Biandar for sale once more

Biandar is now officially on the market. We have retained the right to sell it ourselves, but we also have two agents, one from Alstonville, 10 kilometres south of us and the other from Bangalow, 17 kilometres to the north. We assume that each will attract different clientele.

If a buyer does not eventuate, our PlanB is to draw an imaginary line around a few acres, keep that under control, and let the rest of the place go back to nature.

The short rows of macadamias just beyond the vegetable garden have seen the start of this process. We have planted over 50 rainforest trees between and within the rows . Some are already quite large, and in a couple of years there should be a flourishing extension to the rainforest.

The larger blocks of (healthy but negelected) macadamias will, we expect, eventually also revert to rainforest. After all, maccas are rainforest trees native to this district, and birds do keep spreading seeds. The area over the hill will be largely left to its own devices, though we will need to mow the track to the pump on the creek. We hope to be able to keep the camphors and privet from taking over.

On this side of the hill, the numerous rainforest tree seedlings in the nursery, either in the longterm seedboxes or already in pots, will be planted in the area north of the pines and southeast of the house. I can’t see myself being able to resist collecting and germinating seeds, so the number of planted rainforest trees will continue to increase.

We plan to reduce the size of the garden, and place more emphsis on shrubs and mulched areas.

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Back again

After a long hiatus, we are back blogging.
Our webpage has not been accessible for a number of years, ever since we switched from our original service provider. Now we have procured a domain of our own, and re-published our blog, who knows, we might even get really serious about selling after all our ambivalence and wavering.

Friends have downsized and moved to Ballina, and we have been mightily impressed with the new life they have made for themselves. In that flat area, they can bicycle everywhere,  their new house is lovely and their new garden is small enough to not be a burden. It is a tempting example.

Our new website is at www.biandar.com.au.  Why not pay us a visit?

Open Garden

For my U3A group, I wrote about our Open Garden this year, and now I am adding that illustrated talk  to this blog.


Note: Clicking on any photo will enlarge it

Open Garden at “Biandar”, September 2011.

It was Tre who, in 2007, first asked if we would be prepared to open our garden as a fundraiser for Heartfelt House. This organization provides courses that help adult survivors of childhood sexual abuse, and they do very good work, so we agreed. We were told that the Open Garden scheme run by the ABC takes 60% of any money raised, so we decided to organize the whole affair ourselves so that all of any money we raised would go to benefit the charity. This year, 2011, was our third Open Garden

As usual, Bruce and I would be responsible for the garden and Plant Stall, Tre would organize the catering , and Heartfelt House staff would handle the publicity.

Preparations began many months ahead. First, photographs of the garden at various times were studied, to see what blooms in which weeks. This informed the choice of the actual time for the opening. We then liaised with Tre and the calendar of Heartfelt House and selected a date to suit us all.

We decided on spring, mid September, because the Eupatorium, the Echium and the Lorapetalum should all be out then. The Tung Oil, ranunculus and, maybe anemones, should be in bloom, and the navy-blue babiana should be spectacular.

In February I ordered the bulbs and prepared the ground for planting them in March. I ordered daffodils too, not for the opening, but to refrigerate and pot for us to enjoy ourselves.

A database of WHAT jobs were needed and WHEN they needed to be done was obviously essential if nothing was to be overlooked, so I hied me to my trusty iMac and got busy with Bento. At the end there were 200 separate items listed in weeks from -21 to -1, ranging from Strike cuttings of hydrangeas in May (week -16) , through Cut back red hot poker clump, in August (week -8) and Mulch & weed Pool bank (week -4) to Compose and print guide & map and laminate (week -2) and Set up plant stall (2 days before).

As work progressed on the various areas of the garden, it was extremely satisfying to call up the database and change the field from "not yet begun", to "in progress" and , finally, to “completed”.

