We had a lovely end of year garden visit to the large property of Alison and Alister Fisher in Donvale. The Fishers have done a vast amount of weed clearing and established a largely native garden including some indigenous areas. There is a feature pond designed by Sam Cox. Unfortunately the weather forecast was not favourable and the visit was held a week earlier than our usual date, so there was only a small turnup to see the garden and enjoy the lovely afternoon tea. However, some of Santa's helpers were seen there!

The forecast for the garden visit was not looking good. Certainly, there was heavy rain on the drive to Menzies Creek. Fortunately, the rain stopped as we arrived enabling a small gathering of members to look at this excellent garden. The garden is spread over a few acres with some areas dedicated to plants from a parFcular state. Western Australian plants are an obvious favourite with many species planted. John, in parFcular, enjoyed talking about what he was growing and some of the problems including high winds and deer. Members spent almost 2 hours marvelling at the collecFon of plants, colour of flowers and the layout of the garden. Afternoon tea was held on the back patio looking over the red Waratahs to the rolling hills. We timed it just right with the heavens opening up with heavy rain as we drove out of the gate. Thanks to John and Lorraine for a wonderful visit.

Several members met on a beautiful sunny afternoon at Antonio Park, a protected area for flora and fauna. Here they were serenaded by a flock of Pied Currawongs whilst strolling along some of the well-formed tracks. Other birds in the area included Noisy Miners, Red Wattlebirds, Kookaburras, Rainbow Lorikeets, Crested Pigeons, King Parrot, Eastern Rosellas and Magpies. The Reserve was alive with yellow with several species of wattles flowering. These included Acacia pycnantha, Acacia myrtilfolia, Acacia aculeatissima, Acacia paradoxa and Acacia mearnsii. Other colours dotted the Reserve with some purple Hardenbergia violacea and Hovea heterophylla, white Epacris impressa and plenty of Clematis microphylla. Eucalyptus dives (Broad-leaved Peppermint) had a little flower and plenty of buds. There were only a couple of orchids out - Pterostylis nutans and Pterostylis melagramma. In all, a pleasant way to spend an hour or so.

From the pages of Open Gardens Victoria... "An 'organic' garden with winding paths evokes the feel of the bush, with low plants (brachyscomes, scaevolas, hibbertias) softening the pathway edges. Taller shrubs form the middle layer (chorizemas, phebaliums, thomasias, etc) and trees provide height and structure, as well as filtered light and habitat for birds. Wildlife also benefits from the small pond, bird baths and clumps of grassy Orthrosanthus laxus.
The design is very subtle, with repeat planting of carefully selected and pruned plants and repetition of hard landscape materials, weaving into a coherent whole. Well-placed pots feature hard-to-grow plants. The garden extends to the nature strip, which is planted with everlasting daisies and grasses. The whole garden is full of interest that feels welcoming - and simultaneously intimate and spacious."

CANCELLED. Council deemed reserve unsafe at this time.

Joe has been a professional plant grower for many years. He and Helen ran the Branchout Nursery in North Ringwood for a long time.
From a one-acre garden a few years ago, now to a downed-sized limited space. However, they manage to utilise every space for their garden and Joe still manages to find room to propagate interesting plants. Joe has also been renovating a neglected Council reserve close to their home which we visited today.

Just over 30 years ago Julie and her husband, Anthony Hooper, had the opportunity to return and buy back a little piece of the family farm turning it into the enterprise known as Peppermint Ridge Farm.
Peppermint Ridge Farm has been the testing ground for growing more than 60 species of native plants collected from around Australia.
In an effort to share their knowledge and inspire people to grow more natives, Julie and her husband provide guided tours, education programs, food tastings from their Schoolhouse Cafe and a B&B experience, all from their farm.
To inspire people further they recently published a beautifully presented book called: "Australian Native Food Harvest: a Guide for the Passionate Cook and Gardener."
This fascinating and useful book shares their experiences and knowledge of growing and cooking with Australian native foods.
It provides gardeners, cooks and students with botanical and culinary information on 20 easy to grow native food plants.
One of the things that stands out when reading through this book is the potential just waiting to be tapped into within our own backyard. Anthony Hooper, in his fascinating chapter "Our Native Cornucopia - A Story Of Lost Opportunities", explains that while in the 1890s over 1,600 varieties of plants (212 being food plants) were identified as having commercial potential, almost none of them have been taken up for development in Australia.
In fact, one of the greatest native food success stories, the Macadamia nut, was first cultivated for commercial production in Hawaii and later California. While the Macadamia nut was beginning to take off in the 1920-30s overseas, Australia didn't take growing Macadamias seriously until the 1960s. There is, however, plenty in this book to encourage us to take our native food plants seriously. Australian Native Food Harvest is packed full of useful information and stories to inspire us.
Beginning with the Botanical Information, Julie mentions that only the plants that were easy to grow and had good flavour were selected for inclusion in this book.
Julie then goes on to discuss how to grow and take care of each plant. This includes covering propagation, harvesting and the health benefits of each food. The next section covers Garden Design. This is looking at the different ways we can use Australian native food plants and permaculture principles to create our own native food forest or include them in an existing garden.
The last section covers 68 pages of recipes. From starters and mains to sauces and dessert. Julie says that these recipes are some of their favourites. They are designed to be easy to prepare and demonstrate how Australian native foods can be included in our everyday cooking. What Julie and Anthony have done with Peppermint Ridge Farm and the Australian Native Food Harvest, is provide us all with a new way to see something familiar.
They have planted the seeds for tomorrow's success stories, starting with our own backyards.
https://gippslandia.com.au/ Nov 27, 2017

The story of Maranoa Botanic Gardens began in 1901. Mr J M Watson purchased 1.4 hectares of land for a private garden in Balwyn, in which he planted a collection of Australian and New Zealand natives.
Named after the Maranoa River, the name Maranoa is an Aboriginal word, which means flowing or alive.
In 1922, the City of Camberwell acquired the garden. It was officially opened to the public on the 18 September 1926.
The garden was expanded in 1962 to its current 2.6 hectares. In 2015, the gardens adopted a Conservation Management Plan to guide its management and maintenance.
Maranoa Botanic Gardens is one of the most diverse botanical displays of Australian plants. It is a rich resource for students, researchers, botanists and nature enthusiasts alike.
Follow the circuit path and discover a collection of around 4,000 native plant species, categorised into major vegetation groups from rainforest to arid zone.