We began tinkering with our garden since 2017, but like all gardens it is still a work in progress. The front is mostly native, while the back is for food production including wicking beds and large fenced veggie beds.
We’ve so far squeezed more than 30 fruit trees in, using dwarf varieties in pots or espaliering on walls to save space, plus some native rainforest bush-food trees. There is a strawberry wall garden and blueberry collection.
Chickens, compost bins, worm farms, flowers for beneficial insects, a native stingless beehive, insect hotel and habitat for ground fauna are all part of garden management, aiming to enhance soil biology and the ecology of the garden as a whole.
Water management includes a 10 000 L rainwater tank, drip irrigation, a large rain-garden ‘creek bed’ planted with native species to absorb storm water on site, and a habitat pond for frogs and native fish.
