Those with eagle eyes might notice that I've made some changes to the sidebar. I'm experimenting with using Google's Adsense thingy.
I haven't decided yet if I'll leave it on or not. Hopefully it's not too obtrusive, and who knows might earn a little to offset the web hosting costs.
It's also quite amusing so far to see the 'contextual' placements in action. For example, there was a post ages ago I wrote about Dave's new tonka toy - ie: about him deciding to get a (real life) tractor. But all the ads when I just looked now were for cat toys and dolls! Not quite the same thing, but hey... :-)
Ads for places in Amherst, US, seem to come up a lot too. I wish there was a way I could tell it they're a bit confused geographically... but hey. It'll be fun to watch as the targeting gets better, as I'm sure it will.
Saturday, May 05, 2007
Thursday, May 03, 2007
plant ideas from Rushworth
While back in Australia I visited a friend who lives in Rushworth, about 2 hours drive further North from Amherst. She's restoring an old farmstead which has a lovely established garden with some really interesting plants. Here are a few that I was interested in for the Amherst garden:
First, this amazing lily... or at least I think it's a lily judging from the shape of the leaves and dead petals, but I can't tell for sure. Sam didn't know what it was either... if anyone recognises it, can you please leave a comment?
Another is this tree with great purple bell-shaped flowers. Again, we didn't know what it was precisely... thought at first a lilac but apparently the leaves aren't 'furry' which means it isn't that. Please leave a comment if you can suggest what it might be.
Finally, a peppercorn tree. This would be a lovely shade tree for the house garden plus the peppercorns would come in very handy in the kitchen too. :-)
First, this amazing lily... or at least I think it's a lily judging from the shape of the leaves and dead petals, but I can't tell for sure. Sam didn't know what it was either... if anyone recognises it, can you please leave a comment?
Another is this tree with great purple bell-shaped flowers. Again, we didn't know what it was precisely... thought at first a lilac but apparently the leaves aren't 'furry' which means it isn't that. Please leave a comment if you can suggest what it might be.
Finally, a peppercorn tree. This would be a lovely shade tree for the house garden plus the peppercorns would come in very handy in the kitchen too. :-)
Tuesday, May 01, 2007
painting has begun
Dad has started painting the old house.
There was a little mix-up in that we'd thought Dad was going to be putting undercoat on - and thus we still had time to tweak the final choice of colour - but it turned out that for this kind of paint, you use the 1st coat of the paint itself as the undercoat.
Anyway, it's turned out OK in the end. Dad got the paint mixed to match the colour we came up with while in Savannah. It looks good in situ, so I think that's what we'll stick with.
For the moment, Dad has just been painting EVERYTHING in this deep blue. Ultimately of course we'll have the frieze patterns picked out in contrast colours - much lighter - but he assures us he'll easily be able to paint over them later, and that the easiest thing for now is just to get a first coat of paint on all over to protect it.
Interestingly, I saw another house of similar vintage to ours while in Rushworth. They too have gone for a deep blue albeit a bit more grey/purpley, so it's not that unusual.
There was a little mix-up in that we'd thought Dad was going to be putting undercoat on - and thus we still had time to tweak the final choice of colour - but it turned out that for this kind of paint, you use the 1st coat of the paint itself as the undercoat.
Anyway, it's turned out OK in the end. Dad got the paint mixed to match the colour we came up with while in Savannah. It looks good in situ, so I think that's what we'll stick with.
For the moment, Dad has just been painting EVERYTHING in this deep blue. Ultimately of course we'll have the frieze patterns picked out in contrast colours - much lighter - but he assures us he'll easily be able to paint over them later, and that the easiest thing for now is just to get a first coat of paint on all over to protect it.
Interestingly, I saw another house of similar vintage to ours while in Rushworth. They too have gone for a deep blue albeit a bit more grey/purpley, so it's not that unusual.
designing the orchard fence
The poor fruit trees need better protection. No sooner do they send shoots up than they get nibbled off by a passing sheep or kangaroo. The wire fencing doesn't seem to have worked as well for them as the gum trees, so they're surviving - but barely.
Dad reckons, and Dave agrees, that the only thing to do is put in a proper fence.
But I've been hesitant to do so, because I was worried it would spoil the feeling of open-ness and views through to the dam.
There's no alternative however, so after much deliberation we've come up with an idea.
The 'functional' goal is to keep the sheep and roos out, but make it possible still for smaller animals, like rabbits, to get inside and eat the grass to save us mowing. The 'design' goal is to make it look nice, perhaps even sculptural, not like a traditional fence and with minimal impact on the views.
Depending on price, we're hoping to use the kind of wire that has square holes, about 15cm x 15cm. It's strong enough to repel sheep, we can use tent pegs to fasten to the ground between pillars, and viewed from a distance you'd hopefully not notice it.
