Portland Display Garden Update – It’s looking great!
Yvonne and I recently headed over to Portland to have a look at how the Native Plant Display Garden there is progressing. The garden, which was planted in July last year, is in great shape and has been growing like gangbusters thanks to committed volunteers who have been regularly weeding and watering.
We tidied up the garden beds, battling the wind and the weeds, and we timed our visit perfectly to harvest seed from Austral Trefoil (Lotus australis) – the seed pods were popping open in my hands as we picked them! Some of the seed will be added to our seedbank, while some while be propagated for use at other nearby sites.
Austral Trefoil growing wild at a coastal location in South Australia (R. Thompson)
The plants in the garden have experienced a very high survival rate, and most have become very well established. So well established, in fact, that some plants were being restricted by their plastic guards! Most areas of the garden can be seen to full effect now that a couple of hundred guards and bamboo stakes have been removed.
Before and after guard removal (R. Thompson)
As expected, the water level in the wetland area has fallen substantially since winter. However, wetland plants are adapted to seasonal variation, and their vigorous growth shown in the photo below shows that they are coping just fine with the changing conditions.
The aquatic wetland plants are growing happily now well above the water level (R. Thompson)
Portland Community Garden Landcare President, Wayne Barrett, joined us to discuss our future plans for the garden – stay tuned for details.
