Reader's Gardens
The Petersons

Eltham, Australia   

My familiy lives in a brick veneer house in Eltham, on a normal sized block. The back yard is a bit small because the house is long.
 
We have some nice flowery trees that blossom. Along with those, we have some fruit like figs, lemons and apples. There are some medium sized shrubs that bear beautiful flowers, like fuschias and rhododendrons. Finally there are small beds of deep green ferns and lillies punctuated with exotic flowers.
 
The fruits are beautiful when they are in season. I don't like to spray with things I don't know about, so we still have a lot of imperfections on the fruit. I love them though, because I can still make jams and sauces with them.
 
My husband doesn't like mowing, so we have someone do that, but I do the rest of the garden. I like to learn when I can, but I seldom have time, so the garden isn't evolving very quickly.
 
I planted 45 Pittosporum Stirling Golds along the backyard fence. After 18mths they have past the fence line and I have a very private yard. These hardy plants have done a tremendous job covering up the mass fencing I had sitting bare a few years ago.
 
It is quite nice, and very relaxing. The problem for us is that the kids are getting old enough to do damage, and they don't care about the garden. We may need to give them half, and keep half for ourselves. We will probably build some play equipment and maybe a basketball ring. I don't know how we'll preserve the garden.
 

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