Staying sane

Probably the most invaluable lesson the process of rehabilitating our land has taught us is patience.

Nature works on a much larger time-scale than humans; what takes an hour or a day to destroy takes years or decades to regrow. Old farm hands will tell you "a year of seed means ten years of weed" referring to the viability of seeds.

carry on weeding
Keep Calm and carry on weeding

There is nothing you can do to change this or to accelerate the process. However, nature will take advantage of your help. 

You are making a difference

See the process as symbiotic, see your actions as a catalyst.

Keep visual records

Take photos every year of a particular area to monitor your progress.  As the years pass you will see the positive change and this will show you your efforts are not in vain and inspire you to continue.

Be less controlling

Avoid the urge to 'manage' regrowth - trust the natural process.  Change your mindset from one of 'landscaping' to one of 'landsmoothing'.

Respond to challenges

If a particular approach or method doesn't work, try something new, experiment with different approaches.

Don't give up

As naturalised Australians we have been very surprised at the defeatist attitudes we have encountered over the years.  Even those who attempt to manage their weeds give up every year once plants have gone to seed.  Our advice is to keep removing those plants, remove those seeds from the equation.

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