Bruce worked on the house , decks , gutters, and path furbishment so that all would be as spic and span as possible. For some time I had been commenting (unfavorably ) on the "ad hoc" nature of his vegetable garden, so he now proceeded to give it a defined edge and to weed it more assiduously. It ended up looking quite tidy!

One of the biggest jobs was preparation for the plant stall. I like propagating, so this was something I enjoyed. Hundreds of cuttings were struck and seedlings raised. Some were repotted more than once, and all had to be fertilised, kept alive through dry spells and rescued from drowning after heavy rain. It was very constant.

Plant labels were designed on the Mac, and I found that the best way of duplicating them was to have them printed as 6x4 photos at Harvey Norman or BigW. Experimentation showed that four labels per photograph made the best size. These then had to be cut and attached to the relevant pots in the days before the event. In previous years, I have laminated labels so they can better survive rain and watering, but this year they just had to take their chances.

The large size of our garden, and our declining energy levels, meant that coping with the weeding was a huge effort. Fortunately some kind friends each offered a morning’s weeding. A number came twice, and one wonderful soul, Robyn, came on five or six occasions. I was immensely grateful. Despite all this work, I would never claim that the garden was weed-free, but the general effect was very pleasant.

Some obvious gaps had developed in the garden where large borders of hymenocallis bulbs had been decimated by what I suspected was a virus. I usually have some pockets in the garden where I grow annuals to provide some vivid colour, but this year more would be needed to fill the extra spaces. Larkspur seeds were refrigerated and sown into trays, and punnets of assorted seedlings were bought.

I have found that planting directly into garden beds is not efficient, since small seedlings are so vulnerable to wild weather, brush turkeys, bandicoots, echidnas and dogs. What I do these days is transplant them into 4” square pots and pamper them until they are quite large, and THEN plant them out. But judging just when to expose them to the rigours of open beds is a tricky business, and some were not in full bloom by mid September. Others were past their prime. Still others were spoiled by a badly timed hailstorm.

The larkspurs germinated so well that I ended up with more seedlings than I could handle. Those that were pricked out into pots continued to thrive, so we ended up with larkspurs in many spots throughout the garden. Unfortunately, they had not come into bloom by mid September, though they are looking wonderful now (early October).

Other plants that decided to flower in the fortnight AFTER the Open Garden were the tall white and red hippeastrums, the tropical rhododendrons, the cleomes scattered everywhere, the tall electric-blue salvia, the delphiniums and several large clumps of blue, white, mauve, pink and yellow louisiana iris. The usually spectacular bronze Chinese fringe flower did not flower at all.

But despite these disappointments, there were lots of other things that obliged.

Most colourful were the 200 ranunculous bulbs with their cheerful red, yellow and orange tones

          

and the large bushes of eupatorium covered with plate sized clusters of mauve mist- flowers.

    

The scented white trumpets of the beaumontia vine were showing over the deck railing,

and the startling blue spires of the echium (Pride of Madeira) could be seen against the pool fence.

The deep blue babiana (baboon flowers) looked wonderful,

and the Justicia scheidweileri (Brazilian Fireworks), naturalised in shady areas, aroused a lot of interest, as always.

        

With its beauty so evident, every Tung Oil that I had potted was sold.

While waiting to see what would turn out to be blooming on the day, there was lots to do, apart from actual gardening

Advertising flyers were letterboxed all around the town and neighbourhood.

Media releases were issued and reporters from local papers came and took photos. 


Garden guides, maps, posters, tickets and signs were printed and laminated.

                    

A radio interview with the ABC’s garden guru, Phil Dudman, was organised for the Saturday morning.

Nametags were printed for all the expected helpers. 

Tre made marmalade and Ros made cards to sell on the day. 

Soup and scones were made and frozen.

Labelling and pricing the plants was a big job, as was setting up the Plant Stall

Quite a few signs were posted around to help people find their way,

and the Porta-loo was collected collected and set up.

All the family arrived for the weekend to support us. Son number 1, Ken, oversaw the entry and parking.