The question however, is what kind of posts to use to hold the wire up.
My first idea was to make it sort of mediterranean in feel... to make the fence posts like round pillars, and put planters for cacti and succulents on top. The concept was that we could sprinkle them through the orchard and that they'd appear to have a reason for being there - almost as if they were sculptures - beyond just holding up a fence.
But, when I tried to envisage this while there, I realised it wouldn't work... it didn't have the right feel. So Mum and I came up with an alternative.
We'll make it one big fenced area around the orchard - but in a curved shape that feels natural to walk around and to fit in with the shape of the driveway. I had a go at marking it out using bricks, but suspect it'll evolve as I wasn't sure how much space needed to be between each post.
We'll use normal fence posts (ideally round, unless rectangular is a lot cheaper) with the idea being that ultimately we can paint them - perhaps in the dark blue of the house, with a gold 'finial' like detail at the top. Whatever paint style we choose, it can be a recurring motif throughout other garden features and help to pull it all together. To give you an idea of how the painted fence posts might feel, here's an example from a garden we visited in Olinda (ours of course would be much taller and with wire between):
To make it even more interesting and less 'fence-like', we could perhaps have every 5th or so post being not a post but a 'dead tree'. If we buy some uncut big branches from the local sawmill, ideally in different shapes with a few other branches coming off at the top, then they could be set into position almost as if they were the trunks of real skeleton trees. It'd give it a more natural feel and blend in with the gums of the driveway, and I could put pots and hanging planters in the branches perhaps. Hmmm... here's a sketch of the idea:
Of course, there are a few trees that are just too far out to be included in the main fenced bit. I'm envisioning that each of the mulberry and almond trees will have their own enclosures. For simplicity they could be rectangular, but the way they're lined up needs consideration. Mum and I toyed with a couple of ideas (aligning them with the walled garden; making them point to the dam) but in reality I think the best alignment will only become obvious a the point of building, as it'll need to fit in with the house, the drive, the slope of the land etc, so am not going to fuss too much about it for now.
Dad reckons, and Dave agrees, that the only thing to do is put in a proper fence.
But I've been hesitant to do so, because I was worried it would spoil the feeling of open-ness and views through to the dam.
There's no alternative however, so after much deliberation we've come up with an idea.
The 'functional' goal is to keep the sheep and roos out, but make it possible still for smaller animals, like rabbits, to get inside and eat the grass to save us mowing. The 'design' goal is to make it look nice, perhaps even sculptural, not like a traditional fence and with minimal impact on the views.
Depending on price, we're hoping to use the kind of wire that has square holes, about 15cm x 15cm. It's strong enough to repel sheep, we can use tent pegs to fasten to the ground between pillars, and viewed from a distance you'd hopefully not notice it.
The question however, is what kind of posts to use to hold the wire up.
My first idea was to make it sort of mediterranean in feel... to make the fence posts like round pillars, and put planters for cacti and succulents on top. The concept was that we could sprinkle them through the orchard and that they'd appear to have a reason for being there - almost as if they were sculptures - beyond just holding up a fence.
But, when I tried to envisage this while there, I realised it wouldn't work... it didn't have the right feel. So Mum and I came up with an alternative.
We'll make it one big fenced area around the orchard - but in a curved shape that feels natural to walk around and to fit in with the shape of the driveway. I had a go at marking it out using bricks, but suspect it'll evolve as I wasn't sure how much space needed to be between each post.
We'll use normal fence posts (ideally round, unless rectangular is a lot cheaper) with the idea being that ultimately we can paint them - perhaps in the dark blue of the house, with a gold 'finial' like detail at the top. Whatever paint style we choose, it can be a recurring motif throughout other garden features and help to pull it all together. To give you an idea of how the painted fence posts might feel, here's an example from a garden we visited in Olinda (ours of course would be much taller and with wire between):
To make it even more interesting and less 'fence-like', we could perhaps have every 5th or so post being not a post but a 'dead tree'. If we buy some uncut big branches from the local sawmill, ideally in different shapes with a few other branches coming off at the top, then they could be set into position almost as if they were the trunks of real skeleton trees. It'd give it a more natural feel and blend in with the gums of the driveway, and I could put pots and hanging planters in the branches perhaps. Hmmm... here's a sketch of the idea:
Of course, there are a few trees that are just too far out to be included in the main fenced bit. I'm envisioning that each of the mulberry and almond trees will have their own enclosures. For simplicity they could be rectangular, but the way they're lined up needs consideration. Mum and I toyed with a couple of ideas (aligning them with the walled garden; making them point to the dam) but in reality I think the best alignment will only become obvious a the point of building, as it'll need to fit in with the house, the drive, the slope of the land etc, so am not going to fuss too much about it for now.
a sad lesson learned...
In October we planted a few things without any protection from sheep, to test out how they'd do.
