Natives lure gardeners

THE South Gippsland branch of the Australian Plants Society held its annual native flower show at the Leongatha Recreation Reserve last weekend.
The show has been running for nearly 30 years and acts as the major fundraiser for the group.
Society president Jim Lyon said while there were less people than usual at the event, it was still successful.
“It wasn’t as busy as in previous years, but I think that reflects the dry weather we have been having. People are nervous about buying plants at the moment, particularly those reliant on tank water,” he said.
Mr Lyon said the display of native flowers at this year’s show was as good as ever, even though some plants have been flowering earlier than usual.
“The callistemons have certainly been out earlier this year, most likely due to the warmer temperatures,” he said.
“Some plants are responding to the heat by producing smaller flowers in fewer numbers. However the grevilleas are looking better than they normally do at this time of year.”
Megan Hewett from Melaleuca Nursery in Inverloch supplies many of the plants for the plant sale and said this year was a year for ground covers.
“People are tending to choose low growing plants, which are popular especially for those with small gardens,” she said.
“Kangaroo paw has been ever popular, as have some of the pea flowers.”

Purple power: South Gippsland branch of the Australian Plants Society member Kate Walsh and Megan Hewett from Melaleuca Nursery with some of the colourful natives on offer at this year’s annual show and plant sale.

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Posted by Sarah Vella on Oct 20 2015. Filed under Community. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can leave a response or trackback to this entry