Backyards
Backyards and gardens fulfill different functions today from earlier this century. Then the typical backyard would have had a dunny (toilet) against the backshed, with the dunny pan collected from the back lane; a wash house with a copper, a clothes line; a water tank with mint and parsley growing underneath; a lemon tree, and maybe room for chickens.
Activity in the backyard tended to be divided sexually. The women did the washing and the flower garden. Men chopped the wood, lit the copper on wash day and used the wash house, even when there was an indoor bathroom.
Municipal councils did not collect rubbish, so much of it was disposed in or around the backyard. Children were not specially catered for, although there may have been a patch of grass for them to play on. Children's play equipment, swimming pools, barbeques, etc were not part of the backyard. This kind of backyard provided places for children to play, but was not designed for that purpose.
In 1889, an investigating committee into living conditions in the Rocks, Sydney, found 14 houses, each of 2 rooms less than 3 m sq. These houses contained around 60 people, who shared 4 water closets. The living density in the inner city of Sydney was high: in 1891 Darlington had 61.88 people per acre, and Paddington had 44.11 people per acre.
Adelaide began constructing a sewerage system in 1878, and Sydney shortly afterwards. Melbourne established a Board of Works, responsible for developing a sewerage system in 1890, although they had had a clean, publicly owned water supply since 1853. Perth was sewered between 1906 and 1920. Brisbane, although it started planning in 1916, did not get under way until 1923.
The larger backyards of contemporary Australian suburbs tend to be a feature of recent cities. In longer established, more densely populated urban areas the same functions had to be performed in smaller spaces and different ways.
The backyard has slowly evolved from its domestic functionality. In Perth in 1876, it was proposed that no one should keep pigs within fifty yards of a neighbour's house. Although this proposal was defeated, because it stopped the poor from keeping pigs, in 1886 pigs were banned completely as insanitary, and were replaced by rubbish tips, also insanitary.
In the late forties and early fifties the straight clothes lines began to be replaced by the rotary 'Hills Hoist' clothes Line, which was in turn later replaced by retractable lines and driers.
Now the back garden has tended to become an adult-dominated family area for entertaining and recreation. Few of the functional qualities remain, instead it has become a 'public' place, like the front garden, to be shown off.
Compost
In the 1990s, thirty to fifty percent of Australian household garbage is food and garden waste that can be composted. The ingredients are anything that has ever lived, and the result is humus - dark, crumbly, and earthy-smelling.
A compost heap needs water and air, micro-organisms like fungi and bacteria, as well as macro-organisms such as worms, nematodes, mites, insects and grubs which chew, digest and mix the compost. Compost is more effective if placed directly on soil so that these organisms can invade the compost.
At depths greater than one metre, cubed heat cannot build up sufficiently for the composting process to occur. The aerobic microbes needed for this require regular aeration, so compost must be turned regularly. Worms also help in aeration.
Herbal activators like comfrey can speed up the process, as can animal manure. Leaves, grass clippings, straw, kitchen waste, the contents of vacuum cleaners, sawdust, weeds (they will be killed by the heat), hair, ash, cloth, and shredded paper can be put in compost. Seaweed rots quickly and adds good minerals. Eggshells add calcium, but should be crushed first.
Borage
Common Name: Borage also known as 'Herb of Gladness'
Botanical Name: Borago officinalis
Botanical Info: Annual, sometimes biennial. Whole plant is covered with prickly hairs. Bright blue star shaped flowers with black anthers in early summer to early autumn. Native to the Mediterranean. Can be sown and grown all year in frost-free areas, will self-seed.
Culinary Info: Leaves taste and smell like cucumber, can be used in salads and salad dressings. Flowers can be added to summer drinks.
Medicinal/Other: Reputedly uplifts spirits, especially during convalescence. It is used with kelp in many mineral salt substitutes.
Comfrey
Common Name: Comfrey
Botanical Name: Symphytum officiale
Botanical Info: Native to Europe and temperate areas of Asia. Perennial, grows to one metre. Leaves and stems have hairs, similar to Borage. Bells shaped flowers, cream to mauve in summer to autumn.
Culinary Info: Leaves can be used in salads or cooked like spinach.
Medicinal/Other: Traditionally used to heal broken bones. Poultices were also used for strains, bruises and cuts. It also reduces swelling. It has a high content of allantoin, which promotes growth of bone and other tissue. Also has been claimed to help T.B. and other chest complains. Leaves can be used to make a tea or pulped, the root can be used to make poultices. It has been used by farmers to break up heavy soil with strong deep growing roots. Addition to compost can help speed up decomposition. Comfrey should not be taken by pregnant women.
