This week took me down the coast near Apollo Bay, onto a property that sits under a Bushfire Management Overlay.
The main job was to clear some very thick weed growth that had built up around the house, to help maintain defendable space. You can see it in the photos, dense woody understorey that had come up thick beneath the trees. It's exactly the kind of build-up people want dealt with around the home as we head into the warmer months.
How quickly regrowth can take over
One thing that always surprises people is just how big woody weeds and invasive regrowth can get, and how quickly. Given only a few seasons, that sort of growth can turn into a dense wall well above head height. It creeps up gradually, so you often don't notice how much it's taken over until you stand back and look, or until it's blocking something you'd forgotten was even there.
The view was hidden by weeds, not the trees
Which brings me to the nice part of this job. All that thick weedy regrowth had quietly grown up and blocked out an ocean view, one the owners had been wanting to see again for a long time. Clearing the weeds back opened it straight up again, and giving them that view back was a genuinely special part of the work. And it's worth being clear about this: it was the invasive growth that was in the way, not the trees. The view came back simply by dealing with the weeds that had overtaken the spot.
Speaking of the trees, it was an absolute pleasure to work around the gums on this block. Some huge, beautiful old trees, the kind that take a lifetime to grow and give a property its whole character. Jobs like this are among the best parts of what I do. Pulling back the weeds and the thick understorey while those magnificent old gums stand there as they always have.
Mulching the regrowth on site
The machine made short work of the weeds. It pulled the thick growth right back and processed it on site, turning it into mulch that stays on the ground rather than being burnt or carted away. What might have taken days by hand was done far quicker, and with a much tidier result.
Check the rules for your property
On the overlay and the rules side, it's worth being clear. What you can and can't clear depends on your specific property, whether it's in a Bushfire Management Overlay or Bushfire Prone Area, and when your house was built. I'm not the person to make that call, and I'd never pretend to be. Council is always the right place to confirm exactly what applies to your block, and the CFA is the place for proper bushfire preparation advice. In my experience people worry about contacting council, but they're genuinely there to help, and the way I work is alongside you and them.
If you're thinking about defendable space, or getting on top of invasive weeds and overgrown areas around your home, whether that's around Apollo Bay, the Otways, the Surf Coast or anywhere in between, get in touch and I'll come out for a free on-site look.
We work with you to open up your land, the right way.
Lachy