Ornamentals in our Fernmount Food Forest

Ornamentals ensure the Fernmount Food Forest is not just an unattractive, utilitarian source of food.
Of course many food producing plants are also ornamental and many plants we consider only as ornamentals are also edible. Ornamentals also attract bees and other beneficial insects and of course many birds, especially small insect eaters. There is no reason that a food producing garden can't also be attractive and a delight to explore.

In our climate foliage provides much colour so gold, yellow, orange, copper, silver and bronze foliage plants feature. The advantage is that foliage colour is so easy to provide compared to the work and time required to grow annual flowers. Trees and bushes also contribute many flowers and contrasting leaf shapes also contribute to visual interest.

Large Bromeliad

This Bromeliad looks green now but will turn gold again once gradually exposed to more sun.

Morning Autumn Walk

8.30 AM and its time for a stroll with Nick's dog. Down the central path from the house at the front of the block to these indigenous Tree Ferns midway and at a small culvert bridge over a stream bed. We have massive storm events and Easterly Lows can dump a couple of metres of rain over a few days. This bridge has been replaced twice and finally with larger 30cm diameter pipes.

The Tree Ferns are self seeded and I must keep pruning the roots out of the nearby storm-water drain to keep the water flowing.