Garlic
Common Name: Garlic
Botanical Name: Allium sativum
Botanical Info: Probably originally from Asia, grown in Europe for centuries. Member of the onion family, perennial or biennial. Grow from cloves, lift when tops have withered.
Culinary Info: In the past it has been used as a vegetable, although today it is more often used as a herb. It is used to flavour many kinds of savoury dishes, can be roasted and eaten as whole cloves.
Medicinal/Other: Garlic is claimed to have antibacterial properties. It was used during both world wars to prevent infections in wounds. It is also used to prevent colds and heart disease.
Peppermint
Common Name: Peppermint
Botanical Name: Mentha piperita
Botanical Info: Cross between Spearmint and water mint. Native to Europe and Asia. Perennial, grows to 90 cm. Smooth, oval, dark green, toothed leaves are very aromatic. Pinkish to mauve conical spike of flowers in summer to autumn. Mint needs ample water but good drainage. Grows very vigorously and will dominate other plants. The varieties easily cross-pollinate, and hence the flavours will not stay true.
Culinary Info: Used in fruit salads, drinks and sorbets
Medicinal/Other: Named for a Greek nymph, Minte, turned into a plant by Pluto's jealous wife. Menthol, from peppermint has antispasmodic, antiseptic, anaesthetic and decongestant properties. It is used in toothpastes and preparations for sore muscles and joints, also in some cold inhalations. Used as an aid to digestion, hence the after-dinner-mint.
Spearmint
Common Name: Spearmint
Botanical Name: Mentha spicata
Botanical Info: Native to Southern Europe and Western Asia. Perennial, grows to 60 cm. Bright green leaves, narrower than Peppermint. Flowers are pinkish.
Culinary Info: Traditionally, mint sauce is served with roast lamb. Also accompanies potatoes, peas and carrots. Mint julep is made from fresh Spearmint leaves, crushed ice and bourbon. Used as a sauce with garlic and yogurt.
Medicinal/Other: Promoted by the Romans, grown in English herb gardens since the 9th Century. Medicinal uses similar to Peppermint.
Eau-de-cologne: Strongly perfumed. Good when added to a bath, either fresh or dried.
Penny Royal
Common Name: Penny Royal
Botanical Name: Mentha pulegium
Botanical Info: Native to Europe and parts of Asia. Perennial, mint-like. Prostrate or to 30 cm. Greyish-green hairy leaves with serrated or scalloped edges. Lilac blue flowers around the stems in late summer. Needs ample water, will grow in shade.
Culinary Info: Was used in Scotland to flavour haggis. Can be made into a tea.
Medicinal/Other: In ancient Rome, it was used as a flea repellent. Also has been used for mosquitos and ants. Pennyroyal causes the muscles of the uterus to contract and thus can cause miscarriage and abortion, but is poisonous and can also cause death. Should not be taken during pregnancy. Has also been used as an infusion of leaves to improve digestion. On sailing ships, dried leaves were added to stored water to keep it fresh.
Pyrethrum daisy
Common Name: Pyrethrum
Botanical Name: Chrysanthemum cinerariifolium
Botanical Info: Native to coastal areas of Yugoslavia. Perennial, grows to 75 cm. Long slender stems with feather like leaves. White daisy heads from summer to autumn.
Medicinal/Other: Cultivated commercially for use as an insecticide.
Rosemary
Common Name: Rosemary
Botanical Name: Rosemarinus officinalis
Botanical Info: Native to the Mediterranean. Like chalky, seaside positions. Perennial, grows to 1.5 metres. Silky leaves, dark green, with grey green down underneath. Very strongly scented. Pale blue flowers from spring to early summer. Grows well from cuttings.
Culinary Info: Traditionally teamed with lamb. Used in stuffing.
Medicinal/Other: Traditionally associated with remembrance. Ancient Greek students wore sprigs in their hair. Later used at funerals. Often found near memorials, worn on Remembrance Day. Has been used for headaches, hair tonics, gout and muscular pain, stings and bites. Ingredient in original eau-de-cologne.
"There's rosemary, that's for remembrance; pray, love, remember:.."
Ophelia in Hamlet, William Shakespeare
Thyme
Common Name: Thyme
Botanical Name: Thymus vulgaris
Botanical Info: Native to the Mediterranean. Bushy herb, grows to 30 cm. Small greyish green leaves, with mauve to pink flowers in summer, around the stems. There are many varieties of thyme, including variegated thymes, lemon thyme and lawn thyme. Thymes cross pollinate easily, and so lose individual characteristics.
Culinary Info: An ingredient in bouquet garni. Used in many savoury dishes, and with tomatoes.
