KINDRED SPIRITS

TRAVIS’S UNCLE GREW TOMATOES, GARLIC AND ONIONS AS WELL AS VARIOUS FRUIT TREES. EVERY YEAR, LIKE ANY GOOD CALABRIAN, HE’D SHOOT A PIG AND SPEND A WHOLE DAY MAKING SAUSAGES.

Millbridge, a suburb of Bunbury in Western Australia, is split north-south by Millars Creek. Julie and Travis Birch’s 1000m² corner block backs on to this strip of bushland, a verdant profusion of proteas, bottlebrush, gum and peppermint trees, kangaroo paws, banksias and grass trees.

Screened from neighbours, the backyard is so private it’s visited by all kinds of wildlife such as skinks, possums and native birds. Then