Growing up on five acres on the central coast of New South Wales I had an idyllic childhood…plenty of space and bush to explore, a creek to swim in, neighbourhood kids to play with, and always a welcome in all the homes in the street.
Everyone grew their own vegetables and shared them around the neighbourhood when they had excess. An old gentleman down the road, “Uncle Fred”, (no relation!) who no longer had family at home, grew a huge garden and shared it around.
Dad, and particularly one of my three brothers, grew a large vegetable garden in the back yard. We had a jersey cow in the back paddock and chooks in a yard providing all the eggs we could use. Two doors up an old lady ran a small poultry farm, so if hens weren’t laying, Mrs. Escott always had plenty to buy.
There was a mulberry tree growing in our chook run that supplied heaps of fruit in about November. “Uncle Fred” also had a mulberry tree…a totally different variety to ours and one I have never seen, or enjoyed, since. They were more like a blackberry in size and shape than the regular long mulberry, and so full of juice and totally yummy in my memory!!
Isabella grapes grew on the house yard fence and an elberta peach tree was near the back door covered with the best slip stone peaches in season. I loved “popping” those Isabellas out of their skins into my mouth!! Isabella grapes were about the only variety that would grow in that climate and not succumb to disease. Grapes straight off the vine were a treat.
Mum had a cotoneaster tree in the back yard and the best strawberries grew around and under that. It was fertilised and mulched with seaweed that we collected from nearby Tuggerah lake. Mum did this 70 years ago, long before it was common practice to either mulch at all or to fertilise with seaweed.
Neighbours had citrus and this was shared around also. I remember pomellos and tangellos, as well as the more common varieties of citrus, growing just over the fence, in Mrs. Morris’s yard.
I am coming to realise more as the years go by, that although my mum was not a terrific gardener in the traditional sense, she was way ahead of her time in appreciating, and growing, native plants.
A banksia, of the sort that were immortalised in May Gibbs’ wonderful stories as the “Bad Banksia Men”, was planted in our yard and was still there when I’ve driven past in the last few years.. a big tree now.
The shrub that has precipitated this column is an “Australian bird flower”, Crotalaria cunninghamii. I saw a picture of it recently and wondered why there was so much interest as it was a common shrub in our yard all those years ago!
I “googled” it and found out a bit about it and I wish Mum was around to tell me how she came by such a plant so many years ago. It is a native to Australia but from way up in the north west of Western Australia! We never visited there or had friends from the area, so I really have no idea how, 70 plus years ago, Mum had such a beauty growing happily. I was long before there was much of an interest in growing native plants and before they were readily available to purchase.
It grew well along our driveway in clay soil, conditions that apparently were far from ideal. It performed as an annual, although it is described as a short lived perennial that is not frost tolerant. We had frosts where I lived but infrequently and not heavy, so I guess it was cut in the winter and just came up again from seed each year. Most of the native things Mum grew we transplanted from the surrounding bush and hoped for the best!! Some were successful and some not!!
Mum also grew a traditional garden with roses, pansies and nasturtium, etc., and, was particularly successful with beautiful orange and yellow gallardias. Violets were another favourite growing under the peach tree while Abelia grew well along the front fence as an unruly hedge.
I only remember two roses, beautiful “Peace”, very new in those post WWII years and still a favourite of mine, and a lovely, highly perfumed, yellow one whose name I can’t remember. Two golden cypress were planted in the front yard, grew well and provided a great back drop to assorted family photos in later years. Another favourite was a lovely jacaranda. The house yard was definitely diverse!
I guess I learnt my gardening methods from Mum…things have to be easy care and pretty much fend for themselves!
Don’t forget to pick up your Garden Competition schedule from Bryson’s and return your entry forms there by 5 pm on Friday 30 September ready for judging on the following Monday.
