A country garden
sounds like a quaint,
quiet, idyllic place,
where Percy Grainger
could write a chirpy
piece of music which
goes nowhere.
If the country is
Australia though
the country garden is
a place green
in tooth and claw.
Plants struggle against
wind and drought,
rabbits, parrots
possums and kangaroos,
pigs, goats, sheep,
weeds and rocks and
soil that repels moisture,
and bushfires that
constantly threaten
to burn the lot.
Counting plants in the
morning, vigilant
for snakes in the grass,
is about as
relaxing as a shepherd
counting sheep.
nomdeplume 