His wife, Rosa, helped in the kitchen and on the plant stall. Son number 2, Rick , and Miriam his wife, ran the plant stall. Son number 3, Geoff, dispensed general botanical wisdom to anyone who asked (though he did disappear into the rainforest now and then on private expeditions - but he has been doing that since adolescence, so no-one was surprised). His wife, Maria, looked after the granddaughters.

On the first day, the entry post was set up at the top of the drive. This was staffed by friends who each worked for half a day.

             

Another friend made and donated an exquisite arrangement of native flowers to be raffled, and this was placed on the entry table.

However on the second day we moved the raffle, and most of the tickets were sold by granddaughters, Angela and Sara, who carried the arrangement around and charmed people into buying.

A bench was placed halfway down the drive for anyone requiring a breather, and I hope they took the opportunity to admire the bromeliads.

Meanwhile, in the kitchen, from early on the Saturday, catering was in full swing. Tre and her rostered band of helpers, made many sandwiches and heated much soup.

Food was served through the window,

and patrons ate while viewing the garden from above.

The dogs, both ours and the sons’ (a total of five!), were shut away from the visitors, so Bruce periodically took them out for a run.

The plant stall did a thriving business.

and many kind remarks were passed about the garden.

Overall, running the Open Garden was a very positive experience. Having so many relatives there to help made it a great family occasion and the atmosphere everywhere was wonderfully cheerful and friendly.

Heartfelt House benefitted by over $5,500. I was especially pleased that the Plant Stall was responsible for over $1,000 of that, and Tre’s catering made over $1,100.

The efforts of lots of people contributed to the success, and it was really heartening seeing so many working so hard and selflessly for the benefit of others, and so obviously having a good time doing it.

Nevertheless, this was our last one.

        

June Garden Update

Autumn and winter at Biandar

In May, there may have been fewer blooms in the garden, but there was still much of interest.

The fallen branches that produced such spectacular fungus last year are doing it again this year. So far the plates are not very large, but they are growing steadily.

Green leaves remained on the big oak until late autumn. The oak hosts the swing, which is very popular with the grandchildren. You can see the platform of the tree house close to the trunk.

Earlier this month, the oak was in full colour. This is how it appeared from the deck, towering over the big poinciana

The Tung, as always, also coloured well this year. Its butter yellow leaves made a glowing contrast with the darker foliage around the pool.

From the deck can be seen other contrasting foliage - the bronze of the lorapetalum the yellow of the ambarellas, the gold/green of clerodendrum "Crikey" and the cream of the grevillia, "Honey Wonder".

As expected, the mystery digger in the rainforest turned out to be a bandicoot. Once we had confirmed this, we released her to return to her own concerns.

Biandar is for sale

Contact: biandar@gmail.com

Photos of Biandar

For a virtual tour of Biandar's house and garden, click on the image below

BiandarPhotos

Biandar Update

Biandar is for sale.

It's a while since photos of the house were added, so here are some current ones.

This shows the main house on the right and the granny flat, "The Retreat", on the left. It is joined to the main house by a breezeway (great for drying washing under cover!)

The front door is off the breezeway. This is accessed via a landbridge over the courtyard between the hut and the house.

This is the entrance. Notice the large birdsnest ferns, and the hanging loop of a native wisteria vine. You come through the picket gate onto the landbridge and up to the front door.

This is looking back the other way, and shows the beginning of the drive through the rainforest visible beyond the same arched picket gate.

Coming through the picket gate, you can see the drive up through the rainforest to the road. This photo shows some of the scores of bromeliads that line the drive on either side. The tree on the left with the scaly bark is a red cedar, and the one to the right of the drive is a foambark. In between is a tamarind sporting a large elkhorn fern. At the base of the cedar is another large birdsnest fern.

With all the rain, the garden has just leapt ahead this summer. Much trimming and cutting back is now needed. The problem is that cutting back results in lots of bits that just cry out to be used for propagating - so the number of pots in the nursery keeps increasing.