Sadly the news is not good.
There is no sign of the reeds. Nor did the waterlily survive - but then, after the disasters of attempting to plant it, that's not surprising.
There is only the slimmest of signs of the 'pigface' cuttings. So slight that it might be just a weed, but I found where I planted it and there is a very small shoot coming up that might, just might, be it attempting to re-grow. It was too small though even to show up on a photo, so I suspect realistically it's gone. :-(
Even the agaves are struggling. The b*****d sheep ate them, spikes and all! Well, they didn't have big spikes as they were little, but still... Dave reckons that one agave survived unscathed behind the house, but I searched and couldn't find any sign of it. However I did find the two that were at the front of the house. Both are eaten to the bone - but they're still green so fingers crossed they'll revive. One even seems to have sent out an offshoot.
Sadly the news is not good.
There is no sign of the reeds. Nor did the waterlily survive - but then, after the disasters of attempting to plant it, that's not surprising.
There is only the slimmest of signs of the 'pigface' cuttings. So slight that it might be just a weed, but I found where I planted it and there is a very small shoot coming up that might, just might, be it attempting to re-grow. It was too small though even to show up on a photo, so I suspect realistically it's gone. :-(
Even the agaves are struggling. The b*****d sheep ate them, spikes and all! Well, they didn't have big spikes as they were little, but still... Dave reckons that one agave survived unscathed behind the house, but I searched and couldn't find any sign of it. However I did find the two that were at the front of the house. Both are eaten to the bone - but they're still green so fingers crossed they'll revive. One even seems to have sent out an offshoot.
another drive through Talbot
Mum took me on a quick drive through our closest little town, Talbot, enroute to the airport. We didn't have time to get out except to pop into the local milkbar to pick up a copy of "Talbot Today and Tomorrow", the monthly newsletter. It's not available online (yet) but I've just found you can sign up for a subscription, so fingers crossed they'll post to London.
Anyway, while there I decided to do another short clip showing Talbot, because it's changed a lot in the past 2 years since the last one I did. The two cafes and the bookshop have opened, and apparently Mum heard from the lady she bought coffee from that some others are opening too soon. It'll be interesting to watch, I hope they keep to the same style...
Music thanks to Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)
Anyway, while there I decided to do another short clip showing Talbot, because it's changed a lot in the past 2 years since the last one I did. The two cafes and the bookshop have opened, and apparently Mum heard from the lady she bought coffee from that some others are opening too soon. It'll be interesting to watch, I hope they keep to the same style...
Music thanks to Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)
What a difference a week makes...
... well, actually 2 weeks, during which time there were several days with solid rain.
I've just got back from a very fleeting trip to Australia for a friend's wedding, and managed to squeeze in 2 hours at Amherst en-route to the airport. To my amazement, it was green! It's such a relief to see how quickly it greens up; to have a reminder that it's not always dusty and drab.
The lemongum trees are doing magnificently. You're starting to be able to get the effect of them lining the driveway now.
The dam has filled up quite a bit - the ridge is still visible but closing over at one end.
Unfortunately the orchard isn't doing so well (more on that soon) but just look at the green!
Here's a short clip combining images with some panoramic videos to show more:
Music thanks to Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)
I've just got back from a very fleeting trip to Australia for a friend's wedding, and managed to squeeze in 2 hours at Amherst en-route to the airport. To my amazement, it was green! It's such a relief to see how quickly it greens up; to have a reminder that it's not always dusty and drab.
The lemongum trees are doing magnificently. You're starting to be able to get the effect of them lining the driveway now.
The dam has filled up quite a bit - the ridge is still visible but closing over at one end.
Unfortunately the orchard isn't doing so well (more on that soon) but just look at the green!
Here's a short clip combining images with some panoramic videos to show more:
Music thanks to Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)
Friday, April 20, 2007
Dave's visit
Dave was back in Australia for 2 weeks at the beginning of April. He managed to squeeze in an afternoon at Amherst. Here are some photos.
It's dry dry dry, as you can see in this stitched together panorama shot from the far side. Dam is to the far right, house is to the middle right, hobbit hole and caravan is to the middle left.
The dam ridge is the most pronounced we've seen yet.
Dad has started working on the preparations for painting the house, setting up a mobile scaffold he can use to get to the top sections.
Dave got up the scaffold and took some closeup's of the freize pattern. It's in good shape, but I need to work out the colours to paint it.
It's dry dry dry, as you can see in this stitched together panorama shot from the far side. Dam is to the far right, house is to the middle right, hobbit hole and caravan is to the middle left.
The dam ridge is the most pronounced we've seen yet.
Dad has started working on the preparations for painting the house, setting up a mobile scaffold he can use to get to the top sections.
Dave got up the scaffold and took some closeup's of the freize pattern. It's in good shape, but I need to work out the colours to paint it.
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