The wilderness

A suburban plot that has reverted to bush is lovingly observed, its old garden beds now entwined with native scrub and a damp creek. The text traces seasonal life: insects such as wasps, cicadas, spiders and antlions; caterpillars that pupate in ant nests and later become butterflies; dragonflies over the water; and birds drawn to fruiting trees. Specific plants—the white cedar, native cherry, wattles, pittosporum and Christmas-bush—are described for their shapes, scents and seasonal colors. Emphasis falls on the productive mixing of cultivated and wild species and the quiet, renewing cycles that sustain abundant small wildlife.