Medicinal/Other: Thyme oil is poisonous, and should not be taken. Associated with courage, used symbolically by knights in the Crusades. Thought to ward off the plague. Thymol, the oil from thyme has antiseptic properties and was used during WWI. Also rubbed on the head for headaches. Thyme tea is used for coughs and to aid digestion. Favoured flower for honey.
Potatoes
Common Name: Potatoes
Botanical Name: Solanum Tuberosum
Botanical Info: Possibly the most widely grown vegetable in the world. It needs lots of space. Grown from chunks of potatoes with 'eyes'. Benefits from a mulch of seaweed and comfrey leaves. Tubers ready to harvest when foliage dies back.
Culinary Info: When exposed to light the tubers turn green and cannot be eaten.
Medicinal/Other: Good source of protein, carbohydrate, vitamins A, B, C, iron, magnesium, calcium and potassium.
Rhubarb
Common Name: Rhubarb
Botanical Name: Rheum rhabarbarum
Botanical Info: Perennial. Stems are produced from spring to winter. Large outer stems should be harvested by pulling and twisting at base. Can be grown from seed, root division or crowns. Needs little attention once planted.
Culinary Info: 3-4 plants is sufficient for one household's needs. It has a tart taste and can be stewed or used in tarts and pies. Only the bright red stalks can be eaten, and they must be cooked.
Medicinal/Other: Rich in vitamins A and C. The leaves contain oxalic acid, and can be fatal if eaten.
Spinach
Common Name: (English) Spinach
Botanical Name: Spinacia oleracea
Medicinal/Other: Good companion plant for strawberries. Highest vegetable in iron. Also contains calcium, riboflavin, potassium, vitamins A, B2 and C. It contains some oxalic acid, and should be avoided by people prone to kidney stones, as should rhubarb.
Strawberries
Common Name: Strawberries
Botanical Name: Fragania x ananassa
Botanical Info: Perennial, some species grown ornamentally. Can be grown in most soils and conditions. Good in pots. Likes moist, rich soils. Plants flower and bear fruit twice a season, and then send out runners, which can be planted out for next year. Nip off runners while fruiting. Plants can be divided in spring.
Medicinal/Other: Companion plants are borage, bush beans, lettuce, pyrethrum, raspberries, spinach, thyme. Do not plant near cabbage, or near or after tomatoes.
Wisteria
Common Name: Japanese Wisteria or Chinese Wisteria
Botanical Name: Wistaria floribunda (Japanese) or Wistaria sinensis (Chinese)
Botanical Info: Vigourous deciduous perennial climber. Branches twine, direction depends on variety. Pea-like pendant blooms are mauve, lilac, pink or white. Mid-green foliage. Can be grown from cutting, often bought as grafted plants.
Other: Often grown over arbours, trellises or pergolas.
Permaculture
"Permaculture is not gardening, it is design." - Bill Mollison, "The Parable of the Chicken" fromThe Best of Permaculture
Permaculture, accord to the originator of the idea, Tasmanian Bill Mollison, is about designing a system so that the needs of any parts of the system are met automatically by another part of the system. Any need that is not met requires extra work, and any excess output that is not used by some other part of the system, or is not intentional (ie. food to be harvested) is pollution.
The important point is not how you grow a plant (permaculture does not equal organic gardening) but how you place a plant in relation to the landscape and the surround plants so that it's needs are met by something else, and its outputs are used by something else.
When a plant or animal, for instance a chicken, is grown in isolation its needs must be met by doing work and any outputs (other than food) are pollution. If chickens are integrated into a garden, they feed off the pests in the garden, fertilise the garden, increase fish pond production, and other tasks. If chickens are raised in isolation from this landscape, extra energy must be generated and used to provide food for the chicken, and remove its waste.
Sources:
Boxer, Arabella and Back, Philippa The Herb Book Octopus, 1980, London
Hall, Dorothy The Book of Herbs Pan, 1972, London
Hellyer, Arthur The Collingridge Illustrated Encyclopaedia of Gardening Collingridge Books, London, 1982
Kruger, Anna The Pocket Guide to Herbs Dragon's World, 1992
Laughlin, G. P. Spatial Statistics and the future Australasian Conference on Urban and Regional Planning Informations Systems. Proceedings 1994 Addendum
Lindegger, Max and Tap, Robert (Eds) The Best of Permaculture: A collection
Moody, Mary Basic Gardening for Australia Weldon Russell, Sydney, 1990
Readers Digest Flowers and Plants, Readers Digest, Sydney 1986
Rubbo, Anna Rethinking the suburban sprawl Labor Forum June 1985 p 25-28 ML Q329.305/25
George Seddon, The Australian Backyard, from Australian Garden History, Vol 3 1991 p 2 - 9 ML Q635.099405/2
Smith, Keith The Australian Organic Gardener's Handbook Lothian, Port Melbourne, 1993
