Monthly Meetings

Hydrangeas

John Warner

John Warner, from Warner’s Nurseries, gave us a fabulous talk on Hydrangeas. He commented that in the past 5-6 years, he had seen big changes with Stage 3A restrictions and very limited rain.  Water tanks and grey water recycling are now high on our agenda and gardeners have become more...

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Roses and Gardening

Robert Aitken

Unfortunately, owing to traffic congestion, this month’s guest speaker, Robert Aitken, was late, so to fill in time, the President encouraged members to share their hints and tips for the garden, including discouraging possums, extending the life of cut flowers etc, but no one had any ideas for...

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Hellebores

Edwin (Ted) West

Our guest speaker was Mr Edwin (Ted) West, who is an expert on Hellebores (winter roses). Firstly, Ted shared some of his own tips with members, including hints on gardening when afflicted by arthritis. Ted recommended some remedies that he has found effective including ‘Cool It’ and Goanna oil....

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AGM - Retirement Options

Anne Kemp

Anne Kemp from Retirement Life Solutions spoke to members at our AGM about their retirement living options. 3 types of living options: Independent Living Units (usually 2 bedroom) Independent Living Apartments (1, 2 or 3 bedroom) Serviced Apartments (usually 1 bedroom with lounge) Need to assess...

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Lawns of the Future

Phillip Ford

Phillip Ford from Northern Metropolitan Institute of TAFE, spoke to us about Lawns of the Future. Phillips’ specialty is turf management and he has been training students from gold clubs around Victoria for the past 25 years.  Phillip mentioned that domestic turf has suffered through the...

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Fertilizers

Neil Duncan

Neil Duncan from Northern Metropolitan Institute of TAFE, gave us a very informative talk about fertilizers. He listed the many different types of fertilizers people use, but manures are not considered fertilizers as they do not have a consistent nutrient content. He then went on to list the...

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Pests and Diseases

Isabella Olszewski

Isabella Olszewski from Northern Metropolitan Institute of TAFE, spoke to us about pests and diseases and how to rid your garden of them without the use of strong chemical sprays. Such sprays discourage butterflies and other good things in the garden. She began her talk by asking the members to...

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Horticulture at the Zoos

Fran Pfeiffer

Fran Pfeiffer from Friends of the Zoos spoke to us about Horticulture at the zoos. She introduced her talk with a brief history of the Melbourne, Healesville and Werribee zoos and the role of the Friends of the Zoos (FOTZ) in promoting and supporting them. The gardens are an important part of the...

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Garden Patch Autumn Garden

Peter Cumming

Peter introduced his talk with an amusing description of his unusual career path from Accountant to Nurseryman as well as the difficulties he has experienced in running his own nursery business, The Garden Patch in Hartwell. When Peter purchased the business some 20 years ago, it was a simple...

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Geraniums & Pelargoniums

Rex Chug

Rex became involved with the Pelargonium and Geranium Society of Southern Victoria 22 years ago.  The club no longer exists as a working group and is known as the Pelargonium and Geranium Friends Group. Geraniums, often referred to as Zonal Pelargoniums, have a zone in their leaves, and...

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