Garden Wars - It's a Game of Attrition

These are the days that I think could be described as "paradise". The days are an amazing 22-25C and at night the temps fall down to around 10-12C, perfect for sleeping.

For many months now we've been sporadically working on the new rose garden in the backyard and a few weeks ago managed to finish the "outer" walls.

It seems the more things change, the more they stay the same. History shows we have been constantly battling the natural tendency of things to revert back to chaos and disorder, especially in this area of our garden.

I managed to locate some old pics of what will soon be the rose garden, how it looked in "previous lives".

Firstly, how this area looked when we first built our house:

Our back yard, in about 1995. There was just a rock encrusted grassy bank.

Around 1998 or 1999 my dad and step mum assisted us with building the first garden. I asked Dad design a garden for me, to incorporate as much of the natural sandstone rocks as possible and bring in minimal new elements as our garden budget was not substantial. He did this particularly well, treated pine retaining walls formed the top garden which is one metre wide and surrounds our back patio area. Below this, the garden was terraced into two, and at the centre three, smaller garden beds. We also moved the swing set to the side at that time.

In the days when our garden Mark I was created, we weren't subjected to any water restrictions at all and all our gardens were serviced by PVC irrigation systems.

The grass has died back in dry times. "Sweet Cakes" the Persian cat was in charge back then.

The gardens were a riot of colours, bright annuals and bulbs

Everything flourished in the fertile new soil we brought in until the inevitable droughts hit later, bringing tough water restrictions that meant we were no longer permitted to use our irrigation systems, handwatering was only allowed during certain hours of the day. Not long after this I returned to work and had no time to hand water, let alone in the stipulated hours. The irrigation systems became blocked with ants and whatever and we removed them.

Periodically we'd take a week's annual leave and spend that week trying to tidy up our back garden, and this went on for about 10 years or so.

Last year we decided it was time to totally rebuild this garden and started to remove the rocks. I think one of the problems with the previous garden structure was that the lower garden beds were too narrow and with this garden facing north, it was exposed to intense sunlight most of the day and so the soil was going to struggle even more to retain moisture. The topmost bed, measuring about a metre in width did much better.

In this pic we've pretty much demolished the rockeries and the grass and weeds have quickly regrouped

Here we've started to rebuild the lowest level. In between working sessions, the weeds have returned following rain.

We've weeded once more and the rockery wall is still in progress

The rockery wall is now complete. My poor potted gypsy roses are still waiting patiently.

From our old garden, a few things have endured, these are the true garden survivors. When the imported soil was leached away or become depleted, two gardenias and half a dozen miniature roses (that don't look all that small) have proven themselves to be tough and hardy.

This gardenia is one of the few plants that has hung in there over the years.

The soil is hard and inhospitable but they are not only just growing, they are also flowering! Some years they were so surrounded by weeds I couldn't find them at pruning time.

Unfortunately these roses were planted in the middle level of our old gardens, where the dividing line will be when we revert to only two levels so we can have wider beds.

China Doll (I think!) is a vigorous climber. I only had one plant a the outset but now it appears I have three!

Climbing China Doll

My former herb garden was growing out of control, lemon balm, Mexican tarragon, marjoram and sage attempting their own brand of garden anarchy.

The Herb garden reclamation project, round 1.

Voila, this section is done.

So why have we continued to return to this point, that where we are overwhelmed by the weeds that seem to dominate our lives? I think the answer is simple. Of all the weeds that exist in our part of the planet, we have some of the nastiest and most persistent of them.  If it was just a simple matter of a bit of winter grass here, or a thistle there, I think we would have been able to stay on top of the problem by regular weeding and mulching. But it isn't that easy. The weeds are so much stronger and this means WAR!

First rule of engagement: "Know thy enemy".

Garden enemy No 1: Nut grass

Nut Grass looks harmless enough from a distance but the worst part is underground. I've read that it disrupts agriculture in many countries. Whilst  I don't feel quite so alone, knowing this doesn't solve my problem. I'll continue my relentless digging and removing as much as I can.

The part of Nut Grass that we see

Nut grass is joined by "strings" that attach the above ground growth to a nut like bulb that remains hidden. Unless the "nut" is also removed, another new plant, or two, will quickly grow to replace what you've carefully pulled out.

These "nuts" are incredibly resilient, often existing way below the surface, and in our sandstone riddled area, in rock strata way, way underground. Resistant to most of the less radical herbicides, persistent digging seems to be the only means of eradication. They can survive underground for many years. Weed mats, newspaper or plastic barriers have no effect.

