Newsletter September 2007

Next Meeting

This months meeting will include a talk on lichens and mossess by Warren Simpson

Leader's Report

Around the Garden

Ah, the joys of gardening! Sometimes when things go badly I just feel like giving up on gardening. Green concrete sounds sooo good! I had a recent episode just after the last meeting. With the tremendous wind we had, many of my valued shrubs and trees had been “waggled” this way and that to such an extent that they were either barely attached to the soil or have since died as a result of the damage. A quick walk around the garden was depressing enough without the next attack from “Murphy”. I had not noticed that my hothouse had been literally upended, with a mess of shelves, pots, plants, tags, etc. all floating in a sea of potting mix. I did not know where to start! I dragged the whole lot onto the lawn and debated with myself over the value of even trying to save the “babies” or just throw them out. As they had not been out of the pots for too long, and the weather was not hot, it appeared some may survive. So with that I commenced to crawl around and re-pot most of my precious plants. It took me a couple of hours down on hands and knees and I must confess for the duration the sky around Traralgon South was decidedly black and ominous! Unfortunately I found it too difficult to even attempt to match plants with tags however most of the plants have survived so I will now have to wait for flowers to make positive identification.

Well you can’t help bad luck—or can you? I had never had an “episode” with my old hothouse even though positioned in exactly the same place, until a branch went straight through the top! The new hothouse is a different story. I placed a number of pavers in the bottom to ensure it would not tip over again. Great idea! But guess what I spent and hour or so doing before heading to Wilson Park? You guessed it—“52 pickup” all over again!!! Unfortunately many of the plants had recovered brilliantly as I had caught them while they were still fresh however this time I think it will be a different story.

Any way, talking of Wilson Park—I must be a sucker for punishment, yes another boot load of plants to hit the ground on Father’s Day! It was a great day. The weather was superb, the hot sausages tasty, the band was very musical, as well as a fine selection of plants. What more could one want?

A walk around the garden quickly indicates that the plants know that spring is here as there are many plants flowering at present. A number of our Hakeas are really looking nice as are the Darwinias. We have had a good season however our rainfall has been down over recent weeks. I just hope that we have continued rain as it is starting to warm up all ready. The garden in general is looking so good at present and I do not want to see the plants struggling again this summer. On top of this the local water authority are also contemplating new increased water tariffs!

I must say that the weeds have also made the most of a good year in Traralgon South, with some being quite prevalent and some new ones appearing. It is amazing how easily some plants can spread. I think the weeds have made the most of the bare ground left from the long dry. Have other members experienced this as well? The locals have been complaining about the abundance of Cape weed in particular. It has not been common in the area however I also have more than usual in the garden. Local rumour has it that they blew in from some property in Drouin! I recently perused a book on weeds and contemplated purchasing, although at $55 is seemed a waste to spend so much on such an obnoxious and unexciting subject.

Perhaps I have been lucky as I have had little experience with pests attacking my native plants. However this year our Hakea “Burrendong Beauty” was looking a little sad as parts of the plants were close to dead while there were new shoots and other areas looked fine. A close examination revealed the dreaded black scale, so it was out with the white oil. I also cut off the worst affected areas and destroyed them. A couple of weeks later and the plant is looking better however a considerable number of scale persisted so once again I have re-sprayed and have my fingers crossed for the Hakea and that it does not spread to neighbouring plants. At this stage it appears to be confined to just the single plant however I would be interested to hear of others’ experiences with this pest.

Last Meeting—Trivia Night

What a great night we had trying to answer trivia questions! Wasn’t the “guest speaker” clever to have thought up all of those testing questions??? I cannot remember who suggested the idea needless to say it was a brilliant suggestion for a “fill in” night. The discussions I overheard in the various groups indicated that brains were really working overtime! Well done to everyone as you amazed me with your depth of knowledge.

Secretarial Shorts

Errinundra NP Field Trip

Jacarri Eco-cottage at Goongerah is booked for three nights from Friday 19/10/07 to Monday 22/10/07. The cottage can sleep 4 persons comfortably in a double bed and bunks, the rest of the party will camp in the DSE Goongerah campground or in the paddock adjacent to the cottage. Apart from those staying in the cottage, basic toilet facilities are provided in the campground, about 100 metres from the cottage. If you aren't keen on camping but would like to attend, let me know and I'll pencil you in for a bed in the cottage. If no-one wants a bed in the cottage, Cathy and I will use it, otherwise we will use our tent trailer. Anyone with maps of the area, please have a look towards setting an itinerary for touring around, taking in any known highlights. Hopefully, we will be able to locate and see some Waratahs in flower. Also, have a think about whether we would like to be self-contained or perhaps organise some group meals together.

