Leaders Report

A BIG Thanks to Col (and Mary)

I must confess that I do not know who was leader of our group before Colin as I have not been a member for a sufficiently long time. I believe that Col has been leader for the best part of ten years and during that time he has worked tirelessly to promote the group and ensure that our activities have been both informative and fun. Through the leader’s report we have come to appreciate the passion that he displays for Australian plants, their propagation and his ever developing garden. During his leadership I know that Mary has been a great support and has looked after some of the “more important” aspects such as the catering etc. On behalf of the group I extend a big thanks to Col and Mary for their efforts.

Around the Garden

I was doing a wander around my garden recently and was thinking that despite the lack of rain this year the garden is a picture at present and I would love to “freeze frame” it as it is. As with every other aspect of life the garden is transient, things are constantly changing and we have limited control. If only we could skip the summer as my soil tends to dry out quickly and there are the inevitable casualties that I seem powerless to prevent.

If I were to “freeze frame” my garden there would be some unpleasant aspects. For instance my $35 grafted “Summer Beauty” is not living up to its name and looks decidedly dead at the moment. It is basically a small dead tree however there is a small vestige of life. It has not grown over the last two years despite lots of TLC so I think sadly it will disappear shortly. It is amazing that its sister tree, which is only metres away and took so long to grow by comparison, is now very large and very healthy. Such are the mysteries of gardening!

Another aspect of the garden I would not like to “freeze frame” is those “pesky wabbits”. They have only been visitors for the last two years and have caused us lots of grief. I am sure the neighbours think I am mad as I chase the rabbits off my block, swearing and throwing things. It must present a sorry picture of a demented old man who has “lost his plot”! These rabbits, I swear, are super rabbits and have considerable intelligence. For example the other morning when I was eating breakfast and gazing out on my paradise a rabbit lazily hopped into view and sat and watched me! AND what’s more I am sure he raised his paw and gave me the “rude finger” sign as the kids would say. Well that got me angry and I went off in hot pursuit. These rabbits really are intelligent and here’s proof - I found a burrow in one of my mounded gardens and had a quick look into the hole. “Hmn”, I thought, no one home. However a minute later when I walked back past that bed the rabbit emerged from the hole and ran away! Surprisingly I was then quite happy as I now had a place on which to concentrate to trap my quarry. The next morning when I went to survey the burrow it was nowhere to be seen. The hole had been filled and the tan bark evenly spread so that unless I had seen it I would not have known it even existed. This had happened once before and I had hotly blamed Susan for filling in the burrow and as a result destroying my chance to implement a plan. And so the battle continues. I have had some success in protecting my plants by surrounding them with guards made from gutter guard. The guards are not very high however it does appear to deter the scoundrels! This may help others with the same problem; it is an easy and very cheap solution.

After the next meeting Susan and I will head to the Grampians for a week to see first hand the recovery from the fires. I know from our booking enquiries that recent promotion of the area has worked as it appears it will be quite busy. Some of the walking tracks will be closed until early next year however there will still be many tracks we can cover so look out for a million new digital snaps! We are then proceeding to the Otways for a week and will do the Otway Fly and I presume a number of bush walks and still more pics!

Thank you all, for placing trust in me to carry out the responsibility of leader for the coming year. I am not sure I will be able to live up to the standard of the previous leader however I will endeavour to continue Col’s good work. One thing that does worry me is the fact that you have chosen someone as leader who really knows so little about native plants! I warn you that I will be calling on other’s expertise if I am asked to speak on any aspect of Australian Plants or when I am interviewed by the media!! Thanks to the team who have accepted new positions or are continuing on in their roles. I am sure that in working together we can look forward to an exciting and successful year.

See you all at the next meeting, from John Stephens.