The setup...

So how is the garden set up? well the front garden we try to keep for ornamental plants. Not that vegetables don't look great, vegetable gardens can be very ornamental, but the back garden raised beds were designed and built with budget before appearance. Fruit trees and Artichokes are all in the front as well as one raised bed bordered with aesthetically pleasing red bricks.


The back garden is more functional, it is home to the chooks, four of the raised beds, a large ground level bed, the garage, laundry (homebrew centre of excellence), washing line etc. The front garden therefore is like a permaculture zone 3, it doesn't need a hell of a lot of attention, the fruit trees get the benefit of a grey water hose which comes from the shower. We have found a local organic shop that sells organic shampoos and conditioners (for Sarah's benefit, look at my pic) and we use them sparingly. The back garden is like a mixed permaculture zone 1/2, and with a little forethought we can plan to have the labour intensive crops in raised bed 4, which is a little closer to the back of the house. The ground level vegie bed in the back gets the benefit of a grey water hose from the laundry and we buy a garden safe laundry powder. This is the best solution for us because the ground level bed carries taller crops, so the edibles are further from the ground and also therefore the grey water, and because in a drought stricken land every drop counts.

Cheers Aldrum