As regular readers will know, our backyard garden has been established following the permaculture principles taught in Linda Woodrow’s book, The Permaculture Home Garden.
One fundamental tenet of the plan is the need for a backyard pond to attract natural predators into the garden. The pond didn’t need to be pretty (Linda points out that a lined tractor tire filled with water would suffice) but ours is, and it provides a constant source of joy to us and our garden visitors.
It’s been fascinating to observe the pest-predator balance adjust itself in our garden. Despite the frustration of watching the fruit fly descend en masse on our defenseless tomato plants, we haven’t used any chemical deterrents. For a couple of weeks, most of the tomatoes in our yard were filled with crawling grubs, and good for nothing more than worm and chook food.
Then the plants and the predators fought back – the plants by suddenly producing more fruit than the pests could eat, and the predators by eating every grub in sight. Despite the heavy losses, we were still able to harvest a more than reasonable crop of roma and cherry tomatoes.
The pond bridge, which we had built to Pete’s design, affords shelter to our Australian rainbow fish. Please excuse the murky photo above, but we’re inordinately proud of our little fish, and I really wanted to show them to you (it’s very hard to autofocus under the water!).
We initially bought six fish for the pond. On the first night, one leapt out of the bucket they were acclimatising in, and when we put the rest of them into the pond, a second one died instantly. We were quite worried about the remaining four – and I was quite concerned about the large quantity of mosquito larvae wriggling in the water.
A few weeks later, all the mosquito larvae were gone. A month after that, the pond was full of tiny fry, swimming in the shallows and hiding in the plant roots. I have no idea if they’ll survive, or what they’re eating, but they’re clearly thriving in their little space!
Having water in the garden attracts a large number of damselflies and dragonflies to our backyard. (Edit: I’ve just found out that the two pictured here are damselflies rather than dragonflies. Apparently damsels hold their wings in when they perch, whereas dragons always have them out.)
We have small multi-coloured ones (above), beigey-green ones (below), large red ones and large orange ones (although I’m yet to successfully photograph the latter two). My camera doesn’t have a working macro setting, so these pics were all taken from a distance and cropped.
Paper wasps are quite prolific in our garden – we used to dislike having them in the backyard, until we realised what amazing predators they are! We experienced our very own David Attenborough moment, as we watched a paper wasp land on a cabbage moth caterpillar, inject it with paralysing poison, then fly off with it to feed her young.
This little beauty is a hoverfly, and I think it alighted on the corn stalk simply to pose for a photo, because I’ve never seen one land before. Its larvae eat aphids and other small pests.
Ladybirds are a welcome visitor to our garden (unlike in parts of the UK, where they’ve reached plague proportions), but I never knew they metamorphed from the most scary looking larvae..
In the garden are a couple of spent broccoli plants, now covered with white fly and other pests. We’ve enjoyed several meals from these plants, but they’re now in their final stages – flowering, stalky and unappealing.
I asked Pete why we hadn’t fed them to the chickens before now. He said that if we left them in the garden, they would attract bees and also help to build up predator numbers, by providing them with plenty of food, at no cost to us. It does seem to be working, as there were at least half a dozen different species buzzing and crawling around the plants, feasting on the pests.
Look at all the aphids on the broccoli leaf! The ladybirds can’t reproduce fast enough…
Permaculture in action – we’re finally starting to understand how all the pieces fit together!
Fig Jam and Lime Cordial 
Your very own eco system Celia. Isn’t it incredible this is all in the space of a suburban backyard? Wars fought, lives lost, foes eaten, vegetable vengeance… it almost sounds fanciful doesn’t it? How amazing and how lucky are you guys to observe it first hand.
Very impressed by your garden bridge and lol at the ladybird ‘action’ shot!
Great photos!
We love our pond too. It’s great to see the different bugs and birds that visit. Our large cat Doogie, loves to watch the Hummingbirds–he’s too fat to catch one, and the fish.
Thank you again for great food/garden-porn!
ronn
A pond brings life into a garden – literally. Good work, you guys.
B, it’s amazing to watch! We go outside each day and marvel – in the past all we had was overgrown lawn, where I’m sure there was lots of activity, but we never noticed anything!
Helen, thank you!
Ronn – the wonderhub! Thanks for stopping by! Your guitars look amazing!
Peter, thank you! I think that’s true – the pond really has brought the garden to life!
Fascinating post Celia! You know me, I’m a sucker for any garden action. Lawns and golf courses are generally very boring, the real action is in the scruffy corners of the garden and the soggy edges of the streams. Your pond is an opportunity for so many creatures to live out their lives and take refuge, mate, feed, fight and sleep. Wonderful!
Fantastic pond – no garden should be without one. Love the bridge too. CT would love that, he would spend all day lying on it given the chance so he could observe what was going on below. I enjoy hearing about your journey of exploration with your garden and glad to hear permaculture principles are working for you. We have no pond in our garden, but the one we built in my mother’s garden 14 years ago is still thriving.
Its an amazing system, my ‘farm’ family (or more politely put…., family members who live on the farm) have also created an environment like yours, its amazing to let nature find the balance like this & really works so well. Love your photographs girl…., you’ve got that whole nature show going on :)
Absolutely amazing!
I do think you should consider writing a book about your experiences gardening.
I am beyond impressed, as usual…
The pictures are wonderful! But, being a bona fide city girl now, the bugs do make me a little uneasy. I can live with them, except spiders. I’m absolutely phobic about spiders. :(
I love your pond and your backyard. Your photos are incredible!
