kieranblakewriter

Ben’s been busy lately. He rolled up his sleeves, got his hands dirty and dismantled the entire garden. Yes, all of the garden beds are gone, even his fortress.

Ben was dissatisfied with his lodgings, so he gave the order to pack up and leave. When Ben speaks, we obey. Ben was satisfied with the garden and the space afforded him to grow food and plants, but not with the house itself. He became increasingly frustrated with the noise from the main road, and the nearby construction, which permeated the paper thin walls of the fibro house, day after day after day.

He also kept asking, when is an engineer going to design silent gardening tools? Surely, he would argue, if Scientists can create computers which fit in our pockets, they can find a way to create silent gardening tools. I’m afraid I was at a loss to explain to him why this hasn’t occurred yet.

As a result of Ben’s decision, the back garden has been returned to a flat patch of grass.

The garden is at the back of a rental property on the south coast of New South Wales, about 2 hours south of Sydney, Australia. The soil is generally fertile in a region famous for dairy farming and viticulture, although the garden had been stripped of much of its nutrients when I moved in, courtesy of the previous tenant’s neglect and a dry winter. The garden attracts quite a lot of sun, during very warm summer months and even during colder winter months in what is typically a temperate climate. The area is also famous for beaches and surfing, which is great after a day of hard yakka in the garden.

Ben swiftly dismantled the garden beds and was able to place some of the remaining plants, such as the eggplant, into the compost bin, but eventually even this had to be emptied. Much of the remaining plant and organic waste found its way into the garden waste bin, while the nutrient rich soil was spread over the rest of the garden, to help the grass grow.

In his brilliance, Ben ordered the dismantling of the garden well in advance of his departure date so that the grass may have a chance to grow back. He is conscious of not upsetting the Ogres, also known in this part of the world as Real Estate Agents.

The compost bin is set to be housed by some friends, who have a very impressive composting system, while the worm farm will hopefully be donated to a fledgling community garden, in this suburb. Ben was most pleased with our efforts to procure a home for the busy and productive worm farm.

Ben has left a small legacy. The frangipani trees remain, and even though they look quite sickly now in winter, they should be in full bloom in spring. The same applies to the papaya tree. Unfortunately, Ben won’t get to enjoy any papaya fruit, but hopefully the next tenant will continue to care for the plant and appreciate the free fruit.

Where does Ben go next?

Who knows.