Native Plants for NSW -
November 2023
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Blandfordia nobilis (M Swire) |
From the President
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Dear {Contact_First_Name},
Another newsletter highlights the range and variety of activities of our Society. From frog friendly gardens in the Northern Beaches to the symbiotic relations between plants and birds on the Central Coast and an eremophila for every garden in Parramatta and Hills, the range of interests and activities can benefit all members. These activities can also provide important information and awareness of environmental issues. Here in the Southern Highlands Group we are preparing for our Bioblitz surveys later this month and sharing information and organisation with our local council.
The sad news of the passing of life members also brings home to us how the Society has been functioning for a very long time and how much valuable data on native plants has been recorded. The Board is looking at an archiving and information retrieval policy to maximise the value of the efforts of members over many years.
John Desmond, President
eNewsletter Contents:
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APS annual get together
When: 18-19 November 2023 Where: Goulburn, home of the big merino Cost: $35 APS members for the event. Includes morning tea, Saturday lunch, gifts for guest speakers and incidentals. Saturday dinner $58/person for a 2 course meal.
On Saturday, we start at East Goulburn Public School with morning tea and a talk on Eremophila by Dr Lyndal Thorburn, leader of the Eremophila study group. The afternoon activity highlight is a tour of the Goulburn Wetlands. Saturday dinner we have a talk from guest speaker Dr. Brian Faulkner, Biodiversity Assessment Officer, Goulburn-Mulwaree Council - Threatened species of the Goulburn-Mulwaree district. Sunday activities include a bush walk or garden visits. The annual weekend away is always an enjoyable and social event, a great opportunity to catch up with friends from other district groups.
More details and the registration link here. Please register asap, note that there are limited numbers for Saturday dinner. |
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Belmore Park Goulburn (creative commons) |
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Northern Beaches meeting & talk - Creating a frog friendly garden and Frog ID When: 2nd November 2023, 7:15pm Where: The Corkery Building, Stony Range Regional Botanic Garden, 810 Pittwater Rd, Dee Why
Gracie Liu will speak about FrogID – Australia’s first national frog count – and how you can join thousands of others across Australia in informing frog research and conservation, simply by using your smartphone. She will also share tips on how to make your garden more frog-friendly and will highlight some local frog species to keep your eyes (and ears!) out for.
More details here
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Central Coast meeting & talk - The Symbiotic Relationships Between Plants and Birds
When: 11th November 2023, 1:30 for 2pm start
Where: Phillip House 21 Old Mount Penang Road, Kariong
In her presentation, Cathie Stubbs will delve into the fascinating world of symbiotic relationships between plants and birds. She will discuss the pivotal role of plants in the life cycles of our avian friends, emphasizing the impact of urban gardening styles on bird populations and dispersal.
Join us for this insightful event as we explore the intricate connections between nature and its winged inhabitants.
More information here |
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Parramatta and Hills Group Meeting & Talk - An Eremophila for every garden
When: 25th November 2023, meeting starts 2pm
Where: Gumnut Hall, Gumnut Place, Cherrybrook. Lyndal Thorburn has been leader of the Eremophila Study Group since 2015. A scientist by training but not by profession, she has kept her interest in biology alive through long-term involvement with the Australian Plants Society Canberra and participation in many Citizen Science groups. She has grown over 100 varieties of Eremophilas in her rather shady Queanbeyan garden, and has been delighted to discover that many in the genus are frost hardy and don't need sun all day. More information here |
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North Shore Group - Walks and Talks
When: 9:45am Mondays
Where: Ku-ring-gai Wildflower Garden
Hear a talk by members of the North Shore group of the Australian Plants Society then be guided on a walk in the Ku-ring-gai Wildflower Garden to see and learn about our focus species as they come into flower.
