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.

 

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!