Daphne is everywhere in my chilly, upper Blue Mountains garden. It loves acid soil, which is why I grow it, along with azaleas, rhododendrons, and hydrangeas. At last count I had nine…..sorry, ten. daphne bushes. What could be better than a shrub that flowers in mid winter
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BLUE MOUNTAINS TWITCHER Introducing myself…Editor Des. After a bit of training I’m now a master bird watcher in the beautiful Blue Mountains. I was originally banned from this pursuit by my guardian Pauline Conolly, because I kept chattering and scaring Mr Satin Bowerbird. For heaven’s sake,
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I rather like misty days, they remind me of cool flannels being placed on fevered brows. Our property adjoins the Blue Mountains’ National Park and sometimes bushwalkers become disoriented, blundering into my garden. I point them in the direction of Govett’s Leap, with a gentle warning to
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FOR THE FIRST CHAPTER, CLICK HERE. August 26 2018 – A second chapter in the life of Mr S. Bowerbird of Memorial Park, Blackheath. It had been raining all day, converting many bottle caps in the bower to miniature swimming pools. Poor Mr B. was kept busy
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Introducing Mr Satin bowerbird outside his Blue Mountains home. His address is No. 1 Memorial Park. Blackheath 2785. This is a very well located, private property only a two minute walk to the village (twenty seconds in full flight). Swimming pool complex nearby and someone to cut
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You can never have too many paths within a garden, either. I love to have them winding everywhere. If my husband says I should get rid of one for some pragmatic reason I say ….. definitely not! Edna Walling, the Australian garden designer, once said that if your paths are
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Some people say there’s not much to love about red wattlebirds. And yes, they are aggressive little blighters, with a rasping call. But the bird is actually quite striking, with a striated chest and pale yellow ‘undercarriage’. Then there are those little ‘wattles’ below the eyes that
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I was a bit disappointed when Blackheath’s Altitude Café moved last year, even if it was only next door. It had lost some of its ambience I thought. However, when I called in some time later everything had changed. One whole wall was devoted to a series
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I have a great fascination for social history, and for our native, satin bowerbirds. Yes, there is a strong link between the two. When the adult blue/black male bowerbirds or the green juvenile ‘apprentices’ build their bowers they decorate them with anything blue they can find. For
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This is what the bower of a satin bowerbird looks like (below right), with its collection of predominantly blue ‘treasures ‘, assembled to impress the ladies. I’m afraid the birds mostly use human trash these day, especially bottle tops. Bowers were full of plastic straws in my
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