Dear Clive,
like Sue G in the Spring Food Edition I find people’s emotional reactions to content both amusing and sad – especially when they define ‘natives’ only as eucalypts. Maybe they need to be reminded how fertile and biodiverse Australia was before European settlement?
There was more to First Nation agriculture than simply using fire. Much of the wide brown land we know was created by white farming techniques and tree felling. To learn about this they should read The Biggest Estate on Earth by Bill Pascoe. Or if that’s too thick and daunting then try Ben Pascoe’s Dark Emu. Food lovers and vegans would like Pascoe – he revives recipes using ‘native’ seeds ground to flour. Meanwhile tolerant old you could be left to continue your vitally important life’s work free from hectoring by vegans, gum tree huggers, climate deniers and the patronising young.
Gill B, nsw
Thanks Peter, We did have a fantastic experience in Hobart and Launceston for Blooming Tasmania last week and how impressive were the gardens!
We want to do everything in our power to help raise the standard of gardening in Australia because we lack a cultural base being such a new country compared with Japan, Italy, France and the UK. So getting our tree selection right is almost the most important first step.
Planting the bush out the back door is one concept, but it doesn’t stand up well with a warming climate which will make the flammable eucalypts even more of a threat. 50°C peak summer days are projected, and that is a temperature that causes plant death and deserts in the Middle East.
So we prefer native trees that are drought tolerant but with lush, green foliage that provide much denser shade – which anyone can verify using a soil thermometer next time it gets to 35°C+ days. Gardeners will be staggered at how much cooler these and deciduous trees are compared with eucalypts. Regards, Clive
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