The verge, footscray edition.

A long while ago I posted angrily about the council spraying chemical weed killer and having the absolute gall to say it was natural and safe.

And they sprayed my violets.

The violets have grown back and are flowering beautifully at the moment. They have lovely delicate white flowers. Their foliage is still showing the effects of having been sprayed though. It is unevenly pigmented and a bit deformed - this says to me that these 'safe' weed killers are not safe - they do continue to have adverse effects on plants a long long time after they have been sprayed.

So, in an effort to discourage spraying by the council on our verge trees, we have adopted the closest tree to our house. I cleared all the surface mulch which has been repeatedly doused in these nasty chemicals, and then added a big bag of organic mulch.

Next, I planted out blue pansies, trailing yellow pansies, white alyssum and white primulas. Then we all watered them in with some Seasol.

I hope that by keeping this small patch of garden well tended and weed free, that we will reduce the pesticide use by the council.