Thursday, July 23, 2009

Watering

After constructing the veggie patch my next step was to get some water up to the beds. During the subdivision there had been pipes laid in various spots around the property. I created a new tap off one of the existing lines so I had an outlet withing the veggie patch. I then drew up the rough plan below and emailed it to a local irrigation supplier.

The quote came back really expensive and the guy had included many more components than I actually needed. I took my irrigation plan into the store and spoke to someone face to face. I got everything I needed including a battery operated timer it came at about 1/4 of the original quote and it was really easy to install.

Finally ready to plant some seeds.


Wednesday, July 15, 2009

Phase 2 - The vegie patch

I'd always wanted to grow my own vegies. In our first few months we started building the vegie patch. We allocated a north facing corner of the yard, conveniently this space is visible from the kitchen, real cooking inspiration!

Lots of digging, a bit of hardwood, corrugated tin and a delivery of juicy topsoil…voila!



The proposed location


The beds

Phase One - Inside the cottage

We started on the interior of the house wanting it to become the cozy country getaway we had dreamed of. Surprisingly with some gap filler, a coat of paint and new carpet it transformed really quickly.


Master Bedroom - Before, during, after (L to R)


Dining Room view 1 - Before, during, after (L to R)


Dining Room view 2 - Before, during, after (L to R)

Where we began

We bought this little patch of land in Bundanoon Nsw in the June of 2007. Originally searching for a weekend getaway of about 100 acres we soon came to realise that not only was something this large not in our price range but it would also mean loads of work.

We found our 2400sqm patch of Bundy. Our block is part of a 5 acre subdivision. On it we have the the original brick cottage, gardens and an amazing oak tree that creates a green canopy over the driveway during summer. The house was a great starting point with real potential but cosmetically it hadn't been touched for abour 40 years. The gardens were also old and established but had really been let go, many amazing plants were hidden under self seeded, overgrown shrubs.



The back of the house


From the house looking up the driveway

Looking from the front boundary - and the big Oak

Bundy on Tap

We are so excited that our little local town of Bundanoon is trying to start a movement to ban bottled water. We've been there just over 2 years and it continues to amaze me the level of community involvement the little town has.

http://www.bundanoon.nsw.au/bundy-on-tap.html