Wow Celia! Every time you write about your garden I’m even more envious.
What a wonderful way to use your backyard.
Do you keep a record of everything you harvest in a year? It would be wonderful to hear about.
Jo, there certainly is a surprising amount to see! I was fascinated with an inchworm yesterday, trapezing his way from one leaf to another…
Choc, it’s such a thrill, and an eye-opener!
Anna, thank you, we have everything but the livestock.. ;-)
Sally, thank you, but Linda already wrote the book, and literally, everything is turning out pretty much as she said it would! :)
Cat, it’s funny, I was pretty bug-phobic a year ago. Still don’t like creepy crawleys inside the house. But last week I stood right up close to bees and took photos of them. Still don’t like mice and cockroaches though (I know, mice aren’t bugs.. ;-)) And thank you – it has been great fun – I never spent much time out there when it was just lawn…
Deb, thank you! :)
Claire, we haven’t kept a record of what we harvest, mainly because we keep picking things and eating them, rather than harvesting in one feel swoop. So we get 3 – 4 cucumbers every other day, but that’s enough, combined with other greens, for our daily eating.
Wow!!! It’s so amazing seeing the permaculture principles at work. So glad that your tomatoes ended up fighting back. Looks like those lady birds are hard at work to get the no.s back up 8)
I just saw a Pierre Cardin, silk tie in an op-shop, with a design of lady bird beetles, butterfies and flowers. Oh so Sensitive New Age Guy it was. In red blue and yellow too for a garden superman. Anyone interested?
A great array of garden photo’s…I’m loving this Aussie sun…but must admit to before leaving home my house seemed like a ladybug refuge…my house was full of them…fly away fly away!! just didn’t do the trick…they were everywhere…on the curtains, hiding along window sills and doors…the vaccuum system was the only way out!!xx
Ladybirds, ladybirds, Frances, don’t know anyone who would wear a tie like that anymore, but it sounds so reminiscent of the 90s! :)
Soy, we didn’t get an enormous crop of tomatoes, but plenty for our use!
Yvette, I’ve read that the harlequin ladybeetles are almost at plague proportions in Europe – hope that doesn’t end up being the case here! We’re still happy to see them..for now!
Ah, there’s hope for my garden yet! The weather has been so erratic this summer…They are great bug photos – especially with no macro! I’m glad I left my kale to flower (I thought to selfishly save the seeds for next time). It has kept my son happy (browsing the leaves) and the bugs too.
It’s amazing what a watersource in your backyard will bring in. We (unfortunately) have a swimming pool. Apart from the cost and waste of veg farming space, it has attracted Sacred Kingfishers and the local wattlebirds (who seem to use it as a big birdbath). We also have had up to two Eastern Water Dragons at a time swimming around. Last week – a big frog!
Happy Gardening!!
Aww loving this post! It’s nice to look at life through a macro lens isn’t it! :D
I love your little pond. I think if The Monkeys had that they would spend all day laying on it with fingers dangling in the water ‘fishing’.
Brilliant! I’ve enjoyed reading this post enormously. Isn’t it amazing to observe that given a chance, nature will restore equilibrium without humans having to resort to nasty chemicals. Your garden is such an inspiration!
Great pictures- Wonderful garden and ecosystem!
The bugs- Oh my- the bugs!
This post was rather fascinating in its scope.
Vix, dragons! How exciting! Next you need chickens.. ;-)
Lorraine, Brydie, thank you!
Linh Ly, that’s what surprised me the most, how it’s all balanced up without any real intervention on our part. Of course, we’ve had commercially unacceptable losses on the vegetable front, but that doesn’t really matter – we’ve grown enough for our consumption, and that was the original goal!
Heidi, thank you, it’s wonderful how there’s always something to see!
What amazing photos! I have a tomato plant that has just started producing little tomatoes at the moment. I hope they don’t get attacked!
Beautiful yellow flower and ladybeetle photo – but is it ladybird, ladybeetle or ladybug?!
Don’t you love it when Nature takes over?! I watch in fascination in our garden at worms, butterflies, dragon(damsel?)flies, bees and beetles. That last photo is a keeper! – how on earth did you manage to be in the right place at the right time? And now I finally know what ladybird larvae look like! Thankyou :)
Celia, I had to give away my lovely chooks when we moved last. Ginger, Claudette and Frederika went to my sister-in-law’s for retirement, and my favourite, Frederika (a beautiful Australorp) has since dropped off the perch (quite literally). I miss my lovely chooks and their beautiful eggs. Every time I toss my lad’s unfinished food into the bin I feel it even more!
Susan, I’ll keep my fingers crossed for you! :)
Anna, we’ve always said ladybird. There is a very interesting piece on the etymology of the name at Wikipedia:
The name “ladybird” originated in Britain where the insects became known as “Our Lady’s bird” or the “Lady beetle”. Mary (Our Lady) was often depicted wearing a red cloak in early paintings and the spots of the seven spot ladybird (the most common in Europe) were said to symbolise her seven joys and seven sorrows. Common names in other European languages have the same association (the German name Marienkäfer translates to “Marybeetle” or, literally, Mary-chafer). In the United States the name was adapted to “ladybug”.
Chris, ladybirds seem to take forever to mate! I spotted this pair, went in to get my camera, came back out and had ages to take photos. They crawled all over the capsicum while still connected up! ;-)
MamaVix, I hope you get a chance to keep chooks again. It’s been lovely to have them in the yard. The australorps are particularly beautiful (my friend Christina has those), although ours are ISA browns.