Category: Pepper Tree Patch

seats of warrawing

There are a couple of spots around the place where there are seats to take a break. The first images in this post, show the first seat I put in, under the pepper tree, shaded and curtained.

And what can you see if you sit there? To the right, to the south, one view…

Other views to come, but meanwhile, another seat at the other side of the property follows..

In the other direction, at the end of the “North Triangle” another one in shade most of the day, under the casuarina that was already there – and when seated, a view to the west.

Sitting there, it’s “The Stump Circle” in front.

Looking to the left, towards the house, the plantings in the “North Triangle” can be appreciated..

Behind the seat, with the casuarina branches still overhead, the view to the northwest, across the next door property’s paddocks.. Obviously, with the long shadows, this was taken in the afternoon of an autumn day, with the bare track of a favourite kangie path on this side of the boundary fence..

The next image is of where I just put this folding chair at the top (east end) of the South Paddock, under the trees, so I could sit in a little green cave and look out.

But what can I see from there anyway – the next image shows one view to the left, with the boundary fence and a view towards the village of Harcourt.. teamed with some sticks to alert kangaroos that there is a fence there.

Not included here is a view towards the house, and down the length of the South Paddock. Maybe later. Meanwhile, a little further down the South Paddock, another old seat under a tree.

And here’s one of the views you can see if you were to sit there…

The next image is of another chair I’ve put under the spreading weed plum tree. The tree forms a canopy that looks inviting in the heat of summer, but not for long when all the weed plums fall on the ground underneath, and when the rabbits decide to dig a whole lot of holes. But It’s a nice place to rest in the middle of doing various gardening chores.

It’s just down from the house, so one of the views is towards the east and the front garden and the roof…

There are also seats on the deck outside “the folly”

You can see down the valley through the trees, or up towards the mountain, and overlook our next door neighbour’s paddocks..

View towards the house from the deck of the folly

View toward the west from the deck of the folly, and…

View from the folly to the north east over the paddocks next door.

Then, of course, there is the front porch with an array of seats. Probably the best place to watch the sunset – except in summer when it’s too hot to sit in the setting sun.

And in front, the cotoneaster hedge, and beyond that the valley and the western horizon…

So, some of the seats and views on Warrawing in late autumn 2024.

Eucalyptus scoparia

It’s cold here in winter, and hot and dry in summer. It reminded me of the Northern Tablelands of NSW, where I lived for two years in the mid 70s while teaching at Tenterfield High School. And Mt Alexander and the stone houses around here are made of a kind of granite. Your Australian geography will tell you that the tablelands on the border of NSW and Queensland is also known as “The Granite Belt”. One of my favourite trees, Eucalyptus scoparia, also known as Wallangarra White Gum, comes from that area, and so it was that the first tree I planted here, in 2016, at a bad time of year for tree planting (December) was an E. scoparia.

The reason I like E scoparia is not on account of its flowers, which are small, pale and hard to even see on the tree – but due to its elegant form. Sinewy white trunk, with long, thin, vertically hanging leaves looking coppery reddish when young, it’s just so pretty to look at. Unfortunately, like many eucalypts, it seems to cross pollinate with other robust trees nearby, and those specimens grow very fast and tall, and not so sinewy… well, they’re still pretty, and if you want a fast growing tree that laughs at cold damp winters, rocky ground and will like it even more if it gets extra water… well…

the first scoparia planted at Warrawing. image taken February 2022

This first scoparia was planted in what I call ‘The Driveway Triangle’. It seemed to do quite well until attacked by borers of some kind in its second year. Because of this, its main trunk has not grown straight, since I cut off the affected branch, and drenched the cut branch with a dessicant powder which insects don’t survive too well.. it seems to have survived, and the borers have not returned.

The second E. scoparia I planted was in what I call the ‘south paddock’, in a patch half way down the hill, where large granite boulders sit at the surface, and after a large patch of weed plums were removed. This one loved its spot and grew very fast and looked like a ‘true’ scoparia. This second scoparia was planted in October 2017.

The second E.scoparia, planted October 2017, mid Sth paddock. Image taken July 2022
Closer-up of the leaves: Second E.scoparia planted. Mid Sth paddock. planted October 2017. Image taken July 2022

The third E. scoparia planted at Warrawing was a second choice after one of the E. synandras failed in this spot, and I wanted another light-leaved, non-dense canopy tree in a set of three, about half way down what I call the “front ex-weed patch”. This slope had been cleared of a large patch of weed plums (sloe plums), and due to it being a slope, I thought should be well-drained, as well as it being aligned north-south. The soil here is deeper and always seems to be well-watered, compared to other sites on the property. This third E. scoparia seems to have been cross pollinated with another eucalypt, since it has grown faster than any of the other eucalypts, its trunk has not yet turned white, and the leaves are not as long and narrow as other scoparias I have admired.

Our third E.scoparia. Planted September 2019. Image taken July 2022 – on an obviously windy day!

The next scoparia I planted was in the front “pepper tree patch”. This one was bought in a tube from McDonalds nursery in Bendigo, and planted in August 2020.

Our fourth E. scoparia. Front ‘pepper tree patch’. planted August 2020. Image july 2022

E scoparia number 5 was planted in the “dam paddock”, near to the drain line which sometimes feeds the dam on the surface – but only when the soil becomes so saturated that it actually does flow – this was so that the tree would be able to access any excess water on that site. This one was planted in a hurry, in September 2020 – since it had been bought in a pot and we were about to go away for a few weeks.

The Fifth scoparia planted, September 2020. Image taken August 2022

This one really likes it here, and it is difficult to phtograph the whole tree.

The sixth scoparia was planted in the “new back patch”, in a sight line from the house, to act as one of the screen plants in preparation for the advent of the garden shed and water tank in the leased paddock behind us on the hill. The New Back Patch was originally going to be left fairly bare, since the patch forms a type of mound, on either side of which any water flows, and also because the view of the hills and Mt Alexander is something I like to see every day. This area is very dry, so I needed to install a set of watering pipes which I can connect to hoses in summer. This one was planted in August 2021, and one year on, seems to have taken quite well, with occasional watering last summer.

E. scoparia 6, New Back Patch. Planted August 2021. Image July 2022

Further description of E. scoparia can be found on the Euclid site.