 | Maria Hitchcock .: 'Fangorn', 16 Hitchcock Lane, Armidale |
This native garden designed, planted and maintained by Maria comprises two very large bush gardens which curve up towards the house from the entry to the property and a number of smaller gardens near the house sheltered by some wonderful basalt stone walls built by Don. The bush gardens are bordered by a sleeper edging and have been mulched firstly with sawdust which has broken down into soil, then coarse sand, which has been shown to be beneficial to growing a wide variety of smaller native plants particularly Correas and Eremophilas and finally a layer of woodchip. A newspaper weed barrier has been used around the edges to reduce maintenance and cut down on weed competition.
Eucalypt trees and Wattles with their lower branches cleared dominate the upper canopy providing frost protection for the shrub understorey and border, which is dominated by the National Correa collection, registered with GPCAA and Maria's Waratah collection. Only the smaller plants near the garden border get watered regularly. The larger shrubs rely on rainfall or supplementary watering during long dry spells.
The Eucalyptus canopy is providing a leaf mould mulch which will break down into plant nutrients, providing a level of sustainability. A variety of watering points such as frog ponds, bird baths and bowls provide water for the many small birds which feast on the Correa flowers.
Photo Gallery
|
