By Greta Wickham
The Galston District Garden Club welcomes visitors and new members. Yes, we are back meeting on the 2nd Wednesday of the month, in the Galston Community Centre, 37 Arcadia Rd, and Galston. Time, 7.30 pm.
Despite our first meeting being an AGM we had a wonderful roll up of member’s eager to resume our gatherings. The Club has a new President – Beth Shade, and Vice President – Mark Sutherland-Harris.
Judy Horton was our guest speaker and gave a wonderfully informative and sometimes humorous presentation about “Australian Gardens, Past and Future”. Judy spoke about how the early settlers had a deep love of horticulture and gardening and how our gardens have changed over the decades. Our speaker for the May meeting is Ken Turnidge, the topic “Coffee and Ginger with a little bit of Tumeric”, from “Paddock to Plate”.
The Club enjoyed a garden ramble at a member’s garden in Wylds Rd, Arcadia. A splendid native garden established over twenty or so years. We were all very impressed with the garden as well as the hothouse and shade house, pictures of which are featured in this article.
Need I remind you that Nooroo Garden, Church Lane, Mt Wilson is wonderful at any time of the year? However, the scarlet, gold and indigo of autumn are particularly beautiful. Autumn colours are at their best throughout April and May at Nooroo.
Say hello to autumn, when the leaves begin to develop those signature tints, the start of the new season might have you wondering, “What jobs should I be looking to tick off in the garden?” Autumn is an ideal time of year to plant trees, shrubs, perennials and bulbs because the air temperatures have cooled, the soil is still warm, and the rain we have had has increased the soil moisture. You will see benefits in early spring when the plants you planted in autumn have had time to establish and show wonderful new growth ahead of the next summer’s heat. Good time to begin transplanting shrubs or trees, and it is a great time to propagate new plants from cuttings.
Autumn is ideal for helping your lawn recover from the hot and dry summer and preparing it for the wetter and colder months. It is a good time to fertilise your lawn, but ideally, you want a lower nitrogen content fertiliser than what you use in spring and summer. A more evenly balanced nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium fertiliser will help repair damaged areas by promoting new growth. It will also encourage new root growth before soil temperatures drop, giving your lawn a head start for next spring. Remove fallen leaves from your lawn regularly, as these will deprive the lawn of light, causing it to die off and create brown patches.
Early autumn is the time to fertilise your roses to ensure your roses have a good supply for that final autumn flush Check for borer damage on all deciduous trees, paying attention to the trunk at soil level. It is easier to check when trees are dormant and bare.
Earthworms are a sign your soil is fertile. When you add organic matter such as leaves and cow manure to your garden soil, you will attract earthworms, so there is no need to add more to your garden. The worms you have attracted with organic matter will add nutrients from their castings, and make tunnels.
Looking forward to meeting you at our next meeting on the 12th May 2021 at 7.30 pm. For further information regarding the club, visit: www.galstongardenclub.com.au or email: [email protected]
