Monthly Meeting November 2012

The roses are blooming, days are getting longer and the grass is nearly impossible to keep up with. Yes, it seems that Summer is already nearly here and of course, bringing with it the start of the party season - and if there is one thing the Willow Glen Garden Club like it’s a good party!
 

The first Tuesday in November saw us putting on our best hats and heading through the Windellama countryside to the home of Ron and Thoreen for not only our usual monthly meeting but also our annual Melbourne Cup BBQ-feast-extravaganza.

As soon as you head up the driveway you know you are entering a garden that has been created with both love and a whole lot of hard work. Over the 24 years Thoreen and Ron have lived here the property has evolved to include a large series of flower gardens connected by pathways, a vegetable garden, mixed fruit orchard as well as a small productive vineyard where I was lucky enough to try a sample of Ron’s delicious organic, preservative free red.

Hand-picked rock walls border the main flower garden, which along with colourful floral displays incorporates the artistic use of ceramic and metal objects such as locally sourced mining relics to give the garden a unique sense of history. Every piece has its own special story and there are hidden treasures around every corner.

A series of ponds are a central feature of the garden, surrounded by colourful mixed plantings and connected by delightful little stone bridges they lead you through to some 50+ camellias, large bushes and shade trees as well as masses of flowering succulents.

We held our meeting under the shade of the front veranda, discussing the habits of curl grub and the pro’s and con’s of various insecticides before gathering everyone up for the traditional “Best Hat” competition.

After a delicious lunch Judy and Jackie (who were in charge of the sweeps) took our final bets before we squished into the lounge room to watch the big race. Quick congratulations to all our big winners and I headed home full of good food and good memories after a great day, even if all I won was the ‘last place $2 booby prize’!

 

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October Monthly Meeting

 As you drive down the pristine, oak lined main street of the quaint little village of Lake Bathurst, you are struck by how green and lush everything has become after so many years of drought in the area. This beauty of course, is just a promise of what is to come as we approach a very colourful cottage garden and the home of Maria, Peter and their cheeky pet dogs ‘Charlie’ and ‘Fran’. 

As we embark on our tour of the garden, we notice holly hock with an apparent mind of its own has turned itself into quite a beautiful tree in the corner of the colourful garden at the front of the property, raising questions from our group as we soaked up the warm weather and admired the masses of spring flowers erupting all around us.
 

 

 

Working hard to restore their quaint cottage, gardens and out buildings, Peter and Maria have taken up temporary residence within the renovated carriage of an old 1929 ‘red rattler’ train that has been painted green and artfully placed towards the back of the property. Shaded by large trees and surrounded by flower gardens, it gave quite the impression of a perfect scene one might find in an old photograph.

 

We finished our wander around the garden and assembled on the lawn for our meeting. Those who forgot to bring a chair simply sprawled out on the lawn with the dogs enjoying the sunshine!

 

 

 

 

 

We discussed the issue of pests on trees and contrary to the groups’ usual push towards all things organic, Di commented that the only thing to truly get rid of the “wooley aphids” from her apple tree was to suit up and spray on some kick ass chemicals! While on the subject of poisons, we were reminded that ‘Confidor’ has been known to affect bees so it is best to only apply this chemical after blossoming has finished.

After our meeting and the mandatory cuppa and cake, we wandered around some more enjoying the floral display, taking photos and witnessing the fact that no matter their age, boys will always be boys - particularly when there is an old train around to play with.

 

September Monthly Meeting

Nestled in the quiet Windellama country side lies the lovely home of Marjorie and our meeting place for September. Built up on the side of a hill, the house and gardens feature stunning and uninterrupted views all the way to the mountains while still offering the tranquil privacy of it's bush setting.

Ahh, how's the serenity....

Perfect weather greeted us and we arrived and waited patiently while the boys spent some time putting together our seating arrangements, then we drank tea, ate cake and soaked up the glorious morning sun on the front veranda while we held our meeting.

Caroline, Maria and Ni  prepare the feast.

 

Tom and Alan discuss the finer points of deck chair construction.

Apart from the ever present (and persistent) weeds there were few problems to solve this month, but now that our gardens now beginning to wake up after winter we were reminded that it is time to mulch and feed our fruit trees and not to forget to spray stone fruit trees with lime sulphate just before they bloom to prevent curly leaf.



One of Marjorie's fruit tree's putting on a lovely display.

The group ponders a not-so-Claret Ash.

A walk around the garden proved that despite challenging soil conditions Marjorie has still managed to create several successful garden spaces containing a variety of shrubs and flowering plants as well as a substantial orchard of various fruit trees just beginning to burst with beautiful blossoms.

Denise gives Meg a few planting pointers.

A rather unusual garden gnome...

 

One of the wonderful things about garden club is that we have the opportunity to share a variety of cuttings and baby plants with each other, this month was no exception! Spring coaxing us back into the garden meant an abundant collection of freebies ranging from the beautiful Snowball viburnum to the old favourite chrysanthemums.

Freebies!

An altogether relaxing day in the sun was had by most of us, unfortunately we received an unwanted visit from one of the world’s seven wonders,  luckily Victorias’ fall was minor and she is recovering well with only a few bumps and bruises.

