Whilst my primary fascination has always been with all things furry ... my folks have a long-term love of Australia's wonderous birdlife, and upon their arrival at Kingbilli, set about ensuring the property offered 5 star accommodation for feathered friends of all shapes and sizes.

Established over a quarter of a century ago … Kingbilli's extensive landscaped gardens cover seven acres of clay-based river flats.

With a predominance of natives, interspersed with a small, but carefully chosen selection of exotics, they were designed to flow gently outwards from the buildings .... eventually merging into the surrounding bushland.

Mum and Dad designed aspects of the gardens to cater for every avian requirement imaginable ... and, I realise kids always know better than their parents, but in this case, I have to confess ... they must have done something right!

Today our birdlife is nothing short of spectacular, and it continues to grow. The latest count is 140 species, and Neville Cayley's "What Bird is That?" has become the most well-read book in the house.

The combination of native and introduced plants provides these feathered friends with an unbroken supply of nectar, seeds, nest-building sites and materials all year round.

 

 
Meanwhile, the close proximity of water to all areas of the gardens ensures the continued presence

- in bird-parlance anyway - of a wide variety of delectable insects ... and extensive foraging and nesting opportunities for Swamp Harriers, Swans, Pelicans, Herons, Cormorants, Spoonbills, Ibis, Grebes, Moorhens, Coots and company.

An assortment of eucalypts: candlebarks, mahoganies, willow peppermints, swamp
mallets, lemon-scented and victorian blue gums, to name but a few;

combines with casuarinas, silky oaks, blackwoods to form the
upper canopy, whilst dotted throughout, a sprinkling of claret and golden ash, sycamore, liquidambar, scarlet oak and silver birch guarantees the glories of autumn.

The middle story, dominated by acacias, banksias, callistemon, grevilleas, hakeas, leptospermums, melaleucas and prostantheras creates a riot of colour throughout spring and summer, whilst additional bird-pleasing blossoms are provided by a selection of camellia, cytisus, ceanothus, correa, eriostemon, homalanthus, prunus, rowan, syringa, virgilea, weigela … at this point I'll stop!

The list seems endless!

Roses … my father's favourite plants … abound, much to the delight of our non-feathered garden inhabitants ... the Brushtail and Ringtail Possums, who, quite obviously, are of the firm opinion these were planted exclusively for their gastronomic pleasure.

  

The solution? Plant more roses! Enough for everyone to enjoy...

Closer to ground level, eastern whipbirds; white-winged choughs; bronzewing, crested and wonga pigeons; bower birds; grey shrike- and mountain thrushes; finches; red wattlebirds; honeyeaters and a myriad of miniscule wrens forage noisily amongst a varied and ever-expanding assortment of perennials and groundcovers.

Over the years, some too wet and many more far too dry, the inevitable plant losses have occurred.

Then, like gardening enthusiasts the world over, my folks venture forth yet again, re-planning, replanting, propagating, collecting and nurturing seeds, adding newer, hardier species, seeking always to increase the predominance of those plants which can cope

with our ever changing climate whilst continuing to attract a wider collection of their much loved birds.

And so, it's hardly surprising then, that some of this passion for things horticultural has rubbed off on me ... and I am busily turning it to use in creating more areas where wildlife of all kinds may feel at home.

Click here for more details of planned projects.

Georgina Beach


 

All photographs copyright Georgina Beach.

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