Banksia Bulletinspring 2020 Enjoy our special spring gardens featureMasked Bee, Hylaeus euxanthus Photo by John EichlerIn this issue Special features 5 INDIGENOUS GARDEN 6 SPRING WILDFLOWERS IN BAYSIDE 16 OUR EASTERN SPINEBILL Other articles PLANTS OF BAYSIDE 4 AUSSIE BACKYARD BIRD COUNT 4 A NEW RESERVE FOR A LOST VEGETATION 18 THE YELLOW BOX, AND A LOST VEGETATION 19 VOLUNTEER GROUPS 22Plants of Bayside With Aaron Hurrell of Citywide Parks and Gardens Coast Pomaderris Coast Pomaderris (Pomaderris paniculosa ssp. Paralia) is a compact attractive shrub growing about 1-2m high and wide with ovate to ecliptic leaves growing between 1.5-5cm long by 10-25mm wide that’s shiny green above and densely hairy underneath the leaf. New growth has a reddish coloured tinge to it. Between October and November, this shrub flowers in many cream and green tones of around 1.5-5cm long. Seedcases are densely hairy and are grey to rusty coloured with petals absent. The Coast Pomaderris likes well-drained sandy soils in full sun, semi-shade and tolerant of limestone, and its preferred habitats are Coastal Dune Scrub and Coastal Headland Shrub. Source Bull, Marilyn (1991) Flora of Melbourne: A guide to the indigenous plants of the greater Melbourne area Carlton Vic: Hyland House Publishing In Memory of Mr Ron Leech Mr Peter Watson Our Friends groups, volunteers, Council and the Citywide Bushland Crew pay respect to Mr Ron Leech and Mr Peter Watson and extend gratitude for all the work these gentlemen did for our local environment. The community garden in Sandringham created by Peter and Jean Watson. Ron dedicated many years of hard work maintaining the ecological health of Bay Road Heathland Sanctuary. We are grateful to his estate, which has donated a cage to help protect indigenous fauna and flora within this reserve. Ron’s legacy will facilitate protection of this precious bushland area well into the future. In Bamfield Street, Sandringham, right on the curve opposite the local primary school sits a small and obscure park that exists because of Peter and his wife Jean. The couple cleared the block next to their family home and turned it into a mostly native garden for the community. With help from Council, Peter cared for this lovely oasis that lies in quite a busy suburban street until age caught up with him. For many years, this garden was the site for the Bamfield Street Christmas party, among other celebrations. Peter loved Sandringham, swam nearly every day, picked up rubbish on the foreshore and quietly kept his eye on community affairs. He and Jean were almost self sufficient on their large property, growing vegetables and fruit trees and keeping chooks while their family was growing up in the 1960s. Jean sadly passed away in 2019 and Peter recently succumbed to COVID-19, aged 93. Banksia Bulletin | Spring 20204Check out Council’s new indigenous garden in spring bloom! Magnificent! 5S pring wildflowers in B ayside A Spring Opening in pictures and words A special collaboration from John Eichler, Sue Forster, Sue Raverty and Pauline Reynolds Story by Pauline Reynolds This year, being so very different from most, our beautiful reserves can’t be open for spring to share with people who would like to visit. It’s more than 30 years since Bay Road Heathland Sanctuary and Gramatan Avenue have been opened annually and approximately 10 years since we’ve been opening the others for the spring flowering and guided tours. John Eichler, Sue Forster, Sue Raverty and I thought a virtual tour would be second best, so between us we’ve taken these photographs of each one. It’s so interesting, having observed the reserves closely taking the pictures, to see that even with their proximity to each other, each one flowers at different times and it’s emphasised to me the diversity of vegetation at each one. They are all looking particularly beautiful this year because of the rain and a huge amount of weeding by the Citywide crew in our absence. We must hope that next year the reserves can be opened again. Clematis microphylla Banksia Bulletin | Spring 20206Bossiaea cinerea and Hardenbergia violacea Clematis , Bossiaea and Acacia oxycedrus Hibbertia sericea and Bossiaea cinerea Thelymitra pauciflora Allocasaurina paradoxa George Street Reserve George Street Reserve was scheduled for an environmental burn in autumn this year but, because of COVID, that was postponed and will now take place next year. George Street Reserve has not had a burn since the wildfire in 2006 and we were really looking forward to the renewal of the plant species. Instead, with all the rain, we have weeds. But some seedlings have appeared because of simply having more light. Perhaps we’ll see some orchids later on. The Correas and Bossiaea bloomed beautifully in the smaller old burn sites. Banksia Bulletin | Spring 20207Gramatan Avenue Heathland Sanctuary The north end of Gramatan Avenue Heathland Sanctuary was burnt in April 2019, although it seems like a long time ago now. The regeneration is good. It is possible to see some of the wild flowers from the exterior paths so a weekly inspection will show something else flowering. The Soft Spear Grass (Austrostipa mollis), was in flower early this year looking lovely waving gracefully in the wind. Platylobium obtusangulum Leucopogon virgatus Burchardia umbellata and Diuris orientisBurchardia umbellata Burchardia umbellata Austrostipa mollis and Bossiaea cinerea Banksia Bulletin | Spring 20208Donald MacDonald Reserve Donald MacDonald Reserve is the closest of our inland reserves to the sea and there is some thought that it may be in fact a second sand dune so the vegetation here, which has regenerated after controlled burns, is more coastal and quite different to the reserves further from the sea. It also has pressures from the playing field, scout hall, skateboarders and, of course, people and dogs exercising. Nevertheless there are some rare plant species present and it’s looking beautiful for spring. Dianella admixta/revoluta Dillwynia cinerascens Acacia mearnsiiDianella brevicaulis Acacia paradoxa Dianella admixta Banksia integrifolia Banksia Bulletin | Spring 20209Next >