So it Begins "Chronic Pond building Anonymous"

Years ago my ancestors or people like them, worked harder than most of us will ever know, to clear what was known as the Big Scrub. The Big Scrub such a casual name for what was one of Australia's greatest forested areas. This forest was a large area of Subtropical Rain forest in the north-eastern corner of N.S.W spreading up into Queensland. When the Europeans arrived they cleared almost all of this forest for timber and left the land open for cattle country. The Green paddock in this photo is typical of what has become of this forest. As well as working a living from this land we wish to restore at least some of this grassland to its original cover of timber. This photograph is of the property in 2000, its looking back from the South/ South Eastern side of the block back towards what will be the site of the shed where we will live as Tim plants out the Macadamia Orchard. When Tim finishes the initial Planting of the Macadamia trees in 2005 there will be just under 7000 trees on 80 acres.

(20 of these acres we plan to reforest with species that would have been endemic to this area of the Big Scrub. Looking at this photograph now it encouraging to see how much a landscape can change in just a few years. This is the first planting of native rain forest trees in 2003. This planting is on the north-western slope of the orchard, well away from the previous photos of the shed site. Five hundred local native trees were planted with very few deaths. The black tree guards seen here are wallaby guards, only needed for the species they prefer to nibble on. )

This view is looking back towards the windmill back at the shed site. The windmill itself is just out of view to your left. That Dot on the right hand side of the earthworks is a wonderfully HEAVY D9 Bulldozer compacting my soil to that lovely concrete consistency every gardener will love to hate.

This picture shows what is to be the bones of the shed. The shed we will reside in, rising out of the freshly compacted paddock. The D9 has done its worst and moved on, thankfully, Iron bars aren't my Fav gardening tool.

Looking at that, the cold structure of steel and bare earth, the mind boggles. A totally blank canvas, no real points of interest and a general rural view in all directions. For someone that has tackled little more than a garden bed this is a Herculean task, a blank page, a daunting vastness that struggles with the lack of limitations unlike most suburban blocks. Looking back now I should have let my fingers do the walking and hired a professional. As I love to mix my metaphors lets go with this twisted version; Rolling fools Gather no moss, and so it was. I stepped in, knocking aside all fearful angels with the blind enthusiasm of the ignorant.

In more than one way I have been extremely lucky, Red Soil even as run down as this cow paddock was, is a great base to start from. The rainfall that we naturally have has most of the rest of the country dry and withered with envy.

I started with soil testing a garden layout and design.... hang a moment, wait! That noise you can hear over the hum of your computer would be my nose gaining many inches. I confess I lie, soil tests and a design on paper would have been the sensible approach. My way of gardening is almost a controlled fall, a happy accident. To call my gardens designed would be pushing the limits of the meaning of the word. An Evolving Garden Form, might be a better turn of phrase. The only preconceived notions for the most part in my gardens are the ponds. Everything Else flows from those central features. I have an Admission I must in all good conscious admit. This was not my first pond or my second or even my third pond. I have been a chronic pond builder now for many years. I will not age myself, this I shall tell. I have clear memories of exploring my grandmothers leaking pond in Mosman from the age of five and creating my own ponds from about the age of 12 This pond was however the first in this garden. It was this pond that tickled my awareness with the sensory world of plants. This photo is taken a month or so after it was filled. Being on a property with dams, creeks, storm drains and without Children to worry at this stage, this pond is deeper than it looks.

As it was not my first pond I had learnt many tricks of the trade. These lessons were mostly learnt through numerous leaks, idiot flat mate idea's and many a putrid mess of foul smelling -oh-you-have-to-be-joking green slime messes.

This is the same pond a year or two on

1. Your pond will always be smaller than the hole looks as you are digging.

2 Line your hole/pits with old/used carpet (normally free if you have a friendly carpet shop nearby) This stops sharp rocks poking through the liner

3 Ditto with lining your feature rocks. Have a cushion of extra plastic/carpet under the weight of the rock on the liner.

4 Make sure your overflow goes with the natural drainage lines of the land. This just means, Water flows down hill remember that

5 A spirit level makes things easy with where your water line will lay

6 About 1/3 coverage with water plants balances the pond

7 Plastic isn't a good look, rock rock and rock some more around the edge.

8 Make the deepest part where you are going to put your aeration pump

9 There is a secret to joining pond liner that I have yet to master

This is an approximation of how the above pond currently fits into our landscape. As you can see from this I have built many more ponds and there is another shed to the east of the original shed.