Display Garden Update
A second planting day was recently held at the Natural Resources South East (NR-SE) building in Helen Street, Mount Gambier, following the initial planting last year. NR-SE and NGT staff were grateful for the assistance of TAFE SA horticulture students and their lecturer Joley Didwell – as the saying goes ‘many hands make light work’! This event was held to increase the diversity in the three beds, which represent Upper South East, Lower South East, and coastal vegetation communities.
The planting crew from TAFE SA and NGT at the Natural Resources SE garden
On the planting day, despite recent wild weather, the rain held off and the hard working volunteers added more than 250 new plants to the garden beds! In addition, all three beds were weeded and previously planted tussock grass clumps were redistributed.
Ryan thinning out the tussocks
The event introduced more variety into the garden beds, including the wildflowers Lemon Beauty-heads (Calocephalus citreus), Native Daisies (Vittadinia sp.), Native Bluebells (Wahlenbergia sp.), and the Rigid Bush-pea (Pultenaea stricta) which will put on a dramatic floral display in spring and summer. Two rare species were also planted, the Variable Prickly Grevillea (Grevillea aquifolium – coastal variety), and Creeping Mint (Mentha satureioides) with the possibility to add more threatened species in the future.
As this garden is in a high foot-traffic location, it provides a great opportunity to demonstrate how beautiful and garden-suitable our locally indigenous plants can be. The addition of new plants and simultaneous increase in diversity has been met with enthusiasm from SE NR staff, especially those whose windows overlook the western bed. Thanks again to all our volunteers for your hard work!