 

Our next meeting will be held at 10am, Tuesday 2nd of October at Maria and Peter's place in Lake Bathurst, the full address will be available in the October issue of Windellama News or Tarago Times. Please bring your own chair and a small plate to share.

 

August Monthly Meeting 2012

You could almost been forgiven for thinking spring had sprung early upon arriving at Irene and Lloyds peaceful Oallen property. Daffodil’s danced in the light breeze and the warm sun beat down on our backs allowing the sweet aroma of morning dew to rise from the grass beneath our feet.

As you begin to stroll around the grounds, the sound of gentle bleats, baa’s and chatter of budgies emerge and it becomes obvious the pair are animal lovers. They have created a haven for small farm creatures complete with baby lambs trotting around their mothers’ feet, a cheeky goat who likens himself to Houdini and resident kangaroo willing to take the grass from your hand.

The gardens have been developed over a number of years to meet with the climatic conditions, favourites such as a magnificent 'Magnolia grandiflora' are getting ready to burst into flower, and we take turns to breathe in the sweet perfume of the honeysuckle.

Lloyd and Irenes collection of quirky ornaments draw the eye and inject a spark of personality into several areas of the property with fun signage such as "Weed free garden, take as many as you want. For free." delighting visitors to their home. 

We admired Irene’s thriving vegetable patch which consisted of a number of well netted raised beds spilling over with broad beans, bok choy and other winter fare and then it was time for our 24 strong crowd to go inside and talk about our gardens over a delicious feast of homemade cakes.

During our meeting we were informed that the time to prune back roses is now, fertilising and spraying to prevent common problems such black spot is also recommended. Apart from the never ending fight with weeds, the cold has kept us mostly inside this month and there were thankfully very few problems to report in members’ gardens.

In September we will be venturing over to Marjories’ place for our next discovery tour!

Community Notice - Mining and The Law Workshop

As announced at our August monthly meeting there is a free workshop being held about Mining and the Law which may be of great interest to people in our local area.

The following information was taken from a brochure from the NSW EDO:

EDO NSW will hold a FREE workshop to explain how mining is regulated in NSW, with a focus on landholder rights and advocacy strategies, environment and planning law, and tips on how to write an effective submission.
Thhe workshop will address current mining titles and applications in the region.


WHEN: Friday the 17th of August between 10am-1pm
WHERE: The function room at Goulburn Workers Club, 1 McKell Pl Goulburn

RSVPs are ESSENTIAL, visit http://edonswgoulburn.eventbrite.com.au/
For furthur information contact EDO NSW on ph 02 9262 6989
or email education@edonsw.org.au

July Monthly Meeting

It was a very frosty start to the July morning for our get together at Shirley K’s in Paddys Close. We were definitely all rugged up from top to toe as it took a while for the day to thaw from a minus start.

The water feature remained iced until after 11am! We were all greeted by a chirpy “hello” from Shirley’s pet parrot.

After Shirley’s house was built she was left with a large barren area, devoid of any topsoil and on a steep slope. To counteract this Shirley has used rocks for stepping and garden bed building. She has fenced her “backyard” area not only for her dogs but for fauna control.

Shirley has an array of local and exotic species growing, with a large amount of succulents enjoying the situation both in front and behind the house.

Our meeting was held inside Shirley’s warm home with about 21 gardeners attending, discussing various topics from compost making, tea making from the recent workshop at Windellama Landcare; storing of dahlias; pruning regimen of roses in our area; to name a few.

We then walked around Shirley’s garden in the wonderful sunshine impressed by Shirley’s prowess in succeeding to grow plants of any sort on a virtual moonscape.

by Denise

Our next discovery tour get together will be at Irene & Lloyd Turner’s home on Tuesday 7^th August.

The Willow Glen Gardeners are proud to announce that one of our members  (John E) was recognised on the Queen's birthday honours list and recieved a medal (OAM in the general division)for his service to the print media industry and to the community of Bankstown.

Well done John!

June Monthly Meeting 2012

It was raining cats and dogs outside as we pulled into the eucalypt and agapanthus lined driveway but this wasn’t enough to deter many of our willow glen gardeners from the monthly meeting.

Alan and Ni’s wonderful sense of humour is instantly apparent as we are greeted by a forlorn looking fellow upside down in a garbage bin advising visitors that “Trespassers will be composted”!

Enticed inside by a warm fire we gathered in a huddle in the lounge room sipping hot tea while we discussed our gardens and waited for the worst of the deluge to pass.

There were few problems reported this month, other than the never ending battle of the weeds of course and with winter now upon us, many have taken to viewing their dandelions and sorrel from the comfort of the kitchen window hoping to reclaim their little patch of Australia when the weather warms up a bit.

We collected our umbrellas and headed out for a wander around the property despite the unfavourable weather. You see, us garden folk are a brave bunch and aren’t afraid to don gumboots and raincoats for the chance of a free lavender cutting!

Around every corner lies a new vista, vegetable gardens overflowing with strawberries, celery and beetroot. Salvias bursting with pink and French lavender blooming in beautiful blue guide you past bay trees and sculptures towards the circular rose garden.

 

Over the last 12 years Ni and Alan have used a wide variety of different plants and trees including jacarandas, lavender, daisies and rosemary combined with a range of perennials and carefully placed garden artistry to create a series of beautiful gardens with a very welcoming feel.