Beware of the Trojan Horse
By Bruce Shirley
When we shifted into our house, the area in front of our verandah was dark
because of a huge rubber tree and was a domestic rubbish tip and jungle. The
back retaining wall was stained, pitted and askew. My wife rescued a turtle that
had been living behind the sofa of our neighbours for six months. The turtle was
miserable in its little basin and made several Houdini like escapes – you would
be amazed how well turtles can climb and how far they can go in a short time.
Out of pity I cleared the area and made a pond for the turtle.
My wife said, since we had a pond it would be nice to have a waterfall. I
used bits of building waste to form some shelves. At the base I built a stairway
of blocks with wood between them, placed polythene over the top, mesh on top of
that then cement mixed with oxide. The main basin was a stainless steel shower
basin that was thrown out. 400 kilos of plaster were used to cover the wall.
We have added plants and fish and I am occasionally surprised when the
whitebait or trout swim by. Amazingly the turtle leaves the fish alone and even
though it can escape when the pond level is high, it never goes away. The photo
was taken for a recent garden competition where we got second prize.
Lulled from judicious prudence by the accolades, I failed to prevent my wife
sneaking a parrot cage onto the verandah that she found in the inorganic. I
found myself sanding and repainting the cage. When we got some parrots I felt
sorry for them, so I made an aviary to allow them to fly occasionally. Now they
are breeding and I’m told I need to build another aviary for the offspring.
I repeat – Beware of the Trojan Horse.
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Garden Design 
