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Agnes Banks Nature Reserve – on the East bank of the Hawkesbury River near Richmond on a small area of windblown sands which overlays alluvial deposits from ancient river systems (65 million years ago). The reserve is a remnant of the original area as most of the deposit has been mined for the sand. It…

The Indigenous Volunteers in my Garden – The structure of my garden comes from the plants which I have planted but a lot of the infill plants are local natives which by and large have arrived unannounced as what garden writer Esther Dean used to call “volunteers”

Climbing Mount Banks – On 26 November 2019 Lesley Waite and Ian Cox went on a magical walk to the summit of Mount Banks. The objectives of our visit were twofold – to indulge in the beautiful upper Blue Mountains flora, and to experience the magnificent surroundings and views. We were not disappointed in either…

Heron Island – The dominant tree on Heron Island is Pisonia grandis. This is a tree found on coral cays in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. Its seeds are spread in the feathers of sea birds. It can grow up to 20 metres tall and live for 200 -300 years. The tree has smooth bark…

Medicinal Plants – Early settlers on the whole were not willing to try Aboriginal treatments but preferred to try plants which reminded them of those they had known in Britain and other countries such as India and China. Melaleuca quinqenervia oil can be obtained by steam distillation of the leaves and used for coughs and…

Berowra Valley Wildflower Walk – On a beautiful sunny July day, we met at Trevors Lane, Cherrybrook, for a gentle bushwalk in Berowra Regional Park, to see the early show of spring flowers. The terrain is Hawkesbury sandstone ridgetop with extensive rock platforms and deep gullies through which run Berowra Creek and its tributaries. The…

This species is not common in the Esperance region and is only found in mallee heathland to the northwest; the above occurring in a sandy loam over gravel around 130 km from Esperance. It is however, much more abundant further west, extending to Lake King, Hyden, Southern Cross and the Frank Hann National Park.

Fungal Field Study, Wentworth Common – Species recorded were from a range of genera and groups. Rather than just provide a series of specimen photos with names we have decided to emphasize the interdependency of fungi and to raise mycological questions based on keen observations and originality of ideas to try to engender a broader…

A Visit to Inverawe Native Gardens – Billed as the largest landscaped native gardens in Tasmania, “Inverawe” is amazing. Bill and Margaret “retired” to a large steep property descending to the shores on North West Bay, about 20 Kms south of Hobart. They have constructed gardens, paths, paving and flights of steps crisscrossing the slope,…

The Grass Tree: Its Uses and Abuses – Grass trees are very much part of the Australian landscape and uniquely Australian. They fascinated the first European settlers, since they were unlike any other known plant. In fact, they are a living fossil developed early in the evolutionary stakes for flowering plants.

Have you ever wondered: is rain better than tap water for plants? – Lightning can be a tonic.It helps add nitrogen to your garden. Australian soils are notoriously poor in nutrients and nitrogen is no exception.

Largest Spotted Gum – Located within a State forestry reserve at Termeil, between Ulladulla and Batemans Bay on the south coast of NSW (and only 5 minutes off the Princes Highway), the State Government incorporated this tree (‘Old Blotchy’) into the Murramarang National Park in 2012. Estimated to be in excess of 400 years old,…