The long dry spell at the end of 2023 resulted in some areas of my garden looking a little stressed. Luckily, being a native garden, the established plants survived well. It was necessary though to do a little supplementary watering of more recently planted shrubs. It also gave me an opportunity to have a closer look at the creatures that were living in my garden.
I was delighted to see a few insects that I had not noticed before. I think one is a Blue Rutilia Fly and the other a species of Bark Mimicking Grasshopper. Any entomologists out there please feel free to correct me or provide the scientific names.
The birdbaths and the garden ponds were also much appreciated by wildlife visitors during the hot weather which highlighted the importance of providing water at different levels and in various locations around the garden, especially during dry spells.
Always a welcome visitor, an eastern grey mother kangaroo has been showing off her newest joey which has just started making short journeys outside the pouch. It always amazes me that, even when this size, they can still quickly disappear back into the pouch with only a leg or tail sticking out. We don’t approach them and give them plenty of space if they are feeding on a grassy area near the house.
And of course, after the very welcome rain, lots of frogs and some interesting fungi appeared.
We would love to include your garden stories in our 2024 newsletters. Just send us some photos along with a brief description of your native garden progress, a gardening success story or tell us about wildlife visitors you’ve seen. (email to uwg@noosariver.com.au)
