Monthly Meetings

Fuchsias

Bernie & Carol Rawley

They have been growing Fuchsias and Roses for 20 years. They have 250 varieties of Fuchsias. You can kill the plants by over watering. Don’t let them sit in water. Water in the evening. They come from Central and South America via New Zealand. They were named after a botanist named Fuch. Prune at...

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Bromeliads

Bruce Lee

Bruce explained that he has done many of these talks, and invariably brings too many plants.  Bromeliads originate in South America and Mexico.  Some are tropical and cannot be grown in temperate climates but many varieties are suitable to grow in Melbourne. The most commonly grown bromeliad is the...

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Wonderful World of Fungus

Geoff Lay

Geoff Lay has been bushwalking with a camera throughout Australia for over 40 years. To improve his keen interest in fungi and plants, he has been a member of the Field Naturalist Club of Victoria Fungus group and of the Australian Plants Society for many years. For the last 10 years he has worked...

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AGM and Luncheon

In November last year, the Associations Incorporation Act 1981, was replaced with the Associations Incorporation Reform Act 2012 (and its associated regulations)Our constitution is based on the Model Rules with only a few minor inclusions. We therefore need to address these in an updated...

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Indoor Plants

Peter Adamson

Peter Adamson, from Frencham’s, had an interesting career working in IT and acting before he studied horticulture at Holmesglen TAFE, winning student of the year.  He also ran a garden centre in South Yarra for over 10 years before working with Frencham’s. Peter spoke of the benefits of having...

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Hanging Baskets

Peter Douglas

Peter Douglas, from Scotsburn Nurseries has organised and sponsored the Hanging Basket Competition at the MIFGS each year.When Peter first got involved there were less than 30 baskets entered; this year there were over 350 entries.Peter has a Bachelor of Applied Science in Horticulture from Burnley...

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Camellias

Barry Johnson

Anne-Marie introduced our speaker, Barry Johnson who had visited our club before to speak to us about roses, being a former President of the Victorian Rose Society, involved with Camellia Society the a former policeman and landscaper, now retired.Barry is involved with rose gardens at Mornington...

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Chrysanthemums

William Orange

William Orange, from the Chrysanthemum Society, grows the chrysanthemums for his own enjoyment and has family connections.  Chrysanthemums have been around for a long time, originating in China. They are the national flower of Japan and represented on early pottery. They came to England in 1789...

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Grevillias

Graeme Woods

Graeme Woods, from Gisborne, was happy to come and speak with us and charmed us from the start!  Graeme thinks that Victoria is the best place to live and Camberwell is lovely. The first grevillea was discovered by Joseph Banks at Botany Bay.  Around 900 species were sent back to England. ...

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Rhododendrons

John O'Hara

John mentioned that rhododendrons are a particularly diverse genus and there is a species to suit most environments.  They don’t like particularly hot weather but have survived the drought.  They are used to being in snow over winter so are hardier than thought. The Rhododendron Gardens in Olinda...

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