Nov 6 Grasses (Family Poaceae)
Nov 13 Euphorbaceae & BBQ and planning W&T 2024
More details here |
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Planning is underway for the ANPSA Biennial Conference in Melbourne in 2024. See here for more information, register your interest here! |
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And finally, don't forget there is a full listing of all APS NSW events including district groups on our website here |
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An old burrawang in a new garden |
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The burrawang in Ralph's garden (R Cartwright) |
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Ralph Cartwright, member of Sutherland Group, recently shared a story about a burrawang that re-grew in his garden after being squashed by builders when he did some building works. He also gave us some insights into how he reestablished his garden after all the work was done. The burrawang is Macrozamia communis, one of 40 species in the Cycad family and all native to Australia. It can be found from the Taree region in the north to near Bega on the far south coast and inland to the ridges of the Great Dividing Range. It is the most commonly occurring and most widespread cycad in NSW and the most southerly occurring cycad species in the world. Its common name, ‘burrawang’, is derived from the Dharuk language spoken by the Aboriginal people of the Sydney and Illawarra regions for whom it provided a food source after thorough treatment.
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Harry and Costa (H Loots) |
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Harry Loots wins Order of the Shovel
As many of you know, Harry Loots (APS NSW treasurer) has an incredible, prize winning native garden on the lower north shore of Sydney. He recently received a another award from North Sydney Council, which was presented by Costa Georgiadis. |
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All About Mulch
As we prepare for what might be a dry summer, we bring you a story originally published in the April 2020 Hunter Valley newsletter by Mark Abell. What is a mulch? A mulch is any covering put over the top of the soil, such as bark, woodchips, leaves, gravel and groundcovers – even a layer of leaf litter counts as a mulch. Why use them? Mulches can help to save water, suppress weeds, moderate the soil temperature, and add nutrients and organic matter to the soil. They can also be used for decorative purposes. Read on for more information about mulches. |
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Wollongong tiny forest (supplied: Wollongong botanic gardens) |
Creative ecology - mini forests as one strategy for urban greening
Global warming, biodiversity loss and the deteriorating urban environment are reducing the quality of urban life. Akira Miyawaki, a Japanese botanist, began practising creative ecology in the 1970s and devised the “tiny forest” to counter these undesirable trends. Tiny forests have been taken up in Australia recently and may be useful as a strategy in improving some environmental and social aspects of our urban environments.
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Olive Pink
Perhaps you have visited the Olive Pink Botanic Gardens in Alice Springs. It is certainly one of the best places to see Central Australian flora and as a bonus there is an excellent café. So who was Olive Pink?
Olive Pink was born in Hobart in 1884 and learned to love the Australian bush and its unique flora on rambles with her father on Mt Wellington. Back in 2019, Jennifer Farrer wrote a review of the book 'Olive Pink: Artist, activist and gardener. A life in flowers.' by Gillian Ward. Read her summary to find out more about Olive Pink. |
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'Olive Pink: Artist, activist and gardener. A life in flowers.' by Gillian Ward.
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NSW South Coast Ferns - book review |
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Recently, Dr Kevin Mills - who many of you would have heard speak at APS events - released a book called South Coast Ferns: A complete guide to the ferns and fern allies of the NSW South Coast. South Coast Ferns is a complete account of the fern and fern allies of the NSW south coast, covering all known native and naturalised taxa which occur in the region. Andrew Orme, Technical Officer from the National Herbarium of NSW wrote a review of the book and we are pleased to share that with you. |
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Farewell to some life members |
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Our sadly missed life members (clockwise from left) Jenifer Lewis, Edna Devlin and Ron Davies
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Edna Devlin, Illawarra Group Edna died in March 2023 at the age of almost 98. She volunteered at the Bulli Grevillea park and has passed her interest in native plants on to her daughters. Ron Davies, Macarthur Group Ron and his wife, Robin, were joint Life Members. They were recognised for their very long-standing work with Macarthur Group and with several other organisations in the area. Robin died in June 2020. Ron passed away in August 2023.
Jennifer Lewis, North Shore Group Jenny Lewis was an APS NSW life member (2005) and very long term North Shore Group member. It is with great sadness that we advise members of the death of Jenny Lewis in September 2023. Please read on for the full tributes to our much missed members. |
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Final words... We bring you some images shared with us by Lawrie Smith of Australian native plant collections he has found in other countries. Lovely images, and great to see our native plants being enjoyed world wide. View them here. |
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