We live on 20 acres with a seasonal creek right through the middle ,feeding about 2 acres of swampy land ,with two dams off to the side .Our house sits looking over this .The rest is Grey Box grassy woodland that we are slowly restoring to its pre-European state .Our garden still has a number of exotics and natives not found in this area .They still provide habitat for many birds ,in fact the camelias attract many a nectar-feeding bird .
This year after the best rains for 12 years all the native grasses flowered and birds like wrens ,thornbills ,miners ,and many species of parrots are feeding on the seedheads .
The acacias are just starting to flower so various honey-eaters will move in soon .The Grey Box should flower soon too providing more food .
We bought another lot of tubes earlier this week and have spent the day putting them in after preparing the ground last week.So what did we buy ?? ---
Acacia pycnantha
A.acinacea
A.implexa
A.montana
A.dealbata
A.pravissima
A.decora
A.rubida
A.salicina
A.hakeoides
Bursaria spinosa
Dodonaea viscosa ssp.cuneata
Senna artemisioides ssp zygophylla
Eutaxia microphylla
--a few different leptospermums too ,and a favorite of mine and a very local plant ,Myoporum montanum.
and a tray of hycos containing some daisy-types ,lomandras ,dianellas ,drumsticks ,billy buttons ,and three groundcover saltbushes .
The 100 or so tubes we put in before Xmas after the rains have had about 95% survival rate which are rapt with .No supplementary watering but we have had a wetter than usual start to the year .Hopefuly this lot of tubes get away as well as the last lot .The only start they get is an amount of water crystals dissolved in half-strength fish emulsion ,about 1/4 cup in the planting hole .
Next year even more birds might get a feed or a home here .
Hux
Thanks for the information about your plot. Your swampy area would add to the biodiversity of the area.
I find it inspiring that you're trying to recreate what was there pre-European settlement. We're doing the same on the south east slopes of the Mt Lofty Ranges in SA where our 17.5 hectares were nearly all cleared for grazing.We moved in 24 years ago & have kept stock off the place.
As on your place, we've had an enormous regeneration of native grasses this year. Along with this there seems to have been a proliferation of not only bird life but also butterflies & moths.
We revegetated our land with tube stock grown through Trees for Life, planting at the break of season. No watering. Not even weed control & I estimate a 90% survival rate.
After 7 years of flat out revegetation we focussed on planting understorey & doing minimum disturbance bushcare to encourage the spread of areas of native grasses, sedges, herbs, forbs etc. The results are fantastic. There are still areas of weeds but these are being out-competed by the native grasses.
I estimate we planted about 22,000 trees & shrubs but the regeneration since then has been far in excess of what we've planted.
Apart from saving water the local species we've planted have provided marvellous habitat for wildlife. Most weeks I discover something new. As well, there's been a surge in revegetation projects in our neighbourhood. Most of these focus on trees & shrubs but with encouragement I'm hoping people will also emphasise the understorey.
We're aware that we'll never be able to replicate what was originally here but we'll do our best to get as close as possible while we're here. And this is the sad part about the ongoing clearance of so much natural habitat: it can never, ever be returned to its original state.
Anyway, good on you, Huxter. You're providing a great model for others to emulate.