From mown grass paddock, to planted rows, to raging torrent of water and a loss of plants, to a beginning of a canopy after 1.5 years.

*Commersonia bartramia* feature as the main pioneer in this riparian revegetation site which will be used as managed shade and biomass for the mixed species planting they protect underneath them. Eventually some of the species will be thinned leaving the best performers at a spacing that suits the final goal of complete canopy cover and wild understory which is common of subtropical vegetation in this location.

As the site matures, shade-loving species will be added as I can propagate them. Plus more Lomandra, you can never have enough.

*You can never, repeat never, plant lomandras too thickly!" - 'Save Our Waterways Now' Planting Guide*

*"Lomandra spp. Matrushes, critically important stabilisers, impossible to overplant" - 'The Creek in our backyard' by Robert Whyte*

#bushregeneration #Revegetation #reforestation #landcare #sunshinecoast #subtropics #rewilding #queensland #gardeningau

The beauty of #weeds in a young #bushregeneration planting (others may call it #rewilding).

Working in the #landcare industry, we are told that all exotic plants are bad and must be removed, while there happens to be a cozy relationship between chemical companies and the goal of recreating precolonial vegetation types (definition: putting the genie back in the bottle). It's a noble pursuit and a simple goal to achieve; weed=bad, kill weed. Note: I'm definitely not saying that some invasive weeds don't deserve all of our ire and don't require chemical control, don't get me wrong.

For the small scale, we can break vegetation types into #successional needs and suddenly they aren't all bad, an exotic herb or grass is not always the weed of a tree canopy when that's the goal we are working for, nor will the conditions be present for it to thrive when that canopied state is achieved.

Plus, look at the photos; it's a concert of life and nothing seems unhappy. A gentle management and our tree goals might get there just as fast as a spray job. Much better than dead spray circles with a chemical manufactured across the other side of the world. At least this has insects.

The #permaculture ethos of "let nature do the work" isn't wrong and one day the landcare industry may see the futility of fighting nature most of the time and that all exotics are worth destroying, naturalised is a term that's forgotten for some. Careful consideration is always needed.

#gardeningau

Handweeding and adding *Lomandra hystrix *plus a few assorted trees into a SE QLD #bushregeneration #riparian trial site, a mix of a #Miyawaki style on #Syntropic rows. All grown from seed in a home nursery, and watered once at planting time. No fertiliser or any amendments in field, soaked in seaweed and worm castings the day of planting. No herbicide will ever be used. The 2m *Commersonia bartramia* on right of frame of Photo 1+2 is 4 months old.

The resulting tree growth will be thinned to best performers while maintaining species #biodiversity and spacing. Some will be volunteered for #biomass production through #pollard or a form thereof, more often than not the faster-growing pioneer species. You may think the spacing is crazy but if I grow 50 tubes from the same seed batch, there may be 5 great performers, 30 OK, 5 poor, and 10 thinned in nursery. Even where they are planted onsite could be a difference in growth rates.

Photos 3+4 are 3 months old, have had less rainfall, and are at tractor spacing if that was ever required for mowing management. Just a test between closer and wider spacing across the site.

This is part of a 40m wide, 10 row system that is 1.5 years at the oldest. As the system matures, herbs and shade-loving species will be added when the weather is good (maybe after #elnino).

Rather than call it Miyawaki/Syntropic mix, how about something like S.A.P - Successional Accelerated Planting? Something tree-related? Any ideas?

#gardeningau

Pittosporum revolutum is a shrub commonly found in moist, sheltered areas along the east coast. The young leaves light up this otherwise unassuming plant with showy rusty hairs, which become glabrous as they age.

Viva la P. revolutum!

#quinquenervia #ecologicalrestoration #ecology #lakemacquarie #pittosporum #pittosporumrevolutum #lamprolina #bushregeneration #pittosporaceae #plantphotography #australiannativeplants #naturephotography

lol get outta here Lantana, you're basic

Hand removal of Lantana camara at Brush Creek, Edgeworth. Glyphosate used if needed but most, including the largest stems, can be levered out of the ground and roots pulled out.

Lantana is listed as a Weed of National Significance and a Hunter Priority Weed, and is a real piece of shit.

#quinquenervia #ecologicalrestoration #ecology #lakemacquarie #lantana #lantanacamara #bushregeneration #verbenaceae #weedofnationalsignificance #hunterpriorityweed

More gorgeous native flowers from yesterday’s bird surveys.
#Wildflowers #AustralianBush #BushRegeneration #AustralianFlora #OzFlora #Flowers #FlowersOfMastodon

#introduction

#BirdNerd and #twitcher living on Gadigal land with my wife and rescue dog Edith - there WILL be pup spam.

#Graphicdesigner and #illustrator.

More lurker than tooter but let's see how it goes.

Also interested in
#australianwildlife
#marsupials
#bushregeneration
#frogs
#nativeplants