Welcome to our overgrown, unconventional jungle

If you drive up our road, you will have no trouble spotting our place – it is the scruffy, weedy one.

At least the weeds keep changing. When we arrived, buttercup dominated the front paddocks. Last year, it was pennyroyal; this year it is birdsfoot trefoil.

In defence, I would point out that this year's long, untidy grassland appearance is intentional; what is called sabbatical fallowing.

I first tried last year, in a little paddock down the back we call the Wet Corner. Indications were encouraging. A continuous stretch of sod now carpets what was a pugged-up mess.

I wish I had an excuse for the state of our little woodland area down by the stream, though.

We were making good progress chopping up the trees felled by last spring's windstorms. But now, I've just noticed two new casualties leaning drunkenly against their neighbours. As well, several more large limbs have also crashed down on to the boundary fence.

As my mum used to say, no rest for the wicked! Lots of small holdings are genuine showpieces. Good on them. Holding serious baddies like thistle and convolvulus at bay seems about all I can do.

But there are consolations among the disorder. Tidy green paddocks are nice, but if you can forget their status as weeds, buttercup and trefoil do create beautiful wildflower landscapes. Both will carpet a field with bright yellow blossoms. Pennyroyal, in turn, lifts spikes of delicate Wedgwood blue.

As for the windfall timber, well, it has already produced more than a thousand dollars worth of firewood and there is more to come.

Anyway, people must get bored with all those picture-perfect lifestyle blocks with huge houses set in parks of manicured lawn and ornamental shrubs.

About time someone came up with an alternative. Welcome, folks, to Manawatu's first natural wilderness lifestyle showpiece.

- © Fairfax NZ News