h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

Hi, Ivan,

Well, at least you have a slight idea of what it was (is) like for the tsunami victims

One positive though, you haven't gone back on the weed over it have you, so that is REAL progress

Hope the ankle gets better soon. What exactly were you doing to sprain your ankle in bed

Sweet Dreams

Websailor

This isn't the first flood I've had to deal with, but it is the first time so much of my own work has been washed away... I don't mind drying things out and tidying up; I do mind the thought that I wasted all that time and effort in the first place.

And no, I'm still smoke-free, even after such a provocation.

As for the ankle - I have no idea at all how I managed that. It is a lot less painful today, which is one bright spot at least.

I'm sorry kid

I know how much pleasure people derive from their gardens, especially when you put time an deffort and love into them. My little brother had a cactus that was killed in a hailstorm....he was incolsolable, mainly because he bought the cactus mainly because they're practically impossible to kill...he was getting ready for a very long and comfortable relaionship with it.

I hope that the weather becomes a little more amicable in the coming months, and that everything will be well...maybe the extra attention it needs now will be paid back to you in the spring.

(Except for the lavendar...sorry...I'm sure it's a lovely plant, and I'm aware of it's medicinal properties...I'm also aware that I'm aware that I'm painfully allergic to it and it's gives me headaches rashes and occassional nausea)

<= (A new flower to start rebuilding with)

Thanks Tanzen.

Today, I'm going to start moving great piles of topsoil back to where they are supposed to be. This will be deeply unpleasant, as it all smells a bit. I'm also going to get rid of large amounts of the dreadful woodchips that the landlord thinks make a good mulch and landscaping aid. I no longer care what he'll think. The fact is, the ghastly stuff floats and gets everywhere. Sometime, I'll have to spend a fortune on ground covers instead - but that will look so much better, once it's growing.

Sorry you have all of that damage Ivan
My yard has been destroyed by hail countless times.
Usually just after the garden in starting to produce.

Sounds like it may be looking much better that it did before the storm when you are done

Abbi, I'm sure the garden will be the better for having this unavoidable overhaul. I'm just cursing the landlord because if he weren't such an idiot, this degree of damage wouldn't have been possible.

The annoying thing is that under Australian tenancy rules I'm obliged to maintain the garden in the condition it was in at the start of the lease. I'm going to have to break the rules to prevent further flooding. There's every chance I will get into trouble over this.

I'd better stop now, otherwise a thread about repairing a garden after a flood will turn into a rant about capitalism, and the evils of right-wing ideology, and the greed of landlords, and the injustice of a world where money and resources end up in the hands of people who are too stupid to use them responsibly.

'nuf said. Likewise

Websailor

YUK - I understand your added frustrations!

You cannot submit new plans for approval since Mother Nature did it? Surely they need provisions for such carnage.

Do they emphasize native plants or just upkeep of the same?
Are there many people needing new plantings in the same area?
Can you combine resources for buying in bulk? Things like plants,dirt,rock or whatever ?

Although asking permission for changes sounds like the sort of project that could get out of hand with too many cooks in the broth.
Good Luck to you

Abbi, my landlords and their minions wouldn't care if the garden had been wrecked by Mother Nature, Mother Goose, or Grendel's mother for that matter. They are foolish people, who can't recognise that the way they laid out the garden in the first place exacerbates the damage that flooding does. I'm simply going to do away with the most idiotic aspects of their design, and say nothing. Chances are they'll never notice. Were I to draw attention to the redesign, they'd complain for the sake of complaining. That's what dopey people do, after all.

The emphasis in the standard lease is on maintenance of existing arrangements. If the matter ever comes up, I'm going to point out that flood mitigation is the simplest way to maintain what's already there, and if this means some changes need to be made to the layout, bad luck, the changes will have to be made.

Odds are the place won't flood again. The existing street drains would have been sufficient, if they hadn't been blocked by masses of 2-inch hailstones... Despite that, any excuse to get rid of the stupid woodchip 'mulch' suits me fine. I'll say that it was washed away, which is quite true. I just won't mention that I could have easily put it back, as it all collected in a huge mound against the back fence. I think ground-covers will look nicer, anyway.

"Odds are the place won't flood again"
Good!

I think those wood chips are useless and perhaps even damaging.
Good riddance to them

Maybe I should see about pulping the woodchips, and making my own (lumpy and crumbly, no doubt) paper.

Actually... maybe I should send a small amount of the stuff to Terri, for one of her cheeseboxes. It might be good for something.

It is a problem with them being manufactured.
Same size and age so any breakdown of them is unatural and uniform timing.

A healthy mulch is very different and much needed from what I have seen. It could be a business The Christmas trees are mulched every year and hen you can pick it up free but in out area the acid is too high for it to be good.

What a great idea to think of Terri.
She just might be able to use them.

It is a problem with them being manufactured.
Same size and age so any breakdown of them is unatural and uniform timing.

A healthy mulch is very different and much needed from what I have seen. It could be a business The Christmas trees are mulched every year and then you can pick it up free but in our area the acid is too high for it to be any good.

What a great idea to think of Terri.
She just might be able to use them.

A bed of woodchips might be just the thing, in some context or other.

Which reminds me... OK, it's quite a tangent. I saw a menu yesterday, which included 'Battered prawns on garden leaves'. I assume they mean garden salad, but... Is it just me, or does anyone else get a mental picture of beaten-up seafood on a heap of mulch?

Does sound like the scene of a spat in the yard between seafood

I do Ivan.Mulch and seafood might be good.Plus, you won't need to bother with toothpicks when you've finished the meal ! Love Pinky xxx

I just think I'll be avoiding the sort of eatery that thinks compost is the thing to serve for lunch.

I was only trying to help with the garden ,and rid that dreadful mulch from the premises.I'll stick with a pizza for lunch today though,come to think of it hahahaha Love Pinky xxx

I take it you wouldn't like a garden leaf salads with your pizza?

No thankyou Ivan,pizza,just pizza will be fine Love Pinky xxx