Meet next at Nth Arundel St.
Elspeth Maconachie
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Violet Town tamed thanks to ivy interrupter, lavender lopper, wisteria wrestler et al!
Meet next at Nth Arundel St. Elspeth Maconachie One session was called off due to cold feet, but otherwise we have been lucky with some gaps in the clouds and have come through the worst of winter with nothing more serious than a few rose scars to Marcus!!
Frank proved variously skilled recently at Shirlie's garden with dog handling, fencing and even some pruning. Next time, on September 11th, we will be at 6 Tulip Street, Violet Town. Elspeth Maconachie Val's roses have been well dealt with (with a little extra assistance, thank you Shelley) while Frank and Kathy earned gold stars for dealing with weeds and vine.
At the end of this month we will move to Harry Williams Drive and see what Lois would like done. Elspeth Maconachie We concentrated on the front garden at Jane and Bill's and with another large roll-up quickly made progress on weeding and pruning. (My dodgy phone prevented Lois's apology from reaching us) Afternoon tea was well-deserved and enjoyed.
We kept the long weekend free and thus will be at Lois's garden near the end of June before honing pruners for Val's place in July. Elspeth Maconachie It was a pleasure to visit Kirsten and Marcus and have a new garden to view and work in with a large team despite a couple of apologies. On the last Monday of May we will be at Jane and Bill's in Grey St.
Elspeth With the welcome addition of Marcus and Kirsten it was team of nine who worked with impressive effect at Kathy's and the well-laden afternoon tea table offered the accustomed reward.
In May we'll see a new garden when we work at 10 Mitchell St on the 8th and we'll be at Jane and Bill's on the 28th. After that we'll be at Lois's in June and by July Val's roses will be in need of pruning. The Garden Team will on 28th March. A report will be included next month.
We had a splendid and hard-working team on a day timed beautifully after a couple of 40 degree days.
Much pruning and weeding is now on its way to being turned into mulch (or goat manure) and the ducks enjoyed the snails. We also enjoyed an afternoon tea of the usual high standard. The owner of the green-handled Laser clippers should contact Elspeth ( 0418621764) if they wish to see them again before we meet in March at Shirlie's garden. Bring your diary so we can start settling the batting order, which will be somewhat similar to the last couple of years but with the chance to swap dates if you already know that you'll be away or especially want the team at, say, rose pruning time. We look forward next time to meeting new member Ian and welcoming back Jane and Bill. We completed the year's labour with a well attended prune-in at Bill and Jane's. It is always a rewarding and pleasant gathering and we look forward to re-convening at Tulip St in mid February!
You can thank Jane and Elspeth for the sunny breaks on Monday 11th as it didn't rain after we called off the team at about ten minutes before scheduled spade off!
We will return to Jane and Bill's in November after our session in the new Barkly Street abode of Val and Frank – so be ready for a little trimming, weeding and ideas for out the back at 66 Barkly St on October 31st. There have been two Garden Teams in the last month. On both occasions the weather forecast suggested we would be rained out, but we were lucky enough to be able to do the work. On the fifth Monday in August five members met at Shirlie's home and undertook weeding and pruning. Bill was able to dig out the stump of a grapefruit tree which had been severely pruned on a previous occasion. As usual we rewarded ourselves with a delicious afternoon tea and caught up on the gossip around the town. On the second Monday in September seven members met at Kathy's home and again weeding was the order of the day. Jane severely pruned back an unwanted Grevillea and Bill was able to dig out the stump. Over afternoon tea Kathy told us about her recent birding trip to Colombia in South America, and the over 300 species she was able to observe. The next Garden Team will be at Bill and Jane's on Monday 10th October - with all this rain there will be plenty of weeds to pull out! We made ourselves as useful as we could in Lois's well kept, busy and organised garden with Bill's pruning earning the elephant stamp.
I also pass on the thanks of Rupe and Gwen for many tasks done there last month. August 29th - Shirlie September 12th - Kathy October 10th - Jane & Bill / 31st - Val November 14th - Elspeth I can be emailed [email protected]; sent a text on 0418 621764 or a 101 can be left (after a longish wait) on 57621700. The rain was pouring down in the early hours of Monday July 11th, but by late morning it was fine enough for us to carry out our planned work at Rupe and Gwen Cheetham's. After two and a half months in hospital and rehab, Rupe had only been home for a few days, but he and Gwen had a few jobs planned. Lois and Shirlie weeded the pots that Rupe grows for the Benalla Hospital Auxiliary stall. Bill dug out a couple of clumps of ornamental strappy plants which Gwen no longer wanted, and moved a heavy pot of hostas on a trolley to a better spot. Jane and guest member Rosie pruned some bushes which were growing out over the lawn and then chopped them into small pieces into the compost bin. We all enjoyed working in the weak sunshine, until called in for a sumptuous afternoon tea. It was a pleasure to relax in the warmth of Gwen's lovely smile and receive Rupe's grateful thanks for our help. It's time we set dates for the rest of our year rather than waiting for a full gathering to do so. Please arrange a swap if necessary and let us know as far in advance as possible.
