ASSOCIATION OF SOCIETIES FOR GROWING AUSTRALIAN PLANTS

WALLUM and COASTAL HEATHLAND STUDY GROUP

Hello t o al l my members, and welcome t o another year of "wallowing i n the Wallum". A s you can guess, time is s t i l l my constant enemy - lack of enough of it w i l l send me mad one day. The intended (and p a r t i a l l y prepased) pre-Christmas issue of our newsletter is sti l l on my desk, but as it is special ly writ ten with a Christmas "theme", it w i l l have t o wait u n t i l the end of t h i s year now.

After October l a s t year, I simply t'lost'' the res t of the weeks before Christmaa, mainly sor t ing a couple of health problems before they became more serious. If all the time and e f fo r t being expended allows me t o enjoy next year's A.S.G.A.P. Confer- ence and tours, it w i l l have been worth it.

-galso had typewriter-troubles , old "Trusty'! developed-a few l i t t l e - "gremlins" i n .- i t s operat ion, and needed some repairs. The e l ec t r i c , automatic typewriter which I bought in December is marvellous t o use, but goes through ribbons f a r too quickly t o be viable f o r doing a newsletter. But old "Trusty" i s back, so here I am. I guess t ha t someday 1'11 have t o overcome my awe of computers, and learn how t o use one (when I can afford t o buy one, and time to learn about i t ) .

)C9 tW*Y+~*+* *H*Y* * * * * * *YM** *

Several new members have joined since the last newsletter, and a welcome goes out t o them, along with the hope that we can a l l benefit from having you with us.

Stuart Neal and Janet Kirkley are both from Caboolture, north of Brisbane, and are members of the new ( ~ u l ~ 1997) Caboolture Daytime S.G.A.P. branch, From the suburbs of Brisbane come Steve & Lorxaine Hibbert of Nudgee; Ngaire Phi l l ips of Windsor; Lorna Murray of Jindalee. Phi l ip Johnson, a member of the Redcliffe & Dis t r ic t S.G.A.P. has f i n a l l y joined, and Dawn & Rex James of Highfields, just t o the north of Toowoomba. Victorian member Sue Guilfoyle l i ves a t Wonga Park, a north- eastern suburb of Melbourne, and I am very happy t o receive a subscription from the Wildflower Society of Western Australia.

A l l everyone needs now is a leader who produces more regular (and shorter) newsletters. I promise I w i l l t r y very hard t h i s year t o improve.

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meensland Region members, if they have read both the December and March issues of t h e i r Bulletin, w i l l know tha t there is t o be a Wallum Study Group d a ~ at my place next Sunday - the 15th of March. I made many ef for t s t o get t h i s newsletter out before t h i s , and am sorrg at the l a t e notice. .I do hope some of you can make it on Sunday, directions a re included i n newsletter. We l i v e at the end of Fazrow Road, 3 h s . f r o m the junction of it and Pringles Road, where there axe about a dozen or more mailboxes. I f I am organised, there w i l l be white & green "S.G.A.P." signs d o n g the roads. Coming from. e i the r Dayboro (north) o r Sarnford (south), you w i l l use Mt. Samson b a d , turning off it into Kobble Creek Road, at which turn is the Samsonvale Rural Fire Brigade shed (environmental green). Once on Farrow Road, yau can't get l o s t , i f you do, most of the residents are of the Henderson family, and w i l l d i rec t you t o us. Don't wear your best white jeans/slacks, it is ra ther dry and dusty. Bring your eats , cuppa needs w i l l be supplied; and a folding chair.

It w i l l not be the usual garden v i s i t , t o admire t he p lan t s and flowers. A t t h i s time of year, flowers a r e "resting", and our weeds have gone rampant. Geoff w i l l do h i s be s t , i n time avai lable , t o whipper-snip t he worst, but some p a r t s of t he garden have got ahead of me l a t e ly . However, t he W a l l u r n p lant ings w i l l be the focus of the day, as it i s intended an an i den t i f i c a t i on session. Instead of g o i w bush, we w i l l be able t o enjoy the comforts of home aa well as seeing m a n y of the plants. So I am not an t ic ipa t ing many llooohs and aaa.hsl', and " i sn ' t it pretty?", though I do hope you f i nd my l i t t l e b i t s of Wallurn a t t r a c t i v e , i n t h e i r own w a y .

