December Working Bee

The December working Bee will be on Tuesday, December 15th at 9:30 am. Meet at the tap in Pin Oak Crescent. Main tasks are watering and collecting litter. Hopefully we will finish before it gets too hot but wear a hat. All welcome. Just turn up and sign in if you wish to join us.
Ros

November 2015 Working Bee

Six volunteers attended the working bee on Tuesday, November, 24th: Ros, Thomas, Jennie, Ed, Roger and Margaret N. Apologies from John and Ian. We were very fortunate with the weather, it being a sunny, still morning; the next day was hot and extremely windy. In addition to our usual cleaning, watering and weeding duties, we pulled up all the poplar suckers that we could see and replanted the Agave mexicana and planted a ground-cover succulent (not Pigface) in the area where the Pigface was wiped out by a mealy bug infestation.

 We were overjoyed to find the Eucalyptus platypus, (pictured) in flower for the first time since we planted it as a tiny tube stock five and a half years ago.

Eucalyptus platypus, common name:"Round-leafed Moort"is a mallee. It grows 3-8 meters high and is densely foliaged to the ground. It is frost and drought resistant and is tolerant of alkaline soils and smog. I love the unusual shape and texture of the leaves as well as the pompom configuration of the flowers.
The last working bee for 2015 will be held in December; either 15th or 22nd...Stationeers are very busy around that time so we will need to compare diaries. Keep you posted,
Ros

November Working Bee

Our next working bee is scheduled for Tuesday, November 24th, 2015. Meet at the tap in Pin Oak Crescent at 9:30 am. Newcomers welcome. Just turn up and register to become a Stationeer.

Tasks will include cleaning up under the landing and steps, picking up litter from the whole area and watering. There has been some damage to the Agave mexicana nearest the step and the Pig-face has completely died around it. I will bring some replacement plants. Ros

October 2015 Working Bee Report

 Six Stationeers attended a working bee on Tuesday October 21st. We were pleased to find the garden generally looking rather good despite the soil being very dry. We weeded, pruned, watered and picked up rubbish ready for the "Off Tracks" Street Festival the following Sunday.

 One seasonal change of note was the contrasting textures of the native grasses; Feather spear-grass  living up to its name, forming a fluffy band at the base of the steepest section. This is very pleasing as the original Spear grasses we planted seemed to have only an annual lifespan but seeds of the original plants germinated where they found conditions favorable. The occasional bloom of Sticky Everlasting paper daisies, pale blue Tufted Bluebells and one Bulbine Lily plus pale pink Pelargonium australe quietly flowering among the Lomandra make the garden more than  a pragmatic green-fill.

Under the station, lilies were in flower despite their absolutely awful growing conditions. We observed a native Blue-banded bee shaking pollen from the flowers of Dianella tasmanica with the vibration of its wings, a wonderful sight as we always hoped to attract native wildlife to the garden.

October Working Bee

Embankment yesterday

Our next working bee is scheduled for Tuesday, October 20th, 2015. Meet at the tap in Pin Oak Crescent at 9:30 am. Tasks will include cleaning up under the landing and steps, picking up litter from the whole area and watering. Newcomers welcome. Just turn up and register to become a Stationeer. Ros

Next working bee

The next Newmarket Stationeers working bee has been postponed to Tuesday,

July 28th, commencing at 9:30 am.

Winter moon over Flemington

 

Working bee June 16th

Flowering right now providing winter sustenance for honey-eaters

The next Newmarket Stationeers working bee will be held on Tuesday June 16th, commencing at 10:00 am. New members are welcome. Just turn up on the day and register your name.
Meet on the footpath opposite "La Delicatessa" in Pin Oak Crescent. If  light showers are predicted for the 16th, expect the working bee to proceed. However if conditions on the day are really wet the working bee will be postponed to the following Tuesday. 
Ros

Working bee May 2015

It began to rain shortly before our working bee so the six Stationeers who braved the weather concentrated on the area under the station, which is sheltered. We pruned and cleaned up the overgrowth of the salt bushes and Plectranthus plants and Ian Smith managed to dig some holes in the compacted soil which we filled with water and hydrated water crystals prior to planting aspidistras in the dark areas towards the back of the bed. Meanwhile Thomas planted additional Rhagodia salt bushes at the other end of the embankment under the peppercorn tree and Jennie and Ed did the litter round. Ed continued on to the other side of the station and gathered more litter from the children's play area. At John's suggestion, I emailed Gary Mogford from KABV and Peter Watson from Metro Trains to ask if the disused safety meshing left by contractors could now be removed. It has been there since last year and work on the station has officially been completed. 

Aspidistras-just planted

Since the station landing was upgraded in 2013, there has been no rainfall penetration to that part of the station garden; the floor of the old landing used to leak when it rained. There appears to have been quite a bit of foot traffic through the garden too. Recently hardy Myoporum parvifolium ground cover plants have died and Pig-face has been attacked by mealy bug. The once-healthy Dianella plants are also struggling. We should consider installing a heavy duty watering system under the landing using part of our grant. 

Evidence of garden being used as a short-cut

There will be another working be on Tuesday June 16th or 23rd. The date chosen will depend on the weather forecast. We will be planting a small MVCC consignment of indigenous plants plus more aspidistras and salt bushes as well as reluctantly cutting down the self-seeded River Red Gum that sprang up where the old ramp used to start. Ros

Self-seeded River Red Gum

Notice of May Working Bee

The next Newmarket Stationeers Working Bee will take place on Tuesday May 19th from 10:00 am to 11:30 am. Meet in Pin Oak Crescent next to the tap. Bring gloves and a trowel if you have them. We will be planting salt bushes under the peppercorn tree and aspidistras in the area under the landing which is in deep shade.                                                                                                          

March Working Bee Report

March Working Bee Report

The March 17th working bee was attended by seven members who did some additional planting, concentrating on the Peppercorn tree perimeter and putting back the plants we had lifted from the path of the test drilling equipment last month during restoration work to the station. Melbourne received only half the average rainfall for March and Flemington missed out on most of it, our only significant rain in March was received on March 1st.  Over Easter a couple of dedicated Stationeers watered the the  new plants to keep them going until our April Working Bee. At the same time a lot of bottles and cans were collected and recycled. Discarded food rubbish was picked up and binned. John Wyeth dealt with a European wasps nest but unfortunately the wasps had another entrance to their nest and are still active. Metro Trains have been notified and will organize a pest controller to visit.  Recent rain has come to the aid of plants just in time but a sudden die back of plants under the station landing is a bit concerning. If Stationeers wish to do a bit of extra watering this section may be the place to concentrate on as the Dianella is still alive; just.Our April working bee date has not been set yet.

Ros

March Working Bee

Working Bee Tasks

The next Newmarket Stationeers working bee is due on Tuesday, March, 17th beginning at 9:30 am. Meet in Pin Oak Crescent near the seats. The shrubs we removed from the path of the test boring machinery have all survived and can be put back in the ground now. Bring gloves and a trowel or spade if you have one. There are also some smaller plants ready for planting adjacent to the peppercorn tree and the station building but  planting of them can be spread over the next four months' working bees.  One of the poplars has a broken branch hanging over the some of our plants. It needs to be  removed as soon as possible to avoid damaging our plants so Thomas and I will prune it before the working bee date.

Poplar before the branch broke.