This week the council weed inspectors came to Burnbrae garden. I was actually starting the clean up when they called but I still had a very long way to go. I ended up with so many pink ribbons marking weeds that you would reckon I was setting up a Breast Cancer Awareness garden party.
They only tag the worst weeds like privet, holly, cotoneaster and blackberry, not the normal weeds like agapanthus, ivy, honeysuckle and wandering jew. There are plenty of those in the garden too.
One of the ones to go is the prostrate cotoneaster. I loved its autumn colour but off it must go.
However, the worst of all news is this full sized tree that shades the woodland path is a Portuguese Laurel, deemed a weed, and it will be $1000+ plus job to get it removed. The sad thing is it was a big as this when we moved here 30 years ago so must be 60-100 years old. It has also passed several council weed inspections in the past.
The other thing is that unlike privet, blackberry, pittosporum and to a lesser extent maple seedlings that pop up everywhere I have never seen one from this poor tree.
Oh well, I have arranged its demise and will be spending some days of hard gardening to clean up the rest. When it rains (as it has done this year) the privet grows so quickly it is startling and I must admit it has been a year or two since I did a good clean up because I have been so busy with the garden at Kandos and the bush block.
Wish me strength. The council will be back in a few weeks to see if I have done the job and it is nearly pruning time for all of the fruit trees and roses at Kandos as well.
My goodness! You've got so much work cut out for you! Good luck. Your post is an eye-opener.
ReplyDeleteI can't imagine weed inspectors like this in the U.S. We have SO many invasive and noxious weeds and trees but people would be outraged to have to deal with anything they're fond of, nor even being told to remove brush. Even in fire prone and dangerous fire regions people resist clearing defensible space around their properties.
The Blue Mountains towns are within a National Park so I guess we are all quite aware of the importance of our garden weeds not impacting the wilderness areas which makes us more compliant. We have however also had inspectors visit our bush block too and there they seemed more concerned about weeds that impact pastures.
DeleteI have never heard of weed inspectors in Queensland. Goodness me, I imagine some people would be really upset having to fork out all that money to have the tree removed.
ReplyDeleteIt might be a NSW thing. They are not draconian, more about educating you on what is a weed and how to get rid of it. There are state wide weeds, regional weeds and others specific to the local government area. The lady said we could inject the tree with poison so it dies. But I figure it would still have to be removed once dead and falling branches a potential hazard given that they frame a garden path so best to get it cut down and turned into firewood to recoup some of the cost.
DeleteWhat a big task ahead. Better done in winter temperatures, but oh my goodness!
ReplyDeleteYes a big task. I am going to take a holiday first.
DeleteAnd here you don't even have to clean up after your dog...
ReplyDeleteBut I remember when we wanted to sell our car in Sydney 1995... White slip > pink slip > green slip. What is it like these days?
Hope you can enjoy the work at least a bit!
Pink slip and green slip. Not sure about the white slip. I will enjoy the results of the work but not the work itself.
DeleteOh my gosh Joan Elizabeth, you have a big job ahead of you, big expense also. I know I have some plants in my garden that would be considered weeds, like big leafed ivy and Lantana, thankfully no weed police here and I do keep them under control 🌿 They are extremely strict on swimming pool rules though, this year the inspector made me move a sculpture from near the fence incase a child tried to climb it, the fact that it had been the same place for over ten years and no child had ever attempted to climb it was immaterial, was not happy 😀
ReplyDeleteLantana doesn’t grow around here thank goodness because it is a shocker like blackberry. Lucky you to have a sculpture in your garden. I have always wanted some but balked at the price. Now as a retiree i am certain it ain’t going to happen so will have to stick to weeding.
DeleteI hope you can get the weeds cleared without too much stress. Its always sad to have to get rid of an old tree, but sometimes it just has to be. We are allowed to have Agapanthus here and Lantana but my son who is a devotee of native Australian plants thinks anything not Australian native should be eliminated from our garden!
ReplyDeleteLantana is a state declared weed here. We are allowed agapanthus provided they are not spreading from your property. But like your son there are people in the mountains who think all non-natives are weeds which if eliminated would put an end to the many delightful ‘exotic’ gardens that enjoy our cool climate. And anyway natives can be weeds outside their normal habitat eg cootamundra wattle, sweet pittosporum, fishbone fern to name a few. So the zealots insist on only plants with local provenance. How boring is that ... we have millions of acres just like that in the national Park (which are absolutely beautiful) but home gardens need a little variety I think.
DeleteWhat a shame about your Portuguese Laurel. Is it worth pleading with the Council to reconsider. I'm surprised it is only costing $1,000. We had a Liquidambar removed that cost us $5,000.
ReplyDeleteNo I don’t think it is worth an appeal because the laurels are definitely on the weed list. It is a funny thing with the council and trees. You can’t remove a nuisance tree they want kept (tried that once for a pine that annoys the neighbours) nor even prune a big tree (we got a notice about pruning our liquid amber that was dropping dangerous branches. Let off after review).
DeleteGood luck with all the gardening. A gardener's work is never done...
ReplyDeleteYes I was thinking that only the other day. It is like having a large house and hence lots of housework but whether it is done or not is on display to the whole neighbourhood.
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