Wednesday, November 3, 2010

In the beginning...


I am sure this has happened to you, too. Last night, Pam got the photo albums out, looking for one particular photo. In no time we almost forgot our mission and then started saying "Hey, look at this one, that must have been taken late at night" and "look how much hair you had back then" (that's her talking to me), etc etc. Well, she also unearthed two photos of our garden that were definitely taken within weeks of us moving in here, back in 1991. I have already done a much longer posting on the evolution of this garden back in 2008, but these two photos really capture the original garden perfectly.

We bought the property from a Greek couple, Angela and Jim, who we got to know before they packed up and moved back to Greece. Jim was your average Greek bloke, and average Greek blokes paint the lower part of all tree trunks white. It's compulsory, apparently. Jim used white acrylic paint, which is not quite right. He should have used a limewash, to deter the ants, but the white paint is also meant to keep the trunks cool in a hot, dry summer. Shame that Sydney has a hot, wet summer, but both Jim and all other Greek blokes know that it's a great look that reminds them of home, and that's really why they do it.

The second photo from Pam's treasure trove is taken from the other end of the garden, and look, I've already bought a little black Dalek-style compost bin, virtually as my first move as a gardener. I still have that little bin out the back, serving as the bin in which I keep the 'ready-to-go' compost which I make in my bigger tumbler bin. And look at all that lawn. It's all gone, not a blade of grass out here anymore.

For comparison, here's a panorama photo of the garden taken in January this year. If you click on the photo it should pop up a lot bigger. See what I mean? No lawn. One or two more plants than in the 1991 photos above (hee hee hee). Same old shed and house, but both have been renovated. And I guess in a sense the garden has been renovated, hasn't it?



7 comments:

life in a pink fibro said...

Wow! I love a before and after, and yours is fantastic. Thanks for explaining the white trunk thing - I'd always wondered about that. And thanks for the tip on the compost. My dalek-bin is at capacity and I needed a management tip.

Northern Shade said...

It is such a lush transformation, from an average backyard of lawn and a little rim garden, to an abundant garden full of life. There are so many interesting plants and colours to see in the after picture, even if they don't have white stockings. :)

Unknown said...

Much better with plants I think. I didn't know they paint the trees... Now I'll be looking out for them painted ones.

Lanie said...

What an amazing transformation!

veggiegobbler said...

Wow, you've done a lot of work. Looks great. Well done.

Roslyn said...

It's really gone from short back and sides to beautiful. It's great to see the before and after. Much prefer the after.

Liss said...

If Jim could only see it now! (that white paint story is hilarious!) you've done an amazing job - I was looking at our transformation in 3 years, I can only imagine 20 years from now - wow! <3