Churchill Festival

We have agreed to participate once again on March 15 next year, in conjunction with Friends of Morwell NP. As we wish to be recognised in our own right, we will need to be organised with our own displays, so give some thought to how we will achieve this. If we are going to give plants away again, then now is the time to start preparing. Any surplus seed can be sowed or cuttings taken or surplus plants readied for delivery. I still have our old seed bank sitting around, perhaps we can have a night to use this up and grow some plants for giving away.

The Australian Garden, Cranbourne

Doris has been looking into the logistics of a day trip to the Australian Garden, and will report her findings in due course. No dates have been decided on as yet, but I note that APS South Gippsland are running a field trip with an escorted tour of the garden at 11am on Sunday, November 11. Would we like to join in with them (assuming we would be welcome!)? They are advertising a cost of $10.40 for the tour for their members, I don't know if this would apply to us as group members of FRBGC. We would still have to organise transport to get us there to meet at the Australian Garden shop at the nominated time of 10.50am. Please let me know if you would like me to enquire further.

Leader’s Annual Report—2006-2007

I believe the 2006/2007 year has been relatively successful. Much has been achieved however there is still a lot to be addressed.

Highlights

The establishment of our own operational website thanks to Mark. His efforts in ensuring we acquired a host, suggesting and providing improvements and generally keeping the website up to date, have been much appreciated.

Cathy kept our Latrobe Valley group in the spotlight with her efforts in producing a magnificently decorated cake for the fiftieth anniversary of the APS. We also appreciate Mike and Cathy’s efforts down in Melbourne. It certainly keeps us abreast of the latest information and issues.

Another highlight is the “new” newsletter, as in its colourful and digital format it has certainly “raised the bar” and is looked forward to each month. Well done to Marg and her team and Mike with his regular and informative “Plants in My Garden”.

This year we added some significant titles to our library, in particular the magnificent “Complete Guide to Native Orchids of Australia” by David L. Jones. Delma has done an excellent job, particularly in lugging the library along to meetings for member use!

Another “new” was the Photo and Plant Night. It was great to see what others have been doing with their digital cameras to produce a great collection of photographs on all sorts of subjects. I think the night was very successful, and worth doing each year, even if a little too late for some!

Our program has been interesting and varied. We have had several guest speakers—I am sure members enjoyed Marilyn Gray discussing “Small plants for small gardens”, a very appropriate topic for many of us who do not have huge areas. Steve Kurec addressed the group at the visitor’s centre at the Heyfield wetlands and brought us up to date with his many new and impending projects. He is a very busy man and we were very fortunate to have him share some of his expertise

Other “guest” speakers were Warren talking on his trip to the Otway Ranges, an excellent talk on the ferns and fern allies of the area.

Cathy Beamish showed what amazing talents we can have hidden in our midst. Cathy instructed those present on the finer detail of constructing Australian native flowers out of icing, and how she constructed the special cake for the fiftieth anniversary of the founding of the APS. The work she did was amazing, so realistic.

Col Jackson took us for a photographic trip down the Canning Stock Route. He talked of the history of the area, the importance of the wells and some of the highlights of the trip. There was so much material Col had to come back for a second presentation to finish the trip! What an enjoyable journey in Australia’s amazing outback.

Outings

What a fantastic day we had in Heyfield. An excellent gathering of members made their way to the Glenmaggie weir wall for a barbecue prior to a leisurely stroll around the wetlands. Some of us did not get home in daylight!

Another was the trip to the Grampians to search for orchids. Alas the orchids appeared to have succumbed to the dry weather; however those who attended enjoyed a short, though busy, time searching for remaining plants and climbing rocks.

In November we visited the West Gippsland group in Warragul to hear Gil Freeman discuss “bush foods”. It is good to occasionally have contact with other groups and the evening was enjoyed by those who attended.

Our 2006 year concluded with an enjoyable break-up at the Stockyards at Rawson. It was well attended and a most relaxed and enjoyable get together. The food was very nice and it would be an understatement to say that there was plenty on the plate. A relaxing afternoon, however the sun was a little hot for some!

This year we were provided with much to think about from Melbourne. Falling membership is an issue with many regions and so it is with ours. We somehow need to attract new members. Despite our best efforts we are not seeing many new faces, particularly the next generation.

Maybe we need to achieve this by further raising our profile in the local community, perhaps some sort of community project, perhaps greater involvement in community activities. Any fresh ideas would be most welcome.

