Influence

We have planted a pile of Grevillia’s around our place.  There is no doubt a better word than pile, but I do not know it.  Maybe it is we have planted a herd of Grevillia’s around our place, though that does not sound right.
What I am trying to say is there are Grevillia’s here.  Heaps of them.  I’m going to ignore heaps and go on.  We have a number of different varieties at both the back and front.  Merril knows the names of things but I don’t.  It is generally the common name she knows rather than the Latin name.  Still, that is better than me.  Just because I call a melaleuca a melanoma or citronella oil, salmonella oil I know what I mean.
Often though I just call it by the colour of the flower.  If I say “the yellow grevillia” we both know immediately which one I mean.  I don’t say “the red Grevillea” though, as there are so many that colour.
We have had to get rid of a few Grevillia’s though.  To come to the Kuskie’s place is definitely to take a chance.  One we really liked.  It was real pretty.  It flourished and we needed to cut it back.  It did not like to be cut back though.  We gleaned that because the moment we did it started to die.  And it was not going to do things by halves.  We have since pulled it out as it has died, lost its life force, become dead, and is no longer with us.
We are keen on native shrubs.  For one they attract the bird life, and really importantly they are proven survivors in this area.  We have wattles.  A piece of trivia is Burpengary means “green wattle.”  It is good that just for something different it is green.  I mean, apart from everywhere, where does one see green in nature? 
We don’t have all natives, but we have mostly natives.  The only pre-requisite is that it can survive on its own without us watering it.  Mostly they can.  Some can’t but we just put that down to experience and try to make sure we buy one that can.
I spend a lot of time sitting.  I see things.  Be nice.    What amazes me is that we buy those plants for their pretty flowers.  For the birds it is a life source.  We plant it and go and do our thing.  The birds do their thing and one of them is getting the nectar from the flowers.
Merril and I got married in this house.  People gave us plants including Grevillea’s that we had just outside the door.  I remember a Little Wattle Bird visiting one of the plants while we were getting married.
We were not seeking the birds.  They just saw what was now here and utilized it.  We really do not know the influence we are having.  ​