INCH BY INCH...

The final part of the hill challenge is about to begin.  And if it’s anything like the first section, it’s not going to be pretty.

Rocky terrain, a tangled mess of tree roots, and soil tough enough to test the burrowing skills of a fat-arsed wombat means we’re probably in for a rough ride.

To keep positive, I focus on what we have already achieved in the hill chase. The plants in the completed section are not just surviving, they are looking lush and happy, probably more luck than judgement, even so it gives me the push to continue.

 



Overall the work completed is only about a third of the whole and there’s nothing worse than a job half (or in this case a third) done, therefore we need to get working.

Ian looks a little unsure when I tell him my plan. Especially after he googles up the forecast and sees that the next few days are going to be sunstroke weather.  

Plus the poor man has other jobs on his agenda – jobs that I may have organised for him (like installing an irrigation system) so he is torn. 

I reassure him that I can finish most of the hill by myself and will only need him for the tricky bits and his face returns to normal.  I’m sure Don Bourke never had this trouble getting good help.

Fortunately it is not as steep here as in the first section, instead it gradually slopes back to ground level as it curves around the lawn.

 

And because we cleared out a lot of scrub previously, the going isn’t so tough (not that I’m about to admit that to Ian who is knee deep in irrigation pipe and having his own dramas judging by the language coming from the shed.)

Having said that, there are stubborn weeds and a prolific, stealthy grass of some description that puts up a brutal fight.  However, it is no match for a crazy woman with a mattock and soon I have taken control and am ready for planting.

 

 

This is the part I love!

I  have spent numerous hours thinking about what I want to grow here and, as a self-confessed plantaholic, I have quite a selection at hand. I can’t wait to get them in the ground.

But there is a snag.

This is crowbar country. Even after giving the area a good soak, digging a decent hole is a punishing process.  I need help. 
And who better to call on than the man who can wield a sledgehammer with more gusto than a frenzied teenager at a carnival?

It takes a while but between us, Ian and I carve out holes in the hill, fill them with good soil and painstakingly plant the backdrop.

Always there are palms – all the usual suspects: Foxtails, Cascades etc. Also a Bamboo palm, a Chinese Fan  (planted way at the back because it grows so tall) and a couple of favourites from Mackay – a  Rhapis Humilis that almost didn’t survive the journey,  and a couple of Christmas palm seedlings grown from seeds from my old garden.

I know they’re small but I’m hoping they will take off in this shady environment.

Then I start filling the gaps.

For colour the good old faithful Crotons, Mammy and Captain Kidd and some unnamed species from my cuttings collection.  A wide variety of Cordylines including Aurora, Florence and Halole Jade add some sophistication.
 

 

 

 

Under the trees it is Bromeliad heaven so I throw some in and, because they’re doing so well in the first section, a couple of Birdsnest and Silver Lady ferns.

  

 

This is a big rambling garden and I know I will be spending a lot of time filling in gaps and balancing out the colour, but for now I have the bones in place.

Next comes the icing on the cake - the mulching.
Section by painful section...

                                                                 
Because my plans always change halfway through and because we happen to have a few bits of sandstone paver lying around, we - that is I - decide it might be nice to put a decorative paved border in front of the garden. This will make a break between the lawn and the garden bed and provide a little interest.

We also add a few tufts of Mini Mondo grass to soften the edges.

 

We  strongly believe in rewarding ourselves after a job well done. .. or a job badly done. ..or even a job not done. 

 

 

Actually, rewarding ourselves is probably what we do best!