Planting makes me happy.

I've been rescuing a few seedlings from work lately. This morning I popped in some kangaroo paws in the little native garden outside the front window. Finally planted the native hibiscus that's been knocking about in a pot for ages by the front door; hopefully it ill do more than just flower and die, but even that would be okay.
Two little broccoli seedlings went in that Lynn shared with me. The other day I found some kale and cauliflower seedlings that the rats had nibbled some of, so they got 'rescued' and are now in biochar, organic garden heaven.

More little local plants in the front garden.

After clearing a bit of rampant Rhagodia baccata out of the way, I put in two little local fellers from APACE nursery. One is Enchylaena tomentosa, a grey furry-looking groundcover plant with red berries that are quite tasty (though very small).
The other is a type of Calothamnus, another local, though probably from slightly further inland. It should be tough enough to survive out there, though.
Once it grows I can get rid of the stupidly big and ever-growing Tithonia diversifolia, which I'm a bit over cutting back all the time. It does have great sunflower size daisies in winter, but it takes a fair bit of pruning to keep it small enough for its spot.

Swales and terraces.

While it's raining is obviously the best time to see if there are any areas of your garden that have run-off areas, which may result in erosion.
Depending how much space you have you can make some swales or terrace type arrangements to catch that water and send it sideways, so it can percolate into the soil better.
Best suited to large open spaces on slopes, the swale is a trench across the slope, with the soil from the trench placed on the low side to make a mound.
Plants are grown on the high parts or in between swales on the slope, to make maximum use of the gathered rain and organic material that gets washed down into the trenches.

On a much smaller scale, simple use of small berms or bowls around newly planted plants can aid immensely in gathering water to soak in around the root zone. When you give it water it all soaks straight down, rather than washing away.
Tree bags are often used for revegetation projects, where they are placed around young plants to collect water for the seedling. They catch extra rain, but also gather dew in the mornings, and help protect against evaporation in the immediate area. A tree bag with a small berm around the seedling or young plant gives it a much better chance of survival in a tough environment. Some lucky plants even get a pulped cardboard mulch mat to keep the weeds at bay. These too reduce evaporation.
It all depends on the scale and number of willing people there is to carry out the work.

Getting into planting some natives.

On this fine Monday (kind of my Sunday), I have planted a few more bird-attracting plants, which also happen to be pretty and drought hardy once established.
These were a dwarf Banksia, a rescued, broken Grevillea Winpara Gem, a Dryandra nivea and some mystery low-growing Grevillea that I'm hoping will handle coastal conditions out the front.
Finally the pepino dulce plant has been put in too.
There has been a bit of rain recently, so the ground isn't bone dry, which is great. The other grevilleas that that have been in for a month or so are all looking good. Some have even started to flower.
It's a great time to be planting. The soil is still warm and there's a bit of sun, but the rain has been as well, with, hopefully more to come.

Autumn rain, make my seeds germinate.

In the last week or so it has seemed like a good time to get some veges started. The heat has backed off and the soil is good to grow a few tasty things.
I am trying out some Brussels sprouts and broccoli, while the silver beet is coming along nicely already.
It also seems like a good idea to grow leeks and spring onions. Both these onions are expensive in shops and so I don't eat as many as I'd like to; they are easy to grow, and delicious.
I reckon that I'm gonna grow some of the leeks hydroponically too. It will probably make them go a bit faster and they won't have a lot of crud inside them.
There is also a stainless steel sink full of potting mix that has some carrot seeds waiting to germinate. I've only grown tiny carrots before, so it will be interesting to see how big ones go. Our soil isn't that flash, so thought potting mix may be okay.
I always reuse the mix anyone, beefing it up a bit with some manure or something for potting plants up into.


The other day we had a tree out the front cut down by our arborist friend and have replaced it with two young Grevillea plants - G. "Honey Gem" and G. "Pink Surprise". I'm really looking forward to them growing and flowering. They will be quite beautiful and will attract more birds to the garden.

Planting in summer - soil preparation.

Soak the plants that are going into the ground to make sure the root ball is drenched.

Firstly dig the hole twice as wide and as deep as the pot size to be planted.
Fill up the hole a couple of times with water and let it soak in. This can take a long time.
You could fill up the hole with seasol and let that soak in too.

Combine the existing sand with some organic matter of some sort: soil conditioner or potting mix or manure .

When you plant consider including soil soil wetting granules on top to make sure the water will soak in correctly and evenly. Dry pockets in the soil can prevent a plant ever really taking off.

Water in thoroughly with a weak solution of kelp/seasol. Water again at lease twice a week, giving a good soaking each time to keep the soil damp enough for the roots to grow easily.