Amongst the gum trees
I love the gum trees on our property, but I only recently realised that so many of the trees ARE gum trees. I was lucky enough to pick up a book called Gum: the story of eucalypts and their champions
by Ashley Hay (affiliate link), that our local library was selling off, so I only paid $2 for it, but its a great little book. I was hoping to learn about gum trees and how to identify the different types, but instead I learnt about the complicated history of the taxonomy of gum trees. Its a fascinating story, with chapters about Cook's botanist Joseph Banks, to Ferdinand Muller who continued Joseph's work and then May Gibbs, author of the gum tree baby comics and books. Apparently there are hundreds of types of gum trees in Australia (and millions of gum trees) and they are all hardwood.
They are great for firewood if the wood is split and allowed to dry out. Some gum trees grow straight and tall, perfect for fence posts and building materials. Others have many branches and make great shade trees. Some are so hard they are impossible to split.
The book got me interested in identifying our gum trees, but also made the task seem impossible with so many varieties and some can be unique to a small area. I wasn't sure if I would ever know what trees we had, but we then stopped in at the Gympie Woodworks Museum and had a chance to speak to some expert "timber getters". Lucky for us a few of them had worked in our area and knew the type of country we live on. They told us that we probably have Red Leaf Iron Bark and Blue River Gums. He also told us that our wattles are probably brown, hickory and ferny leaf varieties. He had an amazing knowledge of the trees in and around Nanango and Yarraman, I was very impressed!
Anyway, I really just wanted to share some photos of the beautiful gum trees on our property! I love their colours, the different bark and leaves, some of them are incredibly tall, and all provide lovely shade for our animals, firewood for us and homes for wildlife.
Do you love gum trees too? What do you use them for?
by Ashley Hay (affiliate link), that our local library was selling off, so I only paid $2 for it, but its a great little book. I was hoping to learn about gum trees and how to identify the different types, but instead I learnt about the complicated history of the taxonomy of gum trees. Its a fascinating story, with chapters about Cook's botanist Joseph Banks, to Ferdinand Muller who continued Joseph's work and then May Gibbs, author of the gum tree baby comics and books. Apparently there are hundreds of types of gum trees in Australia (and millions of gum trees) and they are all hardwood. 
They are great for firewood if the wood is split and allowed to dry out. Some gum trees grow straight and tall, perfect for fence posts and building materials. Others have many branches and make great shade trees. Some are so hard they are impossible to split.
The book got me interested in identifying our gum trees, but also made the task seem impossible with so many varieties and some can be unique to a small area. I wasn't sure if I would ever know what trees we had, but we then stopped in at the Gympie Woodworks Museum and had a chance to speak to some expert "timber getters". Lucky for us a few of them had worked in our area and knew the type of country we live on. They told us that we probably have Red Leaf Iron Bark and Blue River Gums. He also told us that our wattles are probably brown, hickory and ferny leaf varieties. He had an amazing knowledge of the trees in and around Nanango and Yarraman, I was very impressed!
Anyway, I really just wanted to share some photos of the beautiful gum trees on our property! I love their colours, the different bark and leaves, some of them are incredibly tall, and all provide lovely shade for our animals, firewood for us and homes for wildlife.
 |
| The iron barks on a misty morning |
 |
| Bruce and Rocket eating among the gum trees |
 |
| A kookaburra helps us clean up a pile of wood felled by previous tenants |
Do you love gum trees too? What do you use them for?
Share this
Recent Posts
eBooks By Eight Acres
View all
Related Posts
-
Should I be worried about bird flu in Australia?
Jump to the end if you just want a summary, or read the whole story about why we've bought more laying hens (read mor...
-
Posts about Growing Vegetables on Eight Acres
I started my first vegetable garden in 2008 after I was inspired by a DVD in which Peter Cundall (from Gardening Aust...
-
Plastic-free Conditioner Bars
After I started using a shampoo soap instead of shampoo in a plastic bottle, I really wanted to make a conditioner ba...
-
Book review: Modern Slow Cooker
I first bought a slow cooker after our first experience butchering a steer at home. Unfortunately, we didn't know tha...
-
Soapmaking resources and books
Soapmaking Websites that I Love Modern Soapmaking Soap Queen Classic Bells Soap Making Resource Lovin Soap Soapmak...
-
Joel Salatin - adapting Polyface farming method for Australian conditions
When Joel Salatin came to Queensland... In August 2011 Pete and I left Nanango early headed for Beerwah (Sunshine Co...
Leave a comment