If I could ever be organised enough t o have "Flowers of t he season" i n the newsletter , f o r t h i s one I would have t o unclude Epacris pulchella. There a couple of decent-sized p lan t8 is3. t he garden, with q d i e a l o t of buds jus t coming i n to flower. Meldeuca thymifolia (one plant from &u Swnmp late-1992 rescue) is s t i l l flowering, and i n s p i t e of t h e l a t e s t dry l o t of dlty days, and heat , several Velleia spathnla ta a r e brightening the scene with t h e i r cheery l i t t l e yellow flowers. There a r e other odd flowers, on t he Boronia falcifolia, on a Wax Flower p lan t , and a few Hibbertias. So t h e I.D. day w i l l be a good exemise i n recognising t he p l an t s by t h e i r foliage.

The past week o r two have had some very hot dry dqys, and t he garden has l o s t t h a t lovely lush look it had a month o r so ago. I 've had t he spr ink le r going over t he weekend, but am s t i l l amazed at t h e poor penetra t ion of t he water i n t o t he s o i l . My mulch i s mostly natural l e a f f a l l , and when t he ground beneath it i s dry, it is qui te d i f f i c u l t t o get i t wet unless there is a heavy downpour of rain. We have not r e a l l y had anything like a wet season, and it is now ge t t ing too l a t e f o r decent rains.

On Sunday, I made a l a t e r s t a r t i n g time than usual - 10.30a.m., hoping t h a t some of you may be tempted t o s t a y on till l a t e r i n the afternoon. Up here, it usua l ly cools off around 3 o'clock, as t he sun heads towards a high ridge on the west, and it becomes qui te pleasant. I have l o t s of shmbbery at t he f m n t , and it is usudly love ly and cool, and a t t r a c t s the l oca l b i rd l i fe . So t r y t o get here on Sunday, and f i n d out what some of those W a l l u m p lan t s a re , and t o get an update on what i s happening t o the W a l l u m i t s e l f , and what we can do about growing some of the plants.

**H***+*********** *****+*********** Other coming events a r e l i s t e d i n the March Bul le t in , with a garden visit i n May, and a "learning" excursion i n July. I haven't seen the Ribbert garden as ye t , and am in te res ted i n seeing what Steve has done with all those p lan t s he has rescued from the Quinn development at Marcoola. He has taken home qui te a l o t of p lants , and a l s o l o t s of the sand, so I'm qu i t e curious. I explained b r i e f l y , i n t he Bul le t in , t he purpose of the Ju ly excursion t o the Wallum i n the S t a t e Forest Sc i en t i f i c Area at Beemah. As one of the day tours f o r the 1999 A . 3 , G,B.P, Co-nference, seminar and tours , we a r e having a "Wallurn and Mangrove" day tour , taking i n th ree very d i f fe ren t p lan t communities. After leaving the University on the Tuesday, our f irst stop w i l l be f o r morning t e a at t he John Oxley Reserve on the North Pine River, Murrumba Downs. There we w i l l take the boardwalk from the Reserve parkland t o the r i v e r via mgenesated open forest and mangmve & marine couch areaso From there we proceed t o our lunch s top at the Beemah Field Study Centre on Roys Road, Beemah. Lunch mill be f o l l o ~ ~ e d by a Wallum ramble i n t he State Forest Sc i en t i f i c Area, before we leave f o r the Glasshouse Mountains lookout, west of b?t. Tibrogargan. Here we w i l l have afternoon t e a , and go f o r a shor t walk through open fo r e s t , before re turning t o the University. I am hoping t h a t members of the Pine FLivers, Redcliffe & Dis t r i c t , Caboolture Daytime and Sunshine Coast S. G.A.P. branches, and our Wallurn Study Group, can o f f e r t o help with t he m a w tasks t o be carr ied out, t o make t h i s day tour a success. It w i l l be vely important f o r those vtho can help during the bushwalks, t o know t h e i r p lan t s , so we can t e l l our v i s i t o r s what they a re looking at. To t h i s end, I am planning t o have several "training" outings t o the various areas, f o r members t o f a n i l i a r i s e themsleves with the places and the plants. I f you come t o my place on the 15th, you w i l l be able t o "meetI1 some of the p lan t s found at Beerwah, and I w i l l be able t o explain more f u l l y , plans f o r the day tour. However, d e t a i l s w i l l be ava i lab le i n fu ture newsletters, so don't worry t ha t you w i l l m i s s out on any information.

