Monthly Meeting May 2013

It was a rather cool and slightly overcast morning, but the Willow Glen Gardeners braved the chill on Tuesday the 7th of May and descended upon Leon’s home in the wilds of Windellama.

We were greeted by a gaggle of geese whom whilst not officially belonging to Leon have quite definitely made their home in his orchard amongst his marvellous collection of apple trees.

The squatters roam their territory...

A hot drink and a piece of crustoli was the priority of the day as we gathered for our meeting, firstly we wanted to express well wishes to some of our members who were unable to come to the meeting due to illness, we hope they are all feeling better soon!  On to the business of the day and it seems that all of our weeds are thriving nicely and as we prepare our garden beds for winter John P gave us some fantastic advice on how to create the perfect compost - this will hopefully be available on our website www.whispersfromwillowglen.blogspot.com soon for everyone to read.

Getting ready for the meeting

Most of this lovely garden has been developed over the last 12 years that Leon has been living at the property full time. He has included some artistic sculptural elements as well as a wonderful collection of different plants such as euphorbia’s, roses, and hardy palms as well as conifers and trees like the magnificent peppercorn.

A dragon statue adds a touch of whimsy.



Honorary Garden Club Member "Sarge"
 

After a wander around the property and some cuddles from 28yr old Thoroughbred ‘Sarge’, Leon gave us a demonstration on the ancient art of scything which he uses to cut the grass in his enclosed vineyard area, apparently this method is coming back into fashion due to its economical and Eco-friendly nature. As an initial sceptic I must say that it was very quick and efficient and a lot easier on the back than trying to repeatedly pull the mower cord!   

 Look out it's the Grim Reaper! Oh, phew- it's just Leon.



Leon demonstrates Scything

A lovely morning was had by all and eventually it was time to grab one last piece of crustoli and head back to our own gardens to plant our new English Oaks and Conifers that Leon propagated and was kind enough to share with the group.

Next month (June 2013) our meeting will be held at John and Caroline E's house in windellama, we will be starting at 10am, please bring a plate to share.

Monthly Meeting April 2013

 
On Tuesday 5th of April, the Garden Club met at David and Pauline's place.
The gardens are spectacular and everyone was impressed with the roses and different gardens around the place. There were many comments on the lawn; so nice and soft and springy!

 

 

David has a variety of old machinery and implements around the place. They also have some lovely lights down at the dam/lake and seats placed at strategic spots to view the lovely sights.

The weather was beautiful and everyone had a great day out. Thanks very much Pauline and David.

Our next meeting will be at Leon's place on Tuesday the 7th of May for a 10am Start, please bring a plate to share.

Article contributed by Judy.

A March Road trip to the Arboretum

On 5th March 2013 the Willow Glen Garden Club went off on an adventure to the Arboretum in Canberra. It was a lovely day, both weather wise and company.

We all met up at the Village and had a cuppa and then met a guide, and she explained details of some of the trees and how it all came about after the fires in Canberra in 2003. We also visited the Bonsai section and there are some very old trees and fascinating displays. There is also a area set up by ACTEW advising waterwise gardens and which plants can grow in the district.

We had lunch and had some lovely views of the grassy hills and trees. The trees are only small, but are neatly planted and look very nice.
 

After lunch we went for a drive and saw the Eagle's Nest, which is made from metal tools and implements all welded together; very interesting. We walked to the lookout at Dairy Farmers Hill and the views are spectacular. There is a lot to see and definitely a place to take visitors.

 

A good day was had by all.

Judy

Monthly Meeting December 2012

For our December 2012 Christmas party gathering, The Willow Glen Garden Club ventured into the dusty hills of Mayfield, where we discovered a hidden gem. “Cullgurn”, a picture perfect garden that has been intelligently designed by owners Jackie & Doug over the 8 years they have lived on the property full time.

A Garden with a veiw...

 

Jackie & Doug

 We begin our day by taking a walk around the garden.‘Cullgurn’ features a variety of neatly planted spaces including a beautiful rose garden, enclosed vegetable gardens, a native walk and a fairy garden playfully enjoyed by the couple’s grandchildren.

A fairy sleeps peacefully in the magical fairy garden.

 

A rather striking fly resting on bed of roses.

 We chat to each other (as well as the horse and rather friendly sheep) while we take in the stunning view of the mountain ranges from the main lawn area. This section is also home to a gorgeous ornamental pond encircled by a working miniature train track which we admired while sheltering beside the large Japanese Maple trees from the rather gusty wind.



Denise Getting into the Christmas spirit!

A horse (of course)

It was time to begin our meeting where we were lucky enough to be joined by some of the members from the ‘Windellama Garden Club’. Gathered amidst festive table decorations and plates of tempting foods, it seemed that the weeds (which have a tendency to grow higher than ourselves) were the most common problem being faced by members through December, some people were finding that zucchinis may need to be helped along by hand pollination if there is a lack of bees in the area. We also discussed bringing in leaves/parts of diseased plants for diagnosis in sealed plastic bags.

Enjoying our lunch

 

The Boys and their wicked sense of humour...

We finished up the formalities and started up the annual Christmas barbeque, a few lucky members nabbing the prize seats beneath the coolness of the wisteria draped pergola to eat their lunch.

The best seats in the house

A day of festive cheer was had by all and we left as always, feeling full of good food and good ideas to bring to our own gardens.   

Sculpture and art feature throughout the property.

 

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.