August 8th - Lois / 29th - Shirlie September 12th - Kathy October 10th - Jane & Bill / 31st - Val November 14th - Elspeth I can be emailed [email protected]; sent a text on 0418 621764 or a 101 can be left (after a longish wait) on 57621700. There were several apologies but Jane and I were still pleased with our progress in the Tulip St garden making inroads on overgrown ivy and a few smaller tasks.
Our mid June afternoon was rained out and we'll try again to assist in the Cheetham garden in July. Very welcome heavy rain saw our usual second Monday in May cancelled. As there are five Mondays in May we are able to work in Violet Town on Monday 30th. The June meeting will be scheduled for the Monday after the Queen's birthday - June 20th, venue to be decided.
Despite five apologies we still mustered five and had a balanced program of garden exercise before delicious edibles.
We will gather at 6 Tulip on May 9th. As May 30th was to be Rupe's turn perhaps we can offer some help there? We leapt into work at Kathy's on the last day of February. It was a third Monday session chez Bill et Jane - to leave free the March long weekend. Next we'll gather at Val's back on our regular second Monday (11th April). Meanwhile let's hope for more showers! Photographs: Jane Parris
Half a dozen garden team members put in a productive hour before Shirlie persuaded them to retreat into the cool for afternoon tea. Our next gathering is at Kathy's on leap day and on March 21st we'll be at Bill and Jane's. Photographs: Jane
With three apologies, the last group had to work a little harder, but Lois's neat and tidy garden in Cooinda doesn't take a lot of work. A bit of dead heading roses, planting some zinnia seedlings for future colour & some potting up, and we were done. A delightful afternoon tea & a chat was enjoyed as usual. We were helped by Lois's granddaughter Evie, aged 4. Future plans - are there any prospective new members who would like to join the team? Elspeth would appreciate hearing at or by the last gathering for 2015 at Tulip Street in Violet Town on November 30th.
Garden Team February meetings will be on the 8th at Shirlie's and 29th at Kathy's. As that's leap day I feel we should do high pruning or gutter clearing without ladders! I'm told Kathy's driveway is in good trim after Sept 21st and on Oct 12th Val's garden beds enjoyed some extra attention.
The tea-party - oops - make that work party - can recommend the PWMU Apricot and Ginger slice. We might have enter the show next year but unsure whether floral or culinary sections would be more appropriate! In November we expect to gather at Lois's on the 9th and at Tulip St on the 30th. We made satisfying inroads on spring weeds in Jane's garden and will next gather at Kathy's (Mon 21st, when Elspeth will be away and Shirlie is also a doubtful attendee).
Now is apparently the time to set punctured bottle traps for Queen European wasps as they seek new nest sites, vanilla and honey in water being a recommended menu to lure them in. Bill (motives unclear) joined the team at Tulip St and was a great contributor to another sterling effort. It really is inspiring to have lots of jobs done (or at least started) and we were again lucky with fine weather among many grey days.
Let's hope there's sunshine and another good roll-up on the 20th at Carmel's and at Shirlie's on August 10th. It was lovely to have an almost full strength task force at Jane's in late May.
We kept the dates shown in the last newsletter but made a few people-swaps with Carmel taking July 20th, Jane Aug 30th and Val Oct 12th. Let's hope the settled program makes it easy for our finely tuned green thumbs to perform their amazing feats for the rest of the year.(If we must miss a session we might decide on a fill in on Dec 14th). By the time you read this we'll have been at work in Lois's garden (15th) and be tuning up for a trip to Violet Town on the last day of June. Elspeth Maconachie On May 4th Shirlie and I made ourselves useful in Kathy's garden: another pleasant afternoon.
Our Garden fixture has become muddled this year and there's another change approaching with June's public holiday. This encouraged me to consult my calendar which offers three fifth-Monday opportunities, in July, August and November and I've sorted a schedule of which most of you already know something. You can pencil in the dates now but please bring your diary to Jane's on May 25th where we'll see if we can confirm the following:- Lois June 15th, Elspeth June 29th, Val July 20th, Shirlie Aug 10th, Carmel Aug 31st, Kathy Sept 21st, Jane Oct 10th, Lois Nov 9th and Elspeth Nov 30th Shirlie’s pretty garden had some neat treatment when the team set to pruning with welcome contribution from new recruit Rupe.
Afternoon tea reached new heights with tasty offerings from three talented cooks. With the next session coming up soon we've chosen an easy challenge in Carmel's well-kept garden so we'll see you at No 25 on the 30th. |
About the Garden TeamA band of enthusiastic gardeners gathers once a
month for an afternoon at each member’s garden in rotation. The working bee uses each members skills and abilities to achieve about six
hours effect in an hour and a half. Then
we rest on our laurels with tea provided by the host and a home-baked and/or healthy
plate from the visitors. We head home a
little fitter and inspired, often with a new cutting or garden tip. Meeting Times2nd and 5th Mondays
2 to 4 pm Meet at members' gardens by turn. (If the 2nd Monday is a public holiday, the garden team often meets on an alternate day. Information about changes is included in the newsletter) Convenor and contact detailsElspeth Maconachie
0418 621 764 Archives
March 2024
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Photographs - U3A members; Benalla Art Gallery website; Weebly 'Free' images;Travel Victoria and State Library of Victoria
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