Week 4 April 2001: 14 mm of rain this week. Sixteen members of the Tamworth group of the Australian Plant Society visited Yallaroo this week. We always enjoy sharing Yallaroo with other gardeners, especially those interested in Australian plants. We had an enjoyable time and had some of our unknown specimens identified. The Tamworth Group is composed of enthusiastic and knowledgeable members. It was a pleasure to spend the day with the group.
Starting to find many seedling Kurrajongs (Brachychiton populneus) appearing around Yallaroo. They often germinate under eucalypts. Birds probably drop the seeds. There are three large Kurrajongs growing on Yallaroo and we are pleased to have seedlings building up the numbers. On grazing properties, Kurrajong foliage is used for stock feed in times of drought. On “stockless” Yallaroo we are fond of Kurrajongs because they are beautiful trees.
Found a Hakea verrucosa, in one of our gardens, covered in buds. This Western Australian native has prickly foliage and pink flowers that age to red. Woody fruits are also a feature. This is an eye-catching plant in full flower. Birds appreciate the prickly foliage and often nest in this Hakea.
For the moment planting is finished in our Pole Garden. The next job is to move some large rocks and remove dense weed growth to extend the garden. We will return to this garden when we feel in the mood for “dancing with rocks”. About 60 plants have already been planted. We have a large bowl-shaped slope leading down to our Small Dam on the western side of the house. This slope is shaped like an amphitheatre. We have started to plant of the top section of this slope and we will call it the Amphitheatre Garden. Not many weeds in the section so most of the planting will take place amongst existing clumps of native grasses. As per usual the holes dug for plants yielded plenty of rocks. They will be placed around the plants to supplement the organic mulch we use.