The nature strip takeover continued.

Today I finally, finally, got the chance to plant my native babies into the nature strip out the front. To set the scene: the Weather Bureau is predicting that we here in Adelaide will have the average rainfall for March over these few days (beginning last night, we dreamt to the sound of it drumming on the room and spattering off the gum trees). This morning SP had her swimming lesson with D (how very suburban of us) and I took the opportunity to get digging out the front. It was drizzling a little when I started, and the rain continued alternating between heavier and lighter, spotting and spotting, grey and misty. The cars splashed past me, and I probably got a few sideways looks as I got wetter, and wetter and wetter. No doubt my neighbours thought I was odd (Honey, that girl next door, the one that never wears shoes, is even weirder than we thought), but I was having a brilliant time: scraping away the dolomite layer with my mattock; cutting into the slippery clay; adding the peat and compost mix and stirring it all about with a hand fork. There is something sublime about playing in the mud and the leaves like that.

Anyway, here are the babies ready to go with their peat and compost bedding;

and here they wait in the mist while I dig their beds;

down the western end of the nature strip the water runs off the path and over the gravel. I chose this spot to put the Common Rush as it prefers boggy ground;

and now they have been all snuggled into their holes with a little basin around each to hold the water.

Later on I'll add a row(?) of Tussock Grasses along the path to tie in a little with the planting along the fence;

Species List:

Correa 'Dusky Bells'

Poa poiformis (coastal tussock grass)

Eremophila 'Rottnest Emu Bush' (red flowered form)

Eremophila maculata compacta (red flowered form)

Eremophila 'Kalbarri Carpet'

Melaleuca fulgens 'CF Payne'

Grevillea lavendulacea (Victor Harbour form)

Juncus ursitatus (Common Rush)

Bargain plants make for happy gardeners.

We might have moved temporarily to another house, but it hasn't stopped me shopping for the garden and the nature strip takeover.Since we're now within walking distance of the 'Village of Stirling' (which, by the way, is a very pretty place to spend the Autumn even if I am dreading Winter here just a little) I was able to wander up to the monthly Stirling Sunday Market, where I discovered, to my joy, that there were many stalls selling plants and one in particular even had cheap plants (bonus for the gardener on a budget). These little beauties were $2.50 each, or 10 for $20 (5" pots, woot!). Naturally, I got 10 plants without even blinking, asking the plant-guy for bags to put them in as I walked around choosing my babies. 

I got:

Catmint 'Walker's low' (Nepeta × faassenii) because I've read it's a traditional rose under-planting, and very pretty, and attracts bees to the garden.

Pepino Gold (Solanum muricatum) for it's 'melon-like fruit,' even though I've never eaten it in my life.

White butterfly bush x 3 (Gaura lindhermeri) because I've recently fallen in love with it. 

Common Rush (Juncus usitatus) because I'm quite taken with rushes and grasses at the moment.

And to help me in my quest to bring in the birds I bought:

Correa 'Dusky Bells', One of my favourites, as you should know if you're a regular reader. 

Eremophila 'Rottnest Emu Bush' (Red form).

Eremophila maculata compacta (Red form).

Melaleuca fulgens 'CF Payne'.

Those four are Australian natives though not indigenous to my area. Stay tuned for updates on their progress.