In November, when we built our new fence  (to form part of the cat enclosure) we had to radically prune a few plants, including the beautiful Banksia Rose, a large daisy bush and the jasmine.   In particular, the Banksia Rose was reduced to a stump, and I feared we’d killed it.   Less than four months later, it’s fantastic to see all three plants with healthy growth.   Contrary to all expectations, the Banksia rose is already as tall as our new fence, and growing horizontally along the supporting wires we have strung along the length of the fence.

The cultivated garden is not the only area where plants are regenerating.  When we installed our new front fence, some mature eucalypts had to be felled because they were right on the fence line.  On Friday, I noticed that one of the stumps has regrowth higher than the wire fence we installed.  While I knew on an intellectual level that plants do this, especially eucalypts, it affects me on an emotional level to see it in action.  It reminds me how tenuous human hold on  any land actually is.  I think about the ancient ruins beneath the Amazon forest, or those science fiction movies where entire modern cities are swallowed up by the forest.   How wonderous our bushland is.