Category: Gardening
No ‘white Christmas’ for Alice please!
— by Kate
At this time of year, old Christmas Carols and songs are often heard through sound systems of businesses, shopping centres, radio stations, churches, parks, gardens and family homes (admittedly some of these areas may not reverberate with musical Christmas cheer!) But Land for Wildlife Central Australia request that you be mindful of what song you
Property Profile: Bruce and Meg Simmons
Bruce and Meg Simmons moved to Schaber Road in 1993, initially moving into a shed while the house construction was being completed. As an avid gardener, Bruce has been working tirelessly to remove weeds from their 2.0 hectare property ever since. Bruce was ‘Buffel busting’ within the year—beginning with the western (roadside) portion of the
Property Profile: Olive Pink Botanic Garden
Note that sections of this article were written for the Australian Plants Society Alice Springs Inc. and the Alice Springs Field Naturalists Club as part of a joint walk of Olive Pink Botanic Garden the groups ran at the end of April. Regular visitors to Olive Pink Botanic Garden over the years will have noticed
Barking Curiosities
Bark is a non-technical term for the layers of tissue outside the vascular cambium of a tree, woody vine or shrub. The purpose of bark is to protect the tree against sun damage, fire, invertebrates, bacteria and fungi. Bark is made up of two components – the inner bark (living tissue composed of the innermost
Erodium Are Fun… Hear Us Out!
Heron’s Bill, Crowfoot, Cranebill, Storkbill. Call them what you like! I’m talking about the fun Erodium genus. Herbs in the genus Erodium (Greek: erodiós or ερωδιός, meaning Heron), have fruit that resemble long bird beaks (hence the name). They are closely related to the Geranium (Greek: geranós or γερανός, meaning Crane) genus and the Pelargonium
Seed Collection in Central Australia
At the recent Land for Wildlife birthday event, Samantha Hussey from Charles Darwin University presented a workshop on seed collection to our members and it was of great interest and debate among attendees. Seed collection is something that may interest you at the local level, as you may be interested in revegetating your property through
Pruning Grevilleas
By Candice Appleby Little known fact: Grevilleas can cause skin irritation and some people can be quite allergic to the foliage and flowers. Be careful while pruning, wear gloves and long sleeves and be sure to wash your hands, arms and legs when you are finished. One of the best times to prune your grevilleas
Property Planning for Wildlife
We all love the plants, animals and other aspects of the natural world that we are surrounded with and want to learn how to protect them – the best that we can. You can aim as high as you like – or as humble as you like. Just do what you can. At the basic
Land for Wildlife and Garden for Wildlife Central Australia: Celebrating 15 years of Wildlife Habitat Preservation, Enhancement and Restoration
Land for Wildlife is celebrating 15 years of the program in central Australia, and Garden for Wildlife is celebrating 10 years of the program! We hope that the two complementary programs have been beneficial to our members and we look forward to continuing to support local landholders to preserve, enhance and restore wildlife habitat on
National Tree Day Festivities
By Candice Appleby To celebrate National Tree Day on Sunday 30th July, the Land for Wildlife team hosted an official launch of the new online interactive Central Australia Register of Significant Trees map. Thanks to the support from Territory Natural Resource Management, Olive Pink Botanic Gardens and Low Ecological Services P/L. It was a lovely
A Selection of Grasses from Central Australia
For those that attended the Biodiversity Matters: Buffel Busters Tour of Alice Springs, you may be familiar with the booklet that we have been developing—A Selection of Grasses from Central Australia (yet to be formally titled). The information used was sourced from an excellent online resource called AusGrass2, in combination with 30 grass samples collected
In the Garden
By Candice Appleby All the rain we have been having of late has bought with it a burst of growth around the garden, which is great! But at times this can lead to unwanted over-hanging limbs, smaller shrubs becoming crowded or just an overall scruffy looking yard. Correct pruning techniques are essential to plant health
Biodiversity Matters: Buffel Busters Tour of Alice Springs
Land for Wildlife kicked off last weekend with its first collaborative workshop for 2017 – a Buffel Busters inspiration tour of Alice Springs. Arid Lands Environment Centre hosted the event as part of their Biodiversity Matters initiative, with Land for Wildlife supporting the tour to a range of Land for Wildlife properties and other local
Hot Tips for Hot Plants
As summer is creeping up on us quickly and the last of the spring days are proving to be warm ones, your plants will need a little extra attention to get them through the fiery afternoons. Here are some hot tips to protect your plants through the summer months. Keep the plants moist Give the
OPBG Green Army Graduation
Land for Wildlife has been involved in helping out the Conservation Volunteers Australia (CVA) Green Army team at Olive Pink Botanic Garden (OPBG), a historic, well-established and active member of the Land for Wildlife program. The Green Army program focused on ecological works such as garden bed rejuvenation, Buffel Grass removal and feral animal management
Air Bee n Bee: Creating Hotels for Native Pollinators
Spring is here and gardens are a buzz! Insects play an important role in the environment as pollinators and nutrient recyclers. While it is easy to get carried away with the huge role that introduced European Honeybees (Apis mellifera) play in pollinating crops, there are many more species of native solitary bees (harmless and non-aggressive)
The Changing Seasons: Winter to Spring
As August wraps up, Land for Wildlife members should be looking to have any wildflower seedlings in the ground ready for the new growth that spring brings. There has been some significantly frosty weather of late so seedlings could remain protected for another couple of weeks until the warmth sets in. In the wildlife arena,
Pool Conversion: Creating a Freshwater Ecosystem
By Jen Kreusser There are many people in Alice Springs who are considering turning their once-loved swimming pool into an oasis of a different variety, or perhaps installing an old child sand pit or pool, in the hope of creating a self-sustaining water-feature and extending the attraction to a diverse range of feathered visitors. Smaller
Buffel Grass Bashing – A Rewarding Addiction!
By Bruce Simmons Andy Vinter’s Bush Regeneration Handbook provides terrific practical information for anyone interested in arresting the progress of weeds, and Buffel Grass (Cenchrus ciliaris) in particular, on their block, streetscape or local feature. So you might go there as a starting point if you are interested in ‘bashing the Buffel’. My history with
Poisonous Plants and Pesky Pollen Problems
Plants utilise a variety of defence mechanisms to ward off predators, with chemical defence being the most common – there are more than a thousand poisonous plants in Australia. Harmful components range from fruits and seeds; to roots, bark and leaves. The toxicity of plants usually increases with higher CO2 levels and during periods of