The New Pump House
Finally in the summer of 2008 the old rustic pump house at the back of the pond just got a little too rickety. Non-Gardening Partner spent his summer holidays dismantling it and rebuilding a new one. He was, however, under strict orders to make it look rustic.
The New Rustic Pumphouse
The new pump house plays a vital part in the irrigation of my garden. Isn't it beautiful! Now I'd like him to build me a matching garden shed.
The Old Pump House
Here are photographs of the old pump house - the nerve centre of the irrigation for the garden. It's a rustic wooden structure near the boundary fence, and over the years it was slowly falling to pieces.
the old rustic pump house - 2000
Rustic? Hmm...
Alas, for this important little structure the adjective 'rustic' was a euphemism for 'in urgent need of repair'. Friends used to politely suggest that pictures of the Pump House make it look like an outdoor toilet. And occasionally I'd open the door and get the fright of my life as a mouse or a rabbit would scuttle out...
Australian Eucalpyts
Different types of gum trees surround the old Pump House. These trees have the proper name Eucalypts, and are Australian trees. They are messy (they drop leaves and bark) and noisy (the wind in their leaves) and I love them. And I'm not even an Australian!
I've allowed Pittosporums to self seed in this area and turn into trees - they seem to cope with growing near the moisture-stealing gums. They are very tidy evergreens, and need little grooming - unlike their larger neighbours!
If I didn't clear out the dropped gum debris this whole area would quickly lose its delightful ambience! I seem to spend weeks collecting and burning gum rubbish
The Old Rustic Pump House - 2004
The tree in the foreground has beautiful whitish bark - it's one of the biggest gum trees in the garden. I try to keep its trunk clean. Other gum trees (seen in the background) have a rough brick red bark which doesn't peel off.