Pictured here are hedges that I have used across our house site to reduce grass-mowing maintenance and to grow trees usually a year or two later. Using the biomass production of the Vetiver to mulch out and shade the surrounding pasture grasses, as a pioneer, creates an ideal spot for tree planting. Visible are Citrus, Eucalypt pollards (for short pole production/mulch), and Persimmon. Other fruit trees further back behind Olive with Vetiver hedges in the same pattern.
Read more.jpg "Road Hedge")
.jpg "Road Hedge")
A standard hedge that delineates road edge and revegetation area. Hedged occasionally with no special care.
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Parts of Australia are now breaking records for excessive rainfall and with this comes erosion on levels not heard of since the last damaging floods of 2011-2013 (2022 is possibly worse). As this is just a mere time ago in a horticultural sense, the young vegetation that had been replaced since the events has again been removed from the sensitive riparian zones and are possibly doomed to repeat the cycle going forward.
Read more.jpg "Vetiver Hedge")
.jpg "Vetiver Hedge")
Dr. Paul Truong of Queensland, Australia has kindly released a new book on the Vetiver plant focusing more on the roots. This book is extensive and scientific but with an excellent collection of photos from around the world. It clearly demonstrates why Vetiver is a superior plant physiologically to most others and should help readers understand how Vetiver could be integrated into a myriad of projects safely and with excellent results.
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