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plant profile: honey locust

2016/03/23 Danielle 0

I’ve just ordered another selection of wattle seeds, to germinate and plant out. These are all varieties with edible seeds, so they’re a pretty good multi-purpose plant. The idea is to plant about half of them in our Zone 5, along with holm oaks, cork oaks, stone pines, and a variety of other semi-wild food plants and bee forage plant species – the other half will go in the pasture/woodland area as shade trees. This pasture area is going to include a series of paddocks through which our poultry and the hypothetical future goats (and maybe cow!) will be rotated. There will […]

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hot and cold

2016/02/08 Danielle 0

The climate is something that a lot of people don’t really think about much, unless they happen to be involved in climate change activism or have friends or family who are. For my family, I am that person – although my family are generally better than average in terms of awareness of climate change and the science behind it. Weeks like this – 41 degrees Celcius yesterday, and predictions of 42 – 45 degrees every day this week – make me painfully aware of these issues. The heat is unpleasant for me, but I spend my days in my air-conditioned […]

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Pasture Plans

2015/09/21 Danielle 0

The house is finished, except for a few minor items like the concrete for the verandah which hasn’t been poured yet, and only 2 of the 5 water tanks being in place as yet. We are days away from being able to move in. Days! The valuer is booked for Wednesday morning, to come and verify for the bank that the house is actually there, complete, and connected to the power and water. Then (so the theory goes) the bank pays the builder, the builder hands over the keys, and we move in. Very exciting. But being here in this […]

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plant profile: amaranth

2013/06/18 Danielle 0

Amaranth (Amaranthus spp.), also known as love-lies-bleeding or pigweed, is reasonably common in flower beds and nurseries around Perth. It’s an impressive looking plant, with tall spires of long lasting pink, purple, or orange flowers and often attractively variegated red and green leaves. Amaranth species prefer a tropical climate, but many species are frost tolerant, and they’re so hardy that they’re considered a weed in many places. I saw a few growing wild in the middle of the city this morning. Almost every part of the plant is edible. The seeds were a staple food of the native people of […]