of your garden - it's so much fun for us to get a view of the other side of the globe!

Keep sending in your photos, folks. I'd love to feature more home gardens!

posted in: Seating, australia

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A busy bench demands a busy plant

Comments (10)

wittyone writes: This is quite well done and does look tranquil and inviting. It's so encouraging when someone faced with changing gears drastically doesn't just fling up their arms and say, "There's nothing that I can do in this situation".

I do agree with wwross that keeping debris out of the pea gravel could be difficult. Not only that, the gravel absorbs and then radiates heat and makes for a hot, arid feeling when covering large expanses. My mother-in-law living in Florida had just such a lot surrounding much of her house which had been put in because of water restrictions there.

The suggestion of ground covers by wwross is a good one to add a few patches of green in the graveled area. Fortunately most ground covers seem to need a lot of sun so there should be a good many different varieties to choose from. Posted: 11:33 am on November 3rd

GreenGrowler writes: The Wisteria is gorgeous! One of the plants I love but can't grow in Colorado. The pea gravel is very soothing and Zen-like. It's true that it can be challenging to keep clean of litter (my dog's pen is gravel; removing leaves and other "presents" they leave is a bit of a chore) yet clearly this is not the case in Nora's garden. Actually, a few fallen narrow, fine leaves enhance the calmness of pea gravel - I see fine-leaved trees or shrubs in the photos. Thanks so much for sharing your peaceful retreat! Posted: 11:15 am on November 3rd

wwross writes:

This is very nice, but I agree with gdigi; The pea gravel, or other similar solution only works successfully in certain locations. In the East Coast of the U.S. there is too much stuff (leaves, twigs, etc.) that comes down onto the surfaces during the year. The gravel gets tough to keep clean and maintain. (Dirt actually starts filling in!)

Flat stones, flagstones, etc. interspersed with walkable ground cover, to mimic the lost lawn grass is another idea.

Posted: 8:40 am on November 3rd

pattyspencer writes: Very nice! Tranquil - I would love spending time in this garden. Posted: 7:51 am on November 3rd

meander1 writes: Nora definitely has the gardener's survival instinct of making lemonade out of lemons. Her areas are very interesting and visually pleasing. Is the plant with what seems like pendulous purple flowers a wisteria? Posted: 7:50 am on November 3rd

Lisianne writes: Similar to the above question about which zone: Does Australia have hardiness zones like the US does? If so, where can I see these? Sort of interesting to ponder. Thanks for the international photo! Posted: 7:23 am on November 3rd

jdigi writes: I am reading (with a dictionary next to me) in scientific papers that we could help plants and the climate by keeping all the water that reaches our property on our property. It has to do with recharging the water table and saturating the soil.

One reason to promote the idea of native plants is they co-evolved with the habitat and survive with little extra care because the plants help the soil hold moisture.

Lawns are a design statement from another time that needs to be revisited. I wouldn't want to rake leaves from gravel, and I understand gravel is excellent for seed germination from volunteers. That said, this garden is outstanding with varying heights and textures. I like the empty pots which seem to say the gardener is open to and ready for new things. Posted: 6:32 am on November 3rd

tractor1 writes: A very organized garden but where are the koalas? Posted: 6:08 am on November 3rd

JulieBW writes: What gardening zone is this?

The pea gravel is very soothing. Posted: 5:08 am on November 3rd

gottagarden writes: I really like the stepping stones through the pea gravel. Posted: 4:09 am on November 3rd

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