Romaine's Garden

Features

Archway This wonderful structure designed and made by Peter, leads into the Secret Garden and is smothered in a variety of climbing plants. These include: a pink, summer flowering jasmine with an unbelievable fragrance, a purple, winter flowering native climber, hardenbergia violacia (Happy Wanderer), a white, spring flowering wisteria which is yet to flower and a pink summer flowering Bignonia. These climbers are underplanted with pretty erigeron and also my favourite peppermint geranium. Throughout the year these plants make a beautiful and fragrant display in a very small space and are a wonderful division of one garden from another.

Construction and completion of Archway

Sundial This feature is situated in a sunny spot near the entrance of our house and was a Father's Day present given to Peter. However, this present is also appreciated by the whole family. In the minds of the children, the sundial should not be a stagnant feature, instead it should occasionally be turned one way or another so that its purpose is more decorative than one of a reliable time keeper. The dial sits on a circular,cement, platform made from a garbage bin lid filled with cement. When cured, the cement circle and the dial were placed on an old, recycled, terracotta pipe and then surrounded with a planting of green and stylish English box. These fourteen plants, (although who's counting?) are spaced at hands length apart and I have been regularly clipping them to make a neat and formal, circular hedge. I will eventually finish this picture with a fragrant and pretty edging of low growing thyme.

Wishing Well	Birdbath

I have always loved the magical qualities associated with that of a Wishing Well. Perhaps this intrigue came from reading the stories of Enid Blyton as a child, with tales of fairies, gnomes, elves and the famous Wishing Chair. I thought the Secret Garden would be the perfect place to build such a well and with a certain amount of patience and effort Peter and I were finally able to complete the task.

Construction of a Wishing Well

The fun part is rolling a rusty, old, 44 gallon drum to your yard. Remove both top and bottom of your drum, with hammer and chisel, for drainage. Decide the position of the Well and place two treated pine posts evenly either side. Construct the top somehow,(Peter did this part) and use fence palings for the roof. Find some small, flat rocks and cement them row by row until the top is reached. Concrete a circle around the base of the Well and sprinkle with stones for interest. Find or make a wooden bucket and add a shallow, false bottom for birdseed. As a finishing touch and to protect the wood, rub the roof and bucket with linseed oil. Add freely draining soil and plant your favourite flowers, herbs or berries. Enjoy your efforts and make a wish!

Worm farm About five years ago our family adopted about 1000 pet worms and although we didn't get around to naming them, they were all well treated and housed in a well drained, rectangular, plastic container. Commercially produced worm farms are readily available, although recycling any large container with a lid, could be just as effective. A bathtub would do the trick, although not the one you are currently using, as I'm sure bathing in worms may not be enjoyable. We feed our worms with fresh kitchen scraps, old bread and occasionally manure and avoid feeding them citrus, onions, meats and cheeses as this is distasteful to the little wrigglers and will only make their cosy home smelly.

There are about 350 species of earthworms in Australia, with many different habits. So it is important to make sure that you have the right earthworms in your worm farm. The CSIRO has described the two broad categories of earthworms as: Composters - composting organic wastes, reared for fish bait and production of soil conditioner. Earthworkers- live free in the soil, improve soil conditions and promote plant growth.The type of worm to get started in your worm farm are the composters. Tigers, Reds and Blues are the most common composters and are not normally found in the soil.

Woven Willows This feature consists of two rows of New Zealand Willow trees. The trees grow parallel to each other and have been bent and tied together to form an archway of eight trees. I then pleached the trees to make a shady tunnel along the back fence for the children and have recently planted some evergreen climbing jasmine to smother the tunnel in yellow flowers during the winter.

Birdhouses The three Birdhouses are recent additions to the garden, and are presently unoccupied. The first is a small house made of fence palings and "straw", nestled in the branches of our white Robinia tree. The second, discovered in a pet shop is a cleverly woven house made of "sticks". This house is perched under the eaves of our home. The third house made of "bricks" is concealed beneath the canopy of a native black wattle and is a strong and sturdy structure. At present, I look forward to our birdhouses becoming occupied and consider the possibility of the last house becoming a haven for The Three Little Birds.