By t h e way, have you sent in- your Conference "Expression of in te res t ' ' form ye t ? If you do, you w i l l receive a Registrat ion form, with a l l the de ta i l s .

SLIME c O L T I V R I I O N PIOTES

These n o t e s a l s o inc lude propagat ion informat ion , and t h e sadde r s i d e of gronring A u s t r a l i a n p l a n t s - t h e l o s ses . Many of my rescued " t r ea su res t t a= doing we l l , b u t t h e i n e v i t a b l e happens, and some, which a r e obvious ly no t happy i n my garden, d i e . It i s probably due t o dry ing o f f , o r perhaps when t h e r o o t s t a p i n t o t h e heav ie r s h a l y l o a n s o i l , which is not t h e c o r r e c t PH. The boronias a r e touchy, and I u s u a l l y l o s e t h e Fultemea paleacea p l a n t s d t e r a y e a r o r two. They grow n a t u r a l l y where it i s w e t t e s t , i n v e r y p e a t y sand, and I would say t h a t I do not have t h a t h igh water t a b 1 t h e y p re fe r . It makes me sad , as t h i s Pu l t enaea i s g l o r i o u s i n i t s n a t u r a l h a b i t a t , forming mounded p l a n t s covered i n b r i l l i a n t gold and red pea flowers. The buds are red, s o you can imagine j u s t gha t a pa t ch o f t h i s looks l i k e each Spring. Another p l a n t which d i e s on me is Wacris obtusifol ia , which I call t h e B e l l Heath, beczuse of its s p i k e s , o f t e n c o n t a i n i n g ove r a hundred, of whi te bel l -shaped f lowers , sweet ly s cen ted , and massed. It l i k e s t h e sane cond i t i ons as t h e Pul tenaea, s o probably a l s o o b j e c t s t o i t s new home i n my garden. An unexpected succes s has been Sprengelia sprewelioides, z white- walfum bottltbmh

f lower ing hea th with s tar-sgaped .Flowers v i t h f i n e purple stamens, Calltstnnon +chyphyl l~

and very p r i c k l y f o l i a g e . Although t h e lower l e a v e s go brown, and mdse t h e p l a n t look a b i t u n a t t r a c t i v e , p l a n t s I rescued i n 1994 a r e s t i l l a l i v e , a,s a r e some of t h e white bearded hea ths , Leucopogons, which I r e t r i e v e d from an impending development, and from f u t u r e roadworks at %u Swamp, i n e a r l y 1992. The two p l a n t s i l l u s t r a t e d he re a r e e a s i l y c u l t i v a t e d , a l though t h e Leptospermum docs like a b i t of e x t r a water ing , and might need some pruning. The Wallurn Bo t t l eb rush has been c u l t i v a t e d f o r y e a r s , b u t few of u s a c t u a l l y grow Leptospemgm l ivexs id~e i , t h e Wallun Lemon-scented Tea-tree. You may have seen on T.V. r e c e n t l y where B i l l IIolyneux i n Melbourne, is promoting t h i s s p e c i e s as t'Mossie-Buster". Well, me have our own south-eas t Queenslmd 'lmossie-lsustert', s o more of u s had b e t t e r grom it. I have grown it from seed , and have s e v e r a l p l an t ed i n t h e garden, some f lower ing whi te , o t h e r s pink, as t h e y do i n t h e wild. The first one t o f lower , i n ~ a n u a r y / ~ e b r u a r y 1996, mas white , b u t d i d n ' t f lower last y e a r , and h a s n ' t , s o far t h i s summer. I wonder i f I should have c u t back t h e o r i g i n a l f lower ing stems, and w i l l cons ider doing t h a t t h i s year. Another p l a n t had p r o l i f i c pi& f lower ing j u s t a couple of months ago, and I am wa i t ing t o c o l l e c t seed before pruning it. I had hoped t o c o l l e c t seed from t h e Marcoola development, from last summer's f lower ing , b u t haven ' t been t h e r e s i n c e Se~ tember . Word i s t h a t t h e next S t w e of develog~ment has begun, which m a y p revent me e n t e r i n g t h e s i t e t o c o l l e c t .

