Spring is coming, or so they say. The weather still seems wintry on many days but the blooming of spring flowers in our garden tells a different story, so hopefully it’s the same in yours.

Hope you enjoy reading the reports and seeing the photos in this newsletter.

Native Grasses

At our May meeting held on Tuesday May 21st Alan Bedggood spoke about native grasses. Our leader, Robyn Tyson sent me this report. Thanks Robyn.

Our May speaker was Alan Bedggood, he came all the way from Horsham to talk about grasses, most particularly identification. He had brought a sample of grass like plants for us to work out, with a simple saying

“SEDGES HAVE EDGES, 

RUSHES ARE ROUND,

GRASSES HAVE KNEES THAT ARE EASILY FOUND.”

This simple rhyme proved quite adequate, grasses also have separate leaves to their stalk.

Some of the nitty gritty identification needs a magnifying glass so we had a Botany lesson on the make up of seed heads, and pollination process. There then followed a plant table of brought in dried grasses, deciding native or introduced. Lots of questions were asked and answered and lively discussion had. Alan had printed some images off VicFlora to show what to look for, they really showed the differences in seed heads.

Wilson Botanic Park Excursion

Our June 2nd excursion was to Wilson Botanic Park in Berwick. Six members braved the cold, to wander the gardens of a reclaimed basalt quarry. The plants were mixed so spotting natives was a challenge, there are two lakes, a children’s playground and a look out tower. The paths meander through all up and down and round about.

Plant of the Month – May

It may be small, less than 40 cms in height but we are always happy to have this Melaleuca thymifolia in bloom. It’s not as bright a pink as some you see in the nurseries but it is quite lovely I think.

Seed Banking

Dr Rebecca Millar was our speaker for the June 18th meeting. She gave a very informative talk about seed collection and her work with the RBGV where she leads a group doing research about native plant seeds, especially some of our state’s more threatened species. She also talked about projects she leads involving students and their work in revegetation.

June Plant Table

Even though it was wintry weather lots to see on the June plant table.

I liked this batch of happy Acacias.

A couple of Hakeas, two more that caught my interest.

Excursion to Buckley Reserve, Balnarring

On Sunday 30th June a small group met at Buckley Nature Conservation Reserve in Balnarring. It was a bitterly cold day and rain didn’t help.

This fungi was doing well though.

Plant of the Month – June

Given it was the first time it has flowered we think it’s worth sharing a snap of this Lambertia formosa growing in a well drained spot on a retaining wall in our garden as the June Plant of the Month.

Frankston Reservoir Excursion

Sadly winter hit in a big way so given the risk of frost bite was high this excursion planned for July 28th was cancelled. Hopefully it will reappear as an excursion destination sometime when the weather is kinder.

Plant of the Month – July

As a large part of our property is clay we have planted quite a variety of plants that handle growing in clay. We purchased this Melaleuca at one of our plant sales a few years ago and since being planted it has thrived. Unfortunately the crows in our area love stealing the tags on our plants. Usually we note them but this time relied on committee member Verena Reich to help us identify it. It’s a Melaleuca blaeriifolia and it’s small cone like flowers are quite different.

Vale – Ralph Henga

One of our members, Ralph Henga, passed away earlier in the year. Even though he was still a member of our group he had lived in Echuca for some time. Vale Ralph.

AGM and Members Gardens

Our August 20th meeting started with the 13th AGM of our group. As a result of the elections we have two new members on the committee – Lee Denis and Margaret Norton. Thanks for helping out. Long time members Chris Long and Sue Gilbert were thanked for their service to our group and in Chris’ case to APS Victoria as they stood down. Thanks again Chris and Sue.

Two members assumed the role of guest presenters for the evening.

First up was Neil Heron. Neil spoke about the long transformation of his property in Wooralla Drive in Mt Eliza. A major part of this was the removal of a row of pines along the front of the property. Over time he has maintained some well established exotic trees and added a wide range of native plants to his expansive garden.

Our second speaker was Katrina Melen. Katrina lives locally but spoke about a revegetation project she and her husband are working on up in the Barmah State Forest region. They bought some land in 2020 and are creating a nature link for wildlife on the property. Even though they were able to benefit from a grant they applied for they have had some trouble sourcing plants from that locality. However with the arrival of superb parrots onto their property they have managed to source funds from a second grant. Lots to still do Katrina said.

Thanks to both Neil and Katrina for their inspiring and encouraging presentations.

August Plant Table

A large section of our August plant table was taken up with a stunning display of Acacias currently in bloom.

As you can see there were lots of other beauties for us to see.

These two caught my eye.

Plant of the Month – August

Seeing lots of Acacias in bloom always lifts my heart as it’s an indication that winter is ending. On a recent visit to leader Robyn Tyson’s garden we loved seeing this Acacia pycnantha standing out amongst a few others so it was an easy choice as our August Plant of the Month.

McClelland Sculpture Park Excursion

This excursion was moved away from its previously advertised date of September 1st due to a clash with Fathers’ Day. Leader Robyn Tyson reported to me – A group of fifteen plus a grandson walked around the sculpture park at McClelland Gallery, discovering not only sculptures of giant metal beetles and monkeys but a trail of different types of Eucalypts planted in groups, showing different barks.

We did a bit of exploring off the main trail and found  Bossiaea, Wedding bush (Ricinocarpos pinifolius) and large areas of Blue stars (Chamaescilla corymbosa), and a couple of interesting Acacias. The afternoon culminated in a stroll around the lake and coffee in the Cafe.

FJC Rogers Seminar 2025

It’s time to start looking ahead to your 2025 Calendar and mark in the dates for the FJC Rogers Seminar, August 2nd and 3rd. Our group will be hosting so you won’t have to travel far and there’s a variety of events and excursions happening.

No September Meeting

Due to the school holidays there will be no September meeting but we can look forward to the opportunity to visit some of our members wonderful gardens.