Nevertheless, this adventure of ours had its advantages. The next weekend we obtained the services of a local tree-lopping service (at least that's what we call them over here). We ended up with a pile of "mulched" eucalypts. We decided to share the mulch between the two households, and to repair the fence ourselves. Must confess, the next door neighbour was a much better handyman than I, so I let him do all the planning. I proved to be a pretty good labourer.
For a long time my wife and I had toyed with the idea of getting rid of the lawn at the front of the house. In the first place it wasn't a good one, and in the second place it used a lot of water. As well as all that, the last few years had been very dry ones and anything which would save water made one feel as though one was helping to save part of the environment. Wasn't it David Suzuki who said, "Work to get your home as ecologically benign as possible. Of the three Rs - reduce, reuse, recycle - reducing is far the most important precept." (The Sacred Balance: page 215).
So, by our use of the mulch from the storm damage, and a little planning, we managed to reduce our water consumption by as much as 10 percent. As well as that, I believe we began to appreciate what we really had on this half acre of ours. We had a place where we could grow native plants, and other plants - which we could enjoy. The change in the view one gets as one now drives down our drive - is truly astonishing.
What we planted!
Instead of lawn at the front of the house we now have a mixture of imported and native plants. Melaleucas, miniature conifers, azaleas, and roses sit side-by-side with hibiscus, prostrate bougainvilleas, and tall poplar trees.
The beauty of having so many different trees and bushes is the variety of greens. I won't say we have, as the Irish Folk Song says, "Forty Shades O' Green," but we are not far short.
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