THE SEASONAL RYTHM at DAS HELWIG HAUS
The four seasons.
2008 was the coldest August recorded on the Granite Belt for 17 years. The winter was also dry. We weren’t short of water for the garden as we experienced a huge flood in January 2008, which filled our waterhole on the Severn River. We have an irrigation license allowing us to draw water from the river source.
This view shows one of the dams we built on a gully watercourse below our house at Glen Aplin. We have never needed to use water from this dam for irrigation purposes. We constructed it to beautify a swampy area formerly covered in tussock grass and to provide a refuge for wild waterfowl. It is much enjoyed by ducks and geese.
Another benefit is the tranquility afforded to guests relaxing on the verandas of Das Helwig Haus http://www.webstation.com.au/accom/helwig. They take pleasure reclining in comfortable cane chairs overlooking the spectacular garden, with their view extending down under the skirts of the pine trees to this expanse of water.
The flooded dam below the house.
Big summer rains lead to an abundance of fruit and vegetables. The rosella bushes, which are a form of hibiscus, are so attractive that I scatter them through our garden, rather than confine them to the vegetable patch. Because they are a tropical plant we have to get fruit picked before the first frosts arrive. In 2008 I lost my rosella crop when an early frost on 30th March devastated all the field crops of the Granite Belt. In this cool mountain climate the rosella bushes require five months growth to become productive. I try to get my plants into the ground in October. The red flesh of the flower calyx is the portion used for jam or jelly and next autumn when we are hopefully harvesting a crop I will include recipes for the jam and jelly.
Following heavy summer rains an abundance of grass grows across our countryside. As we don’t have any livestock, like sheep or cattle, we are obliged to slash the grass to keep our property tidy. Each year I gather some of this cut grass for composting and mulching purposes. Usually the frosts begin in May, drying the grassland and turning it the colour of straw. Each August farmers on the Granite Belt are advised to conduct burn-offs of grassy areas as a preventative measure against bushfires later in the season. I am a great believer in the cleansing power of a controlled fire so each year take advantage of the weather conditions to spot burn our land in the manner of the original settlers – the Aboriginal people.
This fire burnt the land between the house and the dam.
This blackened appearance of our land did not last long as the heat of the fire drew up moisture from deep within the soil and triggered immediate green shoots of grass. As I had hoped we received some rain and the grass responded and the area is now greening rapidly. A winter fire like this is called a cold fire as there is usually insufficient heat to scorch the leaves on the eucalyptus trees or the trunks of deciduous trees.
The removal of an overburden of grass encourages the perennial coreopsis to burst forth with a luxuriant growth of green leaves. The yellow daisy-like flowers rapidly follow and by the end of October the countryside is turning gold.
Golden wildflowers beneath a blue spring sky.
The Granite Belt is noted for enjoying four different seasons. Here I have shown you a lush green summer view, a Wwoofer – Ursula from Germany, harvesting rosellas in the autumn, the dramatic difference of recently burnt grassland and the golden glory of the spring season as Mother Nature follows her yearly rhythm. The Granite Belt is becoming famous for its cool climate wines, but many of the sixty district wineries are boutique sized and Australians are only able to purchase the wine by visiting the district. For this reason many excellent accommodation businesses have been established during the sixteen years since we moved to the Granite Belt to establish Das Helwig Haus B&B http://www.webstation.com.au/accom/helwig .
The residents and tourist operators of the Granite Belt, all know that summer is a delightful season. From the moment the spring storms moisten the fallow land of the Granite Belt the perennial coreopsis flowers begin to bloom, reaching their peak with a golden carpet of daisies across the paddocks in November. The Snow in Summer melaleuca - commonly known as a paper bark tree, provide a mass of white, honey scented blossom along the river and creeks while the apple gums - Angophora floribunda flourish in the forests on the hills at Christmas time.