On pages 28 and 29 of ou r March Queensland B u l l e t i n , t h e r e is a good a r t i c l e b y one of ou r members, Kerry Xathie , who l i v e s at Greenbank, and appears t o have a n a t u r a l s o i l more combatible t o 7mallum p l a n t s t h a n my heavy s h d y loam. He comments on my remarks t h a t p l a n t s a r e d i f f i c u l t t o c u l t i v a t e . It i s a very good a r t i c l e ,

and I would l i k e t o s e e more of t h i s type of comment. It i s t h e o n l y way S.G.A.P. members can d i scuss t h e i r work i f t hey

a r e unable t o g e t t oge the r e a s i l y , and you can be assured t h a t Sansonvale and Greenbank a r e a lo-o-o-ng way apa r t , s o Kerrjr and I

' g e t p rec ious few o p p o r t u n i t i e s t o d i scuss our f ind ings . It is very

i n t e r e s t i n g t o s e e j u s t how many %.llun p l a n t s 'Xerry has been a b l e t o c u l t i v a t e , a l though I do d i sag ree with a couple of i d e n t i f i c a t i o n s . And Kerry has problems with Leucopogons and Acrot r iche , whereas I have a t l e a s t 4 Leucopogons of d i f f e r e n t ages , and Acrot r iche m g r e g a t a , a l l doing

q u i t e wel l f o r me. So we obvious ly c a n ' t g e n e r a l i s e on which :Tall-urn s p s c i e s we can c u l t i v a t e .

My p r o p w a t i o n e f f o r t s a r e s t i l l very small, b u t I have sons success wi th Bibbertis acicu3aisp wllich would be a wonderful ground cover, e s p e c i a l l y f d l b g over logs or rocks, and g a d e n edges. 1'11 inc lude more on o u r

propagat ion and c u l t i v a t i o n e f f o r t s i n t h e next news le t t e r . W'allurn lrmon-scented tea-tree

Leptospennurn liuerridgei Send me any i n f o m a t i o n on your e f f o r t s , please.

" 4 "

I n t h e last news le t t e r , I spoke of t h e l i t t l e boy who asked i f I had anything f o r him. Well, p i c tu red is t h e cover of our book f o r ch i ldren . My o l d e r daugh te r ' s wildflower drawings (10 of them), Les B e l l ' s l ayou t , and ou r c h i l d r e n ' s guide and co lour ing book was ready f o r t h e 1997 Spring d isp lays . There were a few t e e t h i n g problems, with some of t h e information i n c o r r e c t , b u t b y t h e t ime of t h e S.G.A.P. Spring Flower Show, t h e book was .up

FIELD GUIDE AND and going well. We introduced them dur ing t h e "Fes t iva l of COLOURING BOOK Aus t r a l i an P lan ts" at F a i r h i l l Nursery i n e a r l y August, and they were again a v a i l a b l e at t h e Coolum Wildflower Show. A nominal p r i c e of 10c f o r t h e A5 s i z e , and 20c f o r t h e A4 bookle t , was put on them, s o c h i l d r e n would not l ook on ou r l i t t l e book as j u s t a " f reebie t t t o b e c a r e l e s s l y thrown

