Year starts on high for Daly Nature Reserve

We began 2023 on a high when we were presented with an award at the Council’s Australia Day ceremony. We were joint winners in the “Healthy Community – Healthy Environment” category.

The brief was, in our case, looking after the local environment, being inclusive of all age groups, coordinating with similar-minded groups.

We will be continuing to work with Macedon Ranges Council environment team on major projects as well as conducting twice-yearly nature walks with Gisborne Primary School. We have already approached another local school about informing their students of the importance of conserving the natural environment and in particular, Daly Nature Reserve. Our long-standing friendship with 1st Gisborne Scouts stands firm.

We are putting together a monitoring program, photographing the reserve every three months from 29 landmarks.This will record seasonal and annual

Garden Club news

Dear gardening enthusiasts, and so begins another year of social gatherings by the Gisborne Garden Club.

Members of the club gathered recently for our first meeting in 2023. A warm and sunny Wednesday saw 35 members and nine prospective new members come together to admire the garden of one of our long-term members and see the amazing results she has been able to achieve over two years, redeveloping her Gisborne garden.

After buying the property, many large trees and shrubs were removed and replaced with a tasteful array of border plants and a small birch grove.

Among the plantings was a beautiful border of catmint (nepeta) surrounding a bed of roses as well as changes to the landscape.

At 9.30am every second Tuesday of the month we hold working bees, which end around 11am with a cuppa and social chat.

There are many different tasks, nothing too strenuous. Newcomers are most welcome. Enquiries to dalynaturereserve@gmail.com

Friends of Daly Nature Reserve

Celebrating Australia's eucalypts

Our local eucalypts have become background or borrowed landscape as though we are afraid of them. Why have we become too afraid to own and represent Australia the way Australia intended? Here’s a deeper dive into the essential services these tree groups provide to us.

Did you know that the tannin, oils and sugars in the leaves clean and purify our water as no other species does? Conversely, many introduced species have proven problematic for waterways, blocking them with the mass leaf drop. This drop causes mass rot, which is the main contributor of pollution in our waterways. Eucalypts come in all shapes to suit a variety of landscape situations.

There’s nothing on earth like their freshness. The natural antiseptics they release into the air are world renowned. To have healthy eucalypts, of course you need to have their maintenance crew: possums, koalas, birds, and a suite of insects all contribute to a healthy canopy. Ensuring there are enough eucalypts helps balance the distribution of the maintenance crew. It is a delight to see them all working together, truly an Australian scene.

FEHMR, fehmrinc@gmail.com much colour to this summer garden. The standout plant in the front garden is a beautiful cut leaf maple and cotinus coggygrea smoke bush with its distinctive purple foliage. groupings of Calamagrostis x acutiflora ‘Karl Foerster’ and other native grasses along the fence borders.

Much of the dramatic success of the new planting can be attributed to the hard work of the owner and the preparation of the ground.

To assist with weed control and moisture retention, the ground around the plants was covered with cardboard or newspaper and a subsequent layer of coarse woody mulch.

Gisborne garden.

The front garden too, was totally redeveloped with a variety of roses, agastache and penstemons, adding

If socialising with other keen gardeners appeals to you, the Gisborne Garden Club meets on the second Wednesday of each month between the hours of 1pm and 3pm. For further information you can contact me, Bernhard Sucher, on 0424 038 474.

jokes & Riddles spot the difference

What do you call two banana skins on the floor?

Slippers

I had to stop working in the shoe shop. It was so tedious and sole destroying.

What sort of music do balloons hate?

Pop music

When my boyfriend told me to stop acting like a flamingo, I had to put my foot down.

Why is six afraid of seven? Because seven eight nine.

He thought that he’d forgotten about his boomerang, but then it came back to him

How do you stay warm in any room?

Go to the corner — it’s always 90 degrees.

Did you hear about the robbery in our backyard today? Two clothes pegs held up a pair of pants! Can you spot 10 differences between these two pictures?

1 Sapphires are usually shades of which primary colour?

2 Who played Hermione Granger in the Harry Potter movies?

3 What is the capital of Western Australia?

4 Which iconic Australian bird is known as the laughing jackass?

5 On which continent would you find the South Pole?

6 What is the largest organ inside the human body?

7 In chess, each side has how many queens?

8 What word means both a writing implement and an enclosure for pigs?

9 Which bushranger was captured near the Victorian town of Glenrowan?

10 In which year were the Olympics held in Sydney?

Answers page 39 gmail.com.

New Gisborne Playgroup is holding our annual Teddy Bears’ Picnic Open Day.

Join us on 26 March at the Ross Watt Children’s Hall from 10am to 12 noon.

All pre-school-aged children and their families are welcome to come along and enjoy this free event.

Pack a picnic, bring your fav-ourite teddy and get ready for a fun morning of play!