I would like us to resurrect the garden visits as there must be quite significant changes since our last round.

I would like to take this opportunity to thank the hard working members who hold positions and all others have contributed in some way. Thanks to Mike and Cathy as without then I would not have survived, to Marg and Wayne for their efforts in producing such an excellent newsletter every month, to Brian for raising our bank balance and of course not spending it and others who have assisted. Without office bearers and their assistance there would not be a group.

Thanks must also go to Col, who despite being “retired” has contributed frequently to the newsletter, has been happy to fill-in as a speaker at short notice and has provided raffle plants for every meeting.

Finally thankyou to all members who have come to meetings, submitted material for the newsletter, assisted with publicity and the myriad of other small, but necessary, tasks.

See you at our September meeting from John Stephens.

Australian Plant Society (Latrobe Valley)
Annual General Meeting

Held at Morwell TAFE Horticultural Buildings Thursday, August 9, 2007, 7.50pm

Attendance:
John & Susan Stephens, Mike & Cathy Beamish, Wayne & Margaret Wilkinson, Brian & Marilyn Ingram, Alan & Doris Chambers, Ray & Delma Hodges, Warren & Carolyn Simpson, Mark Watkins, Kate Richardson, Harold Aumann, Shaun Gardner.
Apologies: Colin & Mary Jackson, Jill Fidler.
Confirmation of previous AGM minutes:
Minutes of previous AGM of 10/8/06 were read.
Motion: to accept the minutes of the previous AGM. (Moved: Marg Wilkinson, Sec: Warren Simpson, carried)
Business arising from previous AGM:
a)More brochures have been printed, but not distributed. Updates to plant names needs to be addressed.
b)Brian confirmed the question about the Finance Report re discrepancy in income versus expenditure is indeed due to the timing of when members pay subscriptions.
Correspondence:
In: Out: Business arising from Correspondence: Nil
Reports:
Leader's Report was presented by John Stephens.
Treasurer's Report for the period 1 July 2006 to 30 June 2007 was tabled by Brian Ingram. Balance at 30/06/2006 was $2171.16. Balance at 30/06/2007 was $2176.72.
Motion: to accept the Treasurer's Report. (Moved: Wayne Wilkinson, Sec: Carolyn Simpson, carried)
Election of Office Bearers:
Leader: John Stephens (moved Marg Wilkinson, seconded Wayne Wilkinson. Carried.)
Vice-Leader: Cathy Beamish (moved Doris Chambers, seconded Carolyn Simpson. Carried.)
Secretary: Mike Beamish (moved Brian Ingram, seconded Alan Chambers. Carried.)
Treasurer: Brian Ingram (moved Cathy Beamish, seconded Marilyn Ingram. Carried.)
Editor: Marg Wilkinson (moved Carolyn Simpson, seconded Susan Stephens. Carried.)
Librarian: Delma Hodges (moved Marilyn Ingram, seconded Marg Wilkinson. Carried.)
Publicity: Mark Watkins (moved Marg Wilkinson, seconded Brian Ingram. Carried.)
Public Officer: Brain Ingram (moved Alan Chambers, seconded Kate Richardson. Carried)
General Business:
a)John received a request for a speaker for APS South Gippsland on 12/9/07. Warren tentatively accepted.
b)APS Wilson Park Plant Sale is on 1&2/9/07.
c)Doris presented her research into the proposed trip to RBG, Cranbourne. More enquiry is necessary into bus prices, insurance and excess costs, John will contact RBG to confirm entry costs and Wayne will drive if available.
d)John has approached 2 speakers for next year: Ken Harris on a topic of his choice and Tanya Brooker on native grasses. Members are asked to consider and arrange if possible, other options for speakers.
e)Newsletter format was discussed, particular inclusion of colour material and ideas for more articles, such as a benched plant report each month.

Meeting closed at 9.00pm.

Rainfall

How much did you get? If you measure the rainfall at your place please let Marg W. know so we can do our own rainfall chart. Wayne at Tanjil Sth. John at Traralgon Sth. Harold at Drouin. Mike at Boolarra, and Brian at Morwell.

2007 (mm)	Tanjil South	Traralgon South	Drouin	Boolarra	Morwell
JAN	39	53	64	47
FEB	36	54	40	62
MAR	76	78	70	47
APR	20	35	35	28
MAY	83	51	68	65
JUN	78	77		162
JUL	103	116
AUG	73	57			53
SEP
OCT
NOV
DEC
TOTAL	435	464	277	411