Meet Garden Enemy No 2:  Oxalis

This clover like growth is also very difficult to remove. Resistant also to most of the milder herbicides, what you see above ground is like the tip of the iceberg. It has a cute little pink flower.

Oxalis - What you see is not really what you've got.

Oxalis Flowers

Oxalis doesn't just consist of one bulb. Once you unearth it, the bulb breaks into many, many little bulblets, just waiting to wreck havoc on the garden a few months hence. Unless you are able to remove every single little corm, it will be back to haunt you before you know it.

There's hundreds more, just waiting their chance!

Garden Enemy No 3: Onion Weed.

If only this was something I wanted to grow! My life would be so much easier. Onion weed is similar to Oxalis in terms of reproduction. It has a white flower (as opposed to a pink flower). I can't post any pics of the flower because I have diligently cut them all off, on an almost daily basis! Not only does Onion Weed reproduce by bulb division (like oxalis) but it also reproduces from seed as an offset of the many flowers it produces. No matter how much (or how little) time I've had for gardening of late, removing these flower heads has become a priority for me.

I have had some success by removing entire chunks of the earth surrounding these noxious weeds. Unfortunately they have infiltrated the root systems of my Gardenia radicans in the front garden and I am unsure how to reclaim the garden from these weeds. I may have to resort to removing entire gardenia plants (and these are very advanced plants), washing them free of all soil and placing them into large pots containing commercial  potting mix  until I am able to control this section of the garden, and hoping they survive the trauma of the de-weeding treatment.

Onion weed is unflagging in its enthusiasm

The little cormlettes are just waiting to be separated from the mother corm to begin their own new generation, intent on dominating the world, beginning with our garden,  then our entire suburb.

It has been said that in the event of a nuclear holocaust the sole survivors would be insects such as ants, cockroaches and similar. I have a feeling that they'd be darting in and out of Nut Grass, Oxalis and Onion Weed, romping round humming "Ding, dong, the humans are dead" in their little insect heads, while the oxalis and onion weed flowers nod sagely in the breeze.

It's the last one standing who wins!



NB Thanks so much to Dad and WOSM for the part they played in creating our garden Mark I, that has provided much of the structure and inspiration for Mark II.

Things That Grow on Roses

Last week we looked at my latest garden challenge, dealing with rust on roses. So far there have been no indications the rust has spread to any other bushes, although I type this with crossed fingers.

Fortunately nice things grow on roses, such as magnificent flowers, and here's what's in bloom for me right now.

Ebb Tide

Iceberg

Lagerfeld

 Lagerfeld

Princess de Monaco

Princess de Monaco

Hero

Rosette Delizy

Neptune

David Austin Rose - I am unsure of the name of this one

Unfortunately less delightful things also grow on roses, I've taken some photos of blackspot on leaves for anyone unfamiliar with this scourge. Sadly I had no shortage of examples to photograph.

This one is showing just the black spots, the early stage

The leaves begin to turn yellow

The whole leaf then turns yellow, then brown then the leaf is shed by the bush

These leaves are just about to drop

Unlike Rust, the underside of the leaves only show slight signs of the fungal infection

Another Rose problem, Scale, an insect that doesn't cope well with a steady jet of water

And Aphids

 

Seems I've got the whole gamut of rose issues at the moment. Aphids, like Scale, doesn't much enjoy being sprayed with a steady water jet and you can remove them this way or simply allow the ladybugs (a natural predator) to take care of them.


And on a brighter note, not long after we first moved to Sydney, I planted the first half of my camellia hedge. When our neighbours built their house a couple of years later, I added more sasanquas to provide additional privacy. Now, around 20 years later, the hedge has really come into its own.

The Camellia Hedge is in full flower at the moment

 

Camellia Sasanqua Hiryu

Abutilon megapotamicum arrived on Mother's Day - just love the colours, so very cool!

Abulilon hybrid

Hebe

Tibouchina Groovy Baby

Purple Archangel, is also looking fantastic

Ivy Geranium

This week sees the final days of a business where I worked for almost 8 years. After trading for around 30 years they are about to close the doors for the very last time. I feel for the people who were there at the end and those who left as times became tougher, my friends who gave many years of loyal service, good people who must now move in a different direction. I hope the future is kind to them and they quickly find a new niche. I'll always remember the fun times;  there were so very many of those.

UCW RIP.