- away. We hope t h a t a f t e r t h e c h i l d r e n co lour - in t h e drawings, t h e y w i l l t hen use them t o l e a r n j u s t a t i n y b i t about ou r prec ious IVallum wildflowers. Wherever we had them a v a i l a b l e on d i sp l ays / l a s t Spr ing , t hey were ve ry popular wi th bo th c h i l d r e n and a d u l t s . A t t h e moment, we a r e not looking at t h e bookle t as a commercial e n t e r p r i s e , b u t as a n i n t r o d u c t i o n t o o u r n a t i v e wildf lo*ers , and we h a p e e t h i s w i l l b e t h e start of an a p p r e c i a t i o n of t h e A u s t r a l i a n bush i n genera l . -

As can be seen, t h e I1Colouring Corner" s e t up at t h e Spr ing Flower Show proved very popular , t h e lower photo showing 6 c h i l d r e n busy with p e n c i l and paper. Using two t a b l e s and a spa re desk, I was a b l e t o d i s p l a y t h e l o o s e drawing s h e e t s o f t h e 10 f lowers i n t h e book. Then t h e r e was t h e box of books, o f bo th s i z e s , and coioiirfi-g p e n c i l c , t i t h a s i g c s t a t i n g t h e i r purpose and p r i c e . he drawings on t h e l o o s e s h e e t s d i d n ' t come out i n t h e photocopy). P a r e n t s probably found t h e "Colouring Cornertt a handy p l ace t o l e a v e t h e c h i l d r e n s a f e l y , but it meant t h a t t h e y could t h e n go o u t s i d e and have a re laxed look at t h e Flower Show, and wasn' t t h a t important? I n fact, t h r e e s e t s of p a r e n t s thanked m e p r o f u s e l y f o r t h e "Corner", and a l l bought t h e books, One mother t o l d of h e r 5 year- o l d throwing a tantrum, and not wanting t o b e at t h e Show, then t h e y found t h e books and p e n c i l s - one happi ly~ occupied c h i l d wi th g r a t e f u l parents . The l o o s e s h e e t s were I ' f reebies t t , more of a pub l i c r e l a t i o n s exe rc i se . IVe should b e looking at more i d e a s t o a t t r a c t and i n t e r e s t t h e c h i l d r e n , while t h e pa ren t s l e a r n what we a r e all about , i n peace and q u i e t .

Who no t i ced t h e wrong y e a r on last n e w s l e t t e r ' s heading? I pu t 1996 i n s t e a d of 1997.

I don ' t have t ime f o r a "Mailbox" i n t h i s i s s u e , and t h e r e a r e many o t h e r t h i n g s I wanted t o inc lude i n t h i s news le t t e r , b u t w i l l have t o hold over f o r now.

Las t Spr ing was a very busy time, and I was extremely disappointed t h a t no h e l p came m y w a y f o r t h e Coolun Wildflower Show, and t h e S.G.A.P. Spr ing Flower Show. The Coolurn show i s very r e l e v a n t t o ou r s t u d i e s , as it focusses e n t i r e l y on t h e l o c a l wjldf lowers . Unfortunately, some of t h e p a s t stalwarts a r e e i t h e r l e a v i n g (mainly due t o encroachfng: age), and are o f t e n occupied wi th o t h e r s i m i l a r a c t i v i t i e s . But o u r members l o c a l l y should try t o inc lude t h i s weekend, o r even one day of it, i n t h e i r y e a r ' s d i a r y da tes . I always s e t up a s m a l l d i s p l a y , t o complement t h e l i v e wi ldf lower s t and where Primrose Gamble es ts up h e r c o l l e c t i o n of p l a n t specimens. L a s t y e a r Prim w a s ill wi th pneumonia, and had t o ask a couple of us f o r a s s i s t a n c e wi th t h e board. 89 w e l l as what I do at t h e a c t u a l show, I fill i n as guide on t h e bus t r i p s t o a wildf lower a rea . These go out twice each day, fou r t r i p s i n al l , and mean t h a t I can spend very l i t t l e t ime at my d i sp l ay , speaking t o people and answering t h e i r ques t ions . If at l e a s t one member could e i t h e r do one of t h e bus t r i p s (all i n f o m a t i o n is provided) , o r a t t e n d t h e d i s p l a y while I am ou t on t h e bus, it would make t h i s weekend s o much e a s i e r f o r me. The Study Group d i s p l a y is t h e only S.G.A.P. r e p r e s e n t a t i o n at t h e show, as t h e Sunshine Coast S.G.A.P. branch no longe r provides a d isp lay . So p l e a s e pu t t h e last weekend of August t h i s y e a r , i n your d i a r i e s , and l e t me know i f you can help. With t h e l o s s of t h e Marcoola a r e a t o a n o t h e r s t a g e of housing development t h i s year , I am wondering what we a r e going t o show people i n t h e way of wildflowers. Las t y e a r , i n conjunct ion wi th t h e Wildflower Show, t h e r e mas a garden compet i t ion f o r t hose growing n a t i v e p l an t s . And s e v e r a l g r o u p have been rescuing Wallurn p l a n t s , and r e l o c a t i n g them i n l i t t l e p l a n t i n g p r o j e c t s i n t h e Coolum area . Perhaps ou r bus t r i p s t h i s y e a r could t a k e i n t h e compet i t ion gardens and t h e r e l o c a t i o n p r o j e c t s . I w i l l f in, , out what i s happening over t h e next couple of months, s o it could st i l l b e an i n t e r e s t i n g weekend.

HW*********************

Severa l s u b s c r i p t i o n s f o r 1997-98 a r e s t i l l outs tanding , and I s e e t h a t I d i d n ' t pu t a reminder i n t h e last n e w s l e t t e r - t h a t was because I was going t o produce another i s s u e be fo re Christmas. A l i t t l e red dot at t h e top of t h i s i s s u e w i l l remind you if you a r e lagging. Perhaps you would l i k e t o send $10 t o cover t h i s y e a r ' s sub. as well .

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Our bank account i s at a h e a l t h y l e v e l , a f i n a n c i a l r epo r t w i l l be i n next time. If you wonder what is going t o be done wi th t h e money, we l l , f o r one t h i n g , I should be sending out more f r equen t news le t t e r s . But I am t n j i n g t o b u i l d up our f i n a n c e s towards f u r t h e r educa t iona l p r o j e c t s , as we thin?: of them. Tne co lour ing book i s a smal l beginning, and I am c u r r e n t l y cons ide r ing a s m a l l f i e l d guide, with dra,v~irgs, cover ing t h e S t ~ t e Fo res t S c i e n t i f i c Area at Beerv~ah, i n readiness f o r t h e A.S.G.A.P. Conference d a y t o u r i n Ju ly 1999'~ This would probably be based on t h e one we use now, which mas developed by t h e Beemah F i e l d Study Centre, over t h e yea r s , and with our a s s i s t a n c e more recent1.y.

-!+**Y*++**X-W+-X*++H+tY #-.!4 *-%X-**%****K->Y-X.***

As t ime i s pas s ing qu ick ly , I w i l l make a n end t o t h i s news le t t e r , and cont inue with my p repa ra t ions f o r next Sunday. I s e e t h a t my Persoonia v i ~ f ! ~ , t a has some f lowers on i t , m d should be even b e t t e r by t h e weekend. Geoff whiyped-snipped t h e a r e a n e a r e s t t h e g a d e n , s o t h i n g s a r e looking a b i t b e t t e r . However, a l o t of mowing i s s t i l . 1 needed, and a b i t more t i d y i n g of pa thwws, e t c . But don ' t look at t h e u n t i d y p a r t s , rerne~lber qe a r e having a 'Siall-urn I.D. dqy f i r s t and foremost.

See you on Sunday,