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.