Bellis from George’s Sustainable Lawn
Brisbane’s Sustainable House and Garden
Bellis is an ordinary, rather elderly Queenslander house in Brisbane’s Bayside.
Jeff Poole and
Jerry Coleby-Williams
by Ricky Sullivan
It’s been retrofitted for sustainability by it’s owners, Jerry Coleby-Williams and Jeff Poole who were rather startled to learn that they had become suburban pioneers.
Now joined by bee-keeping Damien Andrews, Bellis is not an attempt at self-sufficiency but an indicator of how we can turn the suburban sprawl of Australia’s cities to an environmental advantage without compromising our Australian lifestyle. We grow food, we harvest rainwater and solar energy and we treat and reuse our wastewater – all things that can be done with ease by any homeowner in Australia’s suburbs.
You’re welcome to take a look around.
Remember, sustainability is mostly about living within your means. Don’t be discouraged if you can’t do a whole lot of things at once. Take small, meaningful steps that you can guarantee to carry out. The cumulative effect is what matters.
Jerry & Jeff
11/10/2012 at 10:07 pm
Hi Jerry,
I just came across this website after visiting the gardening Australia website. I was wondering if you had another open day coming up in the future as I was disappointed that I missed the last one. My partner and I would really love to get some ideas for our place which is west of Ipswich on the way to Toowoomba.
Also, do you have any ideas for what we can plant along our back fencline which meets very moist (and sometimes flooded) wetlands. We’re not having much luck on our sloping block when planting things down the bottom.
Cheers,
)
From 2 of your fans
11/10/2012 at 10:10 pm
I open through Open Gardens Australia. Next is May 2013.
Cheers
Jerry
22/10/2012 at 11:00 am
Canna edulis, Queensland arrowroot, likes moisture. Gahnia sieberi, Cutting sedge, is a moisture loving native.
I’ve been opening my garden through Open Gardens Australia twice yearly for seven years now, so check their website for details.
Jerry
16/12/2012 at 5:20 pm
Hi Jerry
I’m sure this is an often asked question, but do you have a non-toxic way of dealing with Nutgrass? I seem to recall you recommending something like using vegetable oil to smother the bulbs.? How would this be applied over a larger area/infestation? I have observed that it is less prolific in shady, darker areas, but my fruit orchard and berry mound will take at least a couple of years to be throwing shade over the area. Hand pulling seems unproductive and futile, and I don’t think smothering works either.
I had a fantastic time wandering around your garden in August this year – gave me lots of inspiration and ideas as my block in Sawtell is pretty well nearly the same size as your place. Keep up the fantastic work and ideas that educate and inform so many of us
Cheers
Juliet
17/12/2012 at 4:54 am
Dear Juliet
Yes, it’s a common request. The blog concerned is long and was lost when transferring data from the old to the new website. When I have time I’ll see if I can rewrite it.
03/03/2013 at 9:21 pm
Hi Jerry,
Thank you for your generous attendance and wisdom shared at the wet, yet welcoming, Mullumbimby Community Garden yesterday.
Nutgrass has consumed my gardening experience for several years now. I was determined to eradicate it by hand-weeding and have committed countless hours to the task.
Alas, I recently conceded defeat as the burden had finally taken its toll…With a heavy heart and great guilt I turned to glysophate and yet after a few months regular application are no closer to ridding my garden nemesis.
I would be very grateful to receive any tried and proven advice you may have on nutgrass eradication, as my research to date has been discouraging and yielded no practical or conscionable solutions.
Cheers, Jennifer
04/03/2013 at 11:55 am
Dear Jennifer
I love the people, place and gardens of Mullumbimby.
I just wish I had more time to relax and get to know the folk who were there. On this occasion I left early because I was concerned about leaving my place untended during the rain. We had 175mm (7 inches) fall that day. I was also fostering a parrot and had my own pets to get back to feed.
We did trials on nutgrass control when I managed Sydney Botanic Gardens. The most expensive and least satisfactory solution was using Sempra, which is sold specifically for controlling nutgrass. It’s almost useless because most nutgrass recovers.
The best chemical solution uses glyphosate. Use a plastic bucket and make 4.5 litres of solution (1 gallon) at half the rate recommended by the manufacturer. Use a plastic bucket and add tepid or warm water. Add to this one cupful (250 ml) of urea. (Urea is a dry, crystalline product commonly sold by the bag at hardware stores/ nurseries/ garden centres). Stir thoroughly. Urea dissolves best in warm water, but takes a bit of patience. Pour this into your spray pack, ideally through a fine sieve, pantyhose or a paper filter to remove any impurities or small grains of undissolved urea – stuff that may block the nozzle.
Nutgrass dislikes alkaline soil, so testing soil pH and adding dolomite or lime will help slow its spread. Other than that, nutgrass can’t cope with deep mulching.
Good luck!
Jerry
04/03/2013 at 4:44 pm
Thanks Jerry, I’ll follow your advice and hopefully have some positive results by the end of the year. I’ll let you know how I get on…
05/03/2013 at 6:38 am
Hello Jerry,
do you have a date set in May for your open day? I would like to organise a visit with my community garden group?
love your work!
05/03/2013 at 6:42 am
It’s 11th/12th May, for details see Open Gardens Australia (Qld) website. Cheers
Jerry
15/05/2013 at 1:36 pm
Hi Jerry I hope it is ok to ask you a question on this site. I have a cape gooseberry bush with lots of developing fruit on it but the leaves are drooping and watering has not made them bounce back. I loved seeing your garden on Sunday! I hope I can recreate something like it when I buy a new house. thank you for your passion. Leilani Garland.
23/05/2013 at 10:03 am
Leilani,
Sometimes you can overwater and constantly moist, warm soil in the subtropics encourages root rot fungi. They are the commonest cause of this condition: wilting in moist ground. I find the best solution is to water on alternate days and if possible, allow the soil to go dry in between waterings. This reduces damage. Good luck!
Jerry