Backyard Inspiration

The internet can be a great source of inspiration when it comes to planning your garden. In particular, it's pictures of lush, productive gardens with a mixture of flowers and edibles that catch my eye......


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If you like a more formal look then potager gardens are very eye-catching. I do like the way they pack lots of vegies in.  

(source of photo unknown)



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Our own garden is much more relaxed and low maintenance.  The garden materials are all recycled or second-hand and the vegies don't grow in rows.  While we have some beds dedicated to vegies, we also have vegies growing throughout the rest of the garden  amongst the fruit trees and flowers.  We tend to let some go to seed and pop up where they want. Then we decide whether or not to move them. One result of this strategy has seen silverbeet become a perennial in our garden. It has done an excellent job of colonising our front yard .... and that's just the way we like it. All the more to share with our friends and neighbours.

And finally, how can you not want to wander through this garden?


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Backyard Inspiration

Having a shady spot in the backyard to hang a couple of hammocks has long been an aim of ours.  Don't these backyard hammocks look inviting?

Images: 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6

Backyard Inspiration

Espaliered fruit trees are a great way to grow fruit in small spaces. Trees can be trained to a variety of attractive shapes and grown against a fence or wall, as a free-standing tree or even as a potted plant.

In addition to saving space, espaliered fruit trees have other benefits. These include good light to the fruit (which helps improve development), ease of picking and ease of protecting the tree against frost or birds. It's much easier to net an espaliered tree.

If you are training your tree against a north-facing brick wall, you may be able to grow varieties that would normally require a warmer climate.

Here are some lovely espalier examples:

espaliered apple tree forming part of a fence



espaliered apple



espaliered pear

 



Belgian fence style espalier

 

candelabra style espalier



espaliered fig

 

 

horizontal espalier



espaliered lemon



fan shaped espalier



potted espaliered orange

And how's this for handy picking? Just lean out the window and grab your pear .....


Hallstatt, The Austrian Lakes District

If you are interested in having a go at espaliering fruit trees you'll find plenty of how-to information on the internet - e.g. instructions for espaliering apples can be found here

Maybe you have a spot in your garden for an espaliered fruit tree?


Images 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11

Backyard Inspiration

How beautiful are these gardens with their wattle fences?

 

Images 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10

Backyard Inspiration

Living willow fences and arbors

How great would it be to sit in this shady spot on a hot day?

All images from here



Backyard Inspiration

Greenhouses made from recycled windows and doors.......perfect!


All images from here

Backyard Inspiration

We heat our home with wood, so cutting and stacking the firewood is an ongoing job.

Believe it or not, firewood stacking can be a thing of beauty...


Wood 'art' aside, the example below is very practical, yet still pleasing to the eye:

Food Forest woodpile

Apart from neatly holding the wood, the corrugated iron keeps it nice and dry. Which would come in handy for those wet winter days. 

Our wood is stacked along the north side of our house under the eaves. Here the wood is reasonably sheltered from the rain but still gets good sun to dry it out. 

Once winter arrives it seems like you can never have too much wood, so having some extra wood storage space would be nice. Discarded corrugated iron suddenly has new appeal...

Photo sources: 1, 2, 3

Backyard Inspiration

Majestic cob oven, spotted on one of our PDC site visits

Backyard inspiration

I like these raised vegie beds with the bamboo trellis.

 

 

 

 

Making the edge of the beds into seating is a good idea, don't you think?



Children's garden at Royal